I don't want to argue with you because it's your journal and I'm glad you're back and I don't want to cause any grief, but I'm having trouble seeing how you can be sure that a 15 year old cat has been "suffering for many years" when the man told you it had NOT been suffering... and when it WAS suffering he brought it to you. Wasn't the cat expected to be mortal? I mean, wasn't it going to die of SOMETHING? And even if the pills were cheap, it is HORRIBLE to try to dose a cat. The value proposition of a cat is pretty slim to begin with. Make it an expensive cat that bites you every day and, voila, you now have become slave to a psychopathic predator who hates you. What fun.
As for the cat that needed the blood work to determine what illness it had, the main question I ask my vet is how we will use the information from the test. If it will determine whether the cat needs surgery and I have no intention of springing for a surgery then the test results aren't useful. Need it or not, I'm not paying for surgery.
I know from your vantage point that seems cruel. But I'm a more calculating soul. There are a ton of cats in the world that need homes. Why pay thousands of dollars for an old sick cat (that is going to die anyway) when a young healthy homeless cat is begging to be adopted?
A guy who adopts a cat, gets it spayed and keeps it indoors for 15 years doesn't sound like someone who needs to be punched in the balls to me.
No serious argumentation here. I know where you stand on the issue of cats, and pets in general. It's all good. I'm gonna keep talking, though. :)
Yes, cats die. All the time. I witness this every week. They have short lifespans and there are many diseases and injuries they can get.
I can be sure the cat was suffering for a long time because it takes a long time for an illness to make a cat that sick. It doesn't happen overnight, or even in a few weeks. I would surmise the cat started developing the illness that caused that (probably hyperthyroidism or chronic kidney disease because those are the two most frequent conditions older cats get) a good two or three years prior to this at minimum. We hear from clients all the time, every day, that their cat is "fine--except for persistent [vomiting/diarrhea/weight loss/extreme lethargy/etc.]" A cat that has those symptoms is not fine. It is sick. The man thought his cat had not been suffering, but he was very wrong. If he'd brought his cat in three years before then and discovered it had an incurable disease and wanted to euthanize it, I would not judge him this harshly. I would choose differently if it were my pet and there was any way I could pay for it, but the choice to euthanize when you can't provide treatment is not wrong. There are varying levels of care, financially, and many people can only afford the bare minimum. I just don't want pets to suffer when their owners are under the illusion that everything is a-ok because there isn't blood coming out of the animal's ears, or something similarly dramatic and awful-looking. Debilitating illnesses are often very non-dramatic.
(There is a remote chance it was acute renal failure instead of chronic renal disease or hyperthyroidism or something else that has a gradual onset, but this cat showed all the signs of having been in a very bad way for a very long time--that's why I think it was a longstanding chronic illness.)
It's great that this guy adopted a cat and had her spayed. It's awful that he didn't notice her slow decline into misery (or, you know, take her to the fucking vet). I maintain that a nice punch to the nads would be beneficial; if nothing else, it sure would make ME feel better.
"Why pay thousands of dollars for an old sick cat (that is going to die anyway) when a young healthy homeless cat is begging to be adopted?"
Very good point. But if you're talking about your own old sick cat that you've had for several years, and the prognosis is such that it could live for a few more with a certain treatment, it's simple. You're doing this because you love this cat and you're not ready to let it go. That, I think, is a legitimate reason. The death of a pet is less traumatic if you're ready for the letting go part.
Some people think shelters and animal welfare facilities are cruel for automatically euthanizing cats with certain illnesses (Feline leukemia comes to mind). I don't. It's sad, yes, but not at all cruel. It's hard as hell to home a young healthy cat, much less a cat that is known to have FeLV or FIV.
You're doing this because you love this cat and you're not ready to let it go.
You caught me at a bad moment in that I'm trying to pay bills and I'm straight up against the reality that the things I want to do aren't things I can afford to do. Just because I'd LIKE two more years with kitty doesn't mean I can pay $3,000/year to GET two more years with kitty.
Every dollar I spend on extending a cat's life is a dollar I didn't spend on something else that would ALSO be meaningful. You can WANT kitty in your life, but recall that you ALSO want other things. It's a zero sum game. Well, actually, kitty will need to be fed and cared for going forward, too, so kitty is actually a financial sinkhole, but the point is generally the same: spend money on kitty or on something else. You have to choose.
