From: ren@Turing.ORG (Karen Prestemon)
Subject: Re: Neutering question
Organization: The Turing Project, Charlottesville Virginia.
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 07:24:42 GMT

In article <1992Nov17.223704.6260@galileo.cc.rochester.edu> barlow@prodigal.psych.rochester.edu (Rebel) writes:
>In <1992Nov17.150648.24012@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> ren@Turing.ORG (Karen Prestemon) writes:
>>Agreed.  We adopted a kitten from the animal shelter, and my husband
>>at the time said that if anything happened to her that would require
>>great medical expense, then we would put her to sleep and get another
>>one.  Its not that I don't love my kitten, and its not that I think
>
>Personally I feel that if money is SO tight that you can't afford 33 cent cans
>of cat food because you need to save that money for bills or your own food then
>I don't think you can afford to have a cat. Cats involve not only food but
>the expense of shots and possibly several regular visits to the vet which are
>bound to cost money. The idea that I can get a cat for my own enjoyment and 
>keep it as long as the cat is healthy, but as soon as the cat has a medical
>problem or starts to cost too much...we'll just kill it. Not "put it down" kill
>it is more appropriate. You "put down" animals that are terminally ill or
>suffering due to extreme old age....you kill animals that could be helped
>but you refuse to for whatever the reasons. I think that it is extremely
>irresponsible to take on the committment of an animal if you already know that
>you may not be able to cover the expenses. 
>
>the cat would be better off staying at the shelter and have the chance of
>getting a family that can care for all its needs.
>Jen (and Zeb also a shelter cat)

I don't think I expressed myself very well.  The cat gets her shots
on time, and when she needed treatment for worms, she got it.  She will
get spayed soon, and we will happily fork over for that.  I am not going
to pay $200 for a cat to get her teeth cleaned, as one poster said he
did. And if she needs a liver transplant, forget it.  Anyway, I did not
just say "out her down,"  I said we will have to "let it go or put her
down."  By let it go, I ment take the animal home and see if she could
recover on her own if the other option were to pay $600 for hip
surgery, or whatever Keith's experience.  he let it go and Ziggy
happily recovered.  And I don't want to pay 33 cents a can for something
that I don't think the cat needs.  She can live on dry until she
is an adult, and then we'll reconsider.

We just spent the week taking care of my mother-in-law's cats.  
Tasha is 8 or 9 years old, and out of nowhere, the cat started peeing
in a random place.  She knows exactly where the litter box is, and
uses it for her solid waste, she just doesn't pee there anymore.
My mom-in-law's explanation for this?  That Tasha is angry with them
for some reason.  Well, if she were my cat, i would have her at the
vet in a second to make sure nothing is wrong with her.  

Sure, the cat is here for my enjoyment.  Why else would I get a pet?
I got married because I enjoy spending time with my husband.  I
don't think I should wait until I am a millionaire to do some
of the things I want to do.  We take care of the cat, and do our
best to keep her healthy and happy, but there are limits to
what we can spend.  And like I said, $200 for a teeth cleaning is
outrageous when you consider that without health insurance, I
haven't been to the dentist in over two years.  I didn't say
I would never take the cat to the vet.  In fact, I called the
vet last week and asked if, since I have been bringing her in 
every four weeks for shots, she needed to come in at 20 weeks.
The person on the phone said yes.  So I made an appointment, brought
her in, and the vet was puzzled to see her at all.  he said
a 20 week checkup or shots is not standard practice at all,
and he wasn't going to charge me for the visit.  So I lucked
out, and have a good vet, thankfully.

I don't appreciate being told my cat was better off staying at the
shelter.  She is a very happy and healthy cat.  My mother-in-law
was over to our apartment the other day and remarked how shiny
her coat is and how healthy she looks.  I took that as a complement
to my care of her.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats