Hospice provides care for pets suffering from terminal illnesses, severe injuries, or a decreased quality of life due to age. This guide explains how much pet hospice costs and what pet hospice care includes. This way, you can better prepare for the end of life care your pet may need.
How Much Does Pet Hospice Cost?
On average, pet hospice may cost around $300 to $650. The final price may depend on the services, medication, and additional travel fees. Once enrolled in hospice, Paws Into Grace has an initial consultation fee of around $415 to $530, as well as a monthly payment of $200.
Pet hospice care is a compassionate option if you want to avoid in-home euthanasia for now. Our goal is to make the final days of your cat or dog’s life more manageable with the help of medication, dietary plans, wellness programs, and human interaction.
What Influences the Cost of Hospice for Pets?
While hospice care for pets may range around $300 to $650, this may still change depending on a number of factors. These include the type of service you prefer and your location.
Quality of Life Assessment
Our Quality of Life Assessment discusses your pet’s diagnosis and prognosis to determine what will likely happen. It’s a holistic assessment to check your pet’s well-being. You can now access our Quality of Life Scale to give you an idea of the success of comfort care.
- Duration: 1.5 hours
- Fees: $325 for in-home assessments in the San Diego and Temecula area and $455 for Orange County. Additional travel fees may apply.
Telehealth Hospice Appointment
Some facilities offer telehealth consultations, which is an excellent option if you want to avoid in-home consultations.
- Duration: At least 15 minutes to one hour.
- Fees: On average, this may cost around $150 to $350 per hour.
Treatments and Medications
For Paws Into Grace, comfort care focuses on quality of life and comfort, especially for owners who have decided not to pursue curative treatment.
However, you may also consider curative practices that may increase the cost of pet care hospice.
- Therapy for degenerative diseases
- Prescription and over-the-counter medications
- Pain medication
- Vitamins and supplements
- Hydrotherapy
- Weight loss program
- Acupuncture
- Massage
Euthanasia Guidance and Caregiver Support
Pet Hospice aims to develop a care plan for your dog or cat. Despite that, this may also be the best opportunity to determine if it’s time to prepare for in-home euthanasia if comfort care isn’t working.
Caring for a sick pet can also affect your quality of life as a caregiver.
It can be overwhelming for most people, mainly since there’s burden, stress, and anxiety. Aside from your pet’s well-being, we include your family’s needs in order to handle the situation.
How Can I Save on Pet Hospice Costs?
Pet hospice may cost at least $300, but may be more depending on the additional services you choose. You can save on the costs of paying for hospice with the help of pet insurance or healthcare financial aid programs such as CareCredit.
While several pet insurance pet plans cover hospice fees, you must check with the facility or clinic if they accept pet insurance.
End-of-life care for pets can have financial implications for pet owners.
When to Consider Hospice Care For Your Cat or Dog?
You may consider hospice care for pets at the first signs of clinical decline. This way, you can be prepared for the potential costs and learn what to expect in the future.
You may need to consider hospice or palliative care for your pet in these situations.
- Poor quality of life due to old age
- Incurable diseases
- Progressive or long-term illnesses
- Long-term disability like advanced arthritis
- Neurological disorders and cognitive dysfunction
- Intolerable pain
Why Should You Consider Hospice or Comfort Care for Pets?
You will encounter expenses when caring for a sick or severely injured pet. These are why hospice or comfort care can prepare you and your pet for its final days.
- Enhanced quality of life for you and your pet: Comfort care helps manage a pet’s symptoms in the familiarity of their own home. A care program assists families in changes in their home environment and routines to make the most out of a pet’s living days.
- Maximize comfort in their final days: Hospice care aims to let pets enjoy their last moments with you while relieving pain. As you improve your pet’s quality of life, you can extend their life, even for a short time.
- Avoid medical care costs: For some, hospice care may reduce the cost of aggressive medical care, particularly for incurable diseases. However, you would still receive professional help from our team of veterinarians and palliative care specialists.
Related Questions
How Much Is Euthanasia for Pets?
While the cost of in-home pet euthanasia varies, our services at Paws Into Grace range from $305 to $515. This also depends on your location and the pet’s weight. There may be additional fees for transportation and pick-up.
What Happens to Pets After Hospice?
You may consider pursuing in-home euthanasia or waiting for natural death during hospice. Hospice care is a temporary solution to your pet’s final days. Thus, you would eventually have to decide the next step in your pet’s end of life care.
How Can I Help My Dog or Cat Pass Away Peacefully?
Hospice care is one way to help your cat or dog pass away peacefully. During this period, you can provide extra comfort and care for them.
Conclusion
Watching your beloved pet suffer is difficult, and making end-of-life decisions for them can make the situation harder. Hospice care from Paws Into Grace gives pets extra comfort and care in their final days as you plan for their transition, whether natural death or in-home euthanasia.