You do know the story of Shitty Kitty, but he was actually the third cat I considered "mine". He's just the one that gave me post-traumatic stress syndrome. I have had good cat relationships before, although to be honest it was all probably anthropomorphism. The cats saw me as the person who can open a can opener. I don't really believe they "love". But, hey, I could be wrong. I'm pretty sure my dog is deeply attached to me (and I am to her.)
As for the cat that needed the blood work to determine what illness it had, the main question I ask my vet is how we will use the information from the test. If it will determine whether the cat needs surgery and I have no intention of springing for a surgery then the test results aren't useful. Need it or not, I'm not paying for surgery.
I know from your vantage point that seems cruel. But I'm a more calculating soul. There are a ton of cats in the world that need homes. Why pay thousands of dollars for an old sick cat (that is going to die anyway) when a young healthy homeless cat is begging to be adopted?
A guy who adopts a cat, gets it spayed and keeps it indoors for 15 years doesn't sound like someone who needs to be punched in the balls to me.
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Yes, cats die. All the time. I witness this every week. They have short lifespans and there are many diseases and injuries they can get.
I can be sure the cat was suffering for a long time because it takes a long time for an illness to make a cat that sick. It doesn't happen overnight, or even in a few weeks. I would surmise the cat started developing the illness that caused that (probably hyperthyroidism or chronic kidney disease because those are the two most frequent conditions older cats get) a good two or three years prior to this at minimum. We hear from clients all the time, every day, that their cat is "fine--except for persistent [vomiting/diarrhea/weight loss/extreme lethargy/etc.]" A cat that has those symptoms is not fine. It is sick. The man thought his cat had not been suffering, but he was very wrong. If he'd brought his cat in three years before then and discovered it had an incurable disease and wanted to euthanize it, I would not judge him this harshly. I would choose differently if it were my pet and there was any way I could pay for it, but the choice to euthanize when you can't provide treatment is not wrong. There are varying levels of care, financially, and many people can only afford the bare minimum. I just don't want pets to suffer when their owners are under the illusion that everything is a-ok because there isn't blood coming out of the animal's ears, or something similarly dramatic and awful-looking. Debilitating illnesses are often very non-dramatic.
(There is a remote chance it was acute renal failure instead of chronic renal disease or hyperthyroidism or something else that has a gradual onset, but this cat showed all the signs of having been in a very bad way for a very long time--that's why I think it was a longstanding chronic illness.)
It's great that this guy adopted a cat and had her spayed. It's awful that he didn't notice her slow decline into misery (or, you know, take her to the fucking vet). I maintain that a nice punch to the nads would be beneficial; if nothing else, it sure would make ME feel better.
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"Why pay thousands of dollars for an old sick cat (that is going to die anyway) when a young healthy homeless cat is begging to be adopted?"
Very good point. But if you're talking about your own old sick cat that you've had for several years, and the prognosis is such that it could live for a few more with a certain treatment, it's simple. You're doing this because you love this cat and you're not ready to let it go. That, I think, is a legitimate reason. The death of a pet is less traumatic if you're ready for the letting go part.
Some people think shelters and animal welfare facilities are cruel for automatically euthanizing cats with certain illnesses (Feline leukemia comes to mind). I don't. It's sad, yes, but not at all cruel. It's hard as hell to home a young healthy cat, much less a cat that is known to have FeLV or FIV.
Reply
You caught me at a bad moment in that I'm trying to pay bills and I'm straight up against the reality that the things I want to do aren't things I can afford to do. Just because I'd LIKE two more years with kitty doesn't mean I can pay $3,000/year to GET two more years with kitty.
Every dollar I spend on extending a cat's life is a dollar I didn't spend on something else that would ALSO be meaningful. You can WANT kitty in your life, but recall that you ALSO want other things. It's a zero sum game. Well, actually, kitty will need to be fed and cared for going forward, too, so kitty is actually a financial sinkhole, but the point is generally the same: spend money on kitty or on something else. You have to choose.
You do know the story of Shitty Kitty, but he was actually the third cat I considered "mine". He's just the one that gave me post-traumatic stress syndrome. I have had good cat relationships before, although to be honest it was all probably anthropomorphism. The cats saw me as the person who can open a can opener. I don't really believe they "love". But, hey, I could be wrong. I'm pretty sure my dog is deeply attached to me (and I am to her.)
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