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Conversation about 20 year old cat.
Me: "I think Purdy might have hyperthyroidism. I'd like you to bring her in to get tested."
Father: "Is she in pain?"
Me: "She might be. She yowls a lot when no one's around."
Father: "We should put her down."
Me: "It's treatable."
Father: "She's not worth the money it'd cost to save her."
If you were to replace Purdy with any friend or family member of yours, or even any human you have no real ill will towards, this exchange might be a bit horrifying. But if it's an animal, sure, whatever, it's not human, let's go with lethal injection!
This isn't me being teary eyed over having to put down a pet. I've had plenty of pets in my life, I know the drill. This is different though. It'd be one thing if the animal lost the will to live, or if it was a cancerous tumor that kept regrowing over and over. If it was really just old age getting to her or something. That's not what I suspect the issue is. It might be, but we won't know. I suspect it's hyperthyroidism, which is theorized to be caused by pollutants that can be found in fish, which is used in cat food. Older cats are more susceptible to it, but that doesn't mean it's natural. But that's not the kicker; the real kicker is that it's treatable. She really could get better.
It's pretty clear that cat still wants to live. She hisses at what she thinks are threats. She's still eating, still drinking. I like to stand by the belief that other lives aren't mine to take. I understand the cat is just about 20, but these symptoms just appeared and nosedived. She was extremely active about a month or so ago, and it only started to decline a bit, until maybe a day or two ago, when she was suddenly like this.
He tells me he can't afford to take care of the cat after he just came back from a week long multi-state vacation. Wonder how much money he just spent on that? I don't know if I can afford it, but I gotta at least try. Especially since no one else is going to.
Estimates
Assessments
Treatments?
We'll see.
Me: "I think Purdy might have hyperthyroidism. I'd like you to bring her in to get tested."
Father: "Is she in pain?"
Me: "She might be. She yowls a lot when no one's around."
Father: "We should put her down."
Me: "It's treatable."
Father: "She's not worth the money it'd cost to save her."
If you were to replace Purdy with any friend or family member of yours, or even any human you have no real ill will towards, this exchange might be a bit horrifying. But if it's an animal, sure, whatever, it's not human, let's go with lethal injection!
This isn't me being teary eyed over having to put down a pet. I've had plenty of pets in my life, I know the drill. This is different though. It'd be one thing if the animal lost the will to live, or if it was a cancerous tumor that kept regrowing over and over. If it was really just old age getting to her or something. That's not what I suspect the issue is. It might be, but we won't know. I suspect it's hyperthyroidism, which is theorized to be caused by pollutants that can be found in fish, which is used in cat food. Older cats are more susceptible to it, but that doesn't mean it's natural. But that's not the kicker; the real kicker is that it's treatable. She really could get better.
It's pretty clear that cat still wants to live. She hisses at what she thinks are threats. She's still eating, still drinking. I like to stand by the belief that other lives aren't mine to take. I understand the cat is just about 20, but these symptoms just appeared and nosedived. She was extremely active about a month or so ago, and it only started to decline a bit, until maybe a day or two ago, when she was suddenly like this.
He tells me he can't afford to take care of the cat after he just came back from a week long multi-state vacation. Wonder how much money he just spent on that? I don't know if I can afford it, but I gotta at least try. Especially since no one else is going to.
Estimates
Assessments
Treatments?
We'll see.