I paid $300 for the vet to treat my cat's abscess this time (including
sedation, cutting  the wound open to clean it out, antibiotics injection,
and oral  antibiotics to give her at home). We tried to keep her inside,
but she managed to get out and get bitten by a neaighborhood tomcat.
(My cat is a spayed female.) The last time she got out, a few weeks ago,
I had to pay $400, when she had  to have x-rays (her wound looked
so bad that they suspected a break, but there was none), and stay
overnight.

$700 for two abscesses seems truly excessive to me, especially
since, due to a longterm illness, I haven't earned more than $700 in
the last two months. (My husband does work, but doesn't earn
enough money to support the family by himself, so we've been living
partially on my savings).

Do all vets charge this much to treat a cat's abscess? I wonder if I
should try to find another vet whose charges are more reasonable.
I told this one to be sure to choose the less expensive treatment,
if there were any choices, and explained my situation. They were
very sympathetic, but didn't find any way to charge any less.

We *must* keep this cat inside from now on. We simply can't afford to
pay for her to get fixed up every times she gets beaten up. She's so
good at sneaking out underfoot, though. We are having to shut her in
the kitchen or bathroom or laundry room to prevent her from slipping
out when we leave. She is crying constantly to go out. Opening a
screened window so she can sit in it helps somewhat, but she still has
an intense wish to go out. We always tried to make her an indoor cat,
ever since bringing her home from the SPCA when she was 8 weeks old,
but she is a very stubborn animal and knows exactly what she wants.
Some cats have no desire to go outside, if they've never been allowed
out, but this cat knew from the very beginning that she wanted out.

Paula (please don't reply to my posting address - the account no longer
exists - for personal replies please send to "diagnosis3 (at) hotmail.com" .
Thanks.)