Dear Cats,

You are expensive.  Don't get me wrong, I love you all very much and of course you are quite worth it, but yes, you are expensive.  This move is going to kill us, and it is still at least 6 months away.

So, today 3 of the cats went in to the vet for their first round of rabies shots, and 2 of them had to get microchips.  I have to admit, the last one to get micro chipped it was done when he was neutered so he was under when they did it.  Splenda will be getting hers on Wednesday when she gets spayed.  So, I wasn't aware until I asked when I scheduled today's appointment that they don't get any sort of anesthesia for it.  I can't imagine!  Yipes!  But our two took it pretty well and so far it doesn't seem like they even notice it's there.

Splenda apparently has whip worm.  How she managed that is beyond me, being a strictly indoor cat, so unless she got it from the cat we were fostering when we moved in here, it is a bit of a mystery.  So we got a spot of treatment for that.

All in all in the past 2 weeks we're coming in just short of $600 at the vet.  That's before Splenda's spay and tooth cleaning on Wednesday.  Granted, we could have chosen to go with a military vet, which would have cost far less I am sure, I like this vet, they are close, and my cats have been going here for years off and on.

On the plus side, after Splenda gets spayed, which is unrelated to the move, the worst of the bills will be over for a while.

Know anyone thinking of moving or getting stationed in Hawaii?  Here is a break down of our costs for ONE cat, not including any of the treatments they may need since they were all due for a vet visit and not including the vaccinations that they need but are not specifically required to enter Hawaii:

So far:
Checkup: $42.50 (after multipet and military discounts)
Rabies vaccine: $27.50
Microchip: $30

Future fees:
Second rabies vaccine: $27.50 (I assume, unless they give us a 3 yr instead of the 1 yr, cost may be different)
Blood test: $55 (this is the fee for the military testing facility, civilians have to use a different facility which costs more.)
Check-up for health certificate: $42.50 (again, assuming it's the same as the checkups today)
Frontline: $22.50
Airport Release Fee: $165 (for cats who complete the quarantine process before entering the state)
Flying cat as checked luggage: $175-$225 (these are the rates I found for 2 airlines, others may charge more or less.)

So, that means, all things going right and getting the cats on a less expensive airline, the cats will cost $587.50 minimum... each... to get to Hawaii.

I would say "at least all that is less per cat than the flight per kid would be if we have children!" but if we had children the Navy would be paying for their flights.  I do hear a rumor that we get reimbursed for up to a certain amount of the quarantine fee though... we will see...

~Katy