In case people hadn't thought to do this, if one of your ferrets needs
vet or emergency care you might try asking if you can do a payment
plan to pay the bill; I found out my vet will do that and it can help
immensely with the bills, and might mean you make a decision to go to
the vet if in need of something rather than hold off because you're not
able to afford it.  Most places would rather get the money slowly than
not at all.  It's just not something they advertise.  I have a friend on
the list who uses the same vet we do, and she has let our vet know that
all of her ferrets are rescue ferrets.  So the vet gives her discounts
on treatment b/c of that, which has helped a lot since she's had between
5 and 10 ferrets at any given time.  You might try it-- it can't hurt to
ask.
 
As someone whose husband has been unemployed for almost 2 years, and we
have tons of debt and 3 pets to care for, I know what it feels like to
ask these questions when you're not used to having to ask for a break on
something financial.  It feels pretty bad.  But if you can get up the
courage to do it and not feel bad or ashamed, it gets easier over time,
and I've found that a lot of people will give discounts, etc. - not just
on pet stuff but on a lot of things (doctors and hospitals will often
work with you on a payment plan).  Also, depending on where you live,
unemployment can be so bad that when you ask, you will get a response
like "gosh, so many people are out of work; you're not the first one to
ask about....".  So, you're not alone :-).
 
Jaime
[Posted in FML issue 4297]