So angry.

[Mayden]

Hey everyone, I needed to post this somewhere otherwise my head would explode.

How can people mistreat their animals? Neglect and ignorance is just... ARG. BEYOND infuriating for me. I've just seen some family friends on facebook have had to have their cat put down. I'll explain the story.

Daughter 2 gives daughter 3 a cat (Smokey) for birthday/xmas/gift. Woo kitty.

Problem 1; they don't have a cat carrier.
Problem 2; no insurance.
Problem 3; household with very limited money.

Now, this all becomes a big issue when Smokey gets what appears to be a UTI. (Urinary Tract Infection) which affects about 1% of the cat population, which is actually fairly big. So no big deal... however Smokey is obviously uncomfortable and keeps weeing around their house. They still put off the vets as they have no carrier and they wanted to "see how he goes".

Eventually when Smokey is pretty much crying in pain, sleeping all the time and weeing everywhere constantly, they get a cardboard carrier from pets at home, and then take him in. Complain at the cost, find out he has a UTI, didn't want to pay for blood tests, but reluctantly did and found out he has FeLV (Feline Leukemia) which is fatal and uncomfortable and the Smokey has had to be put to sleep.

ALL of this could have been avoided, poor Smokey wouldn't have had to suffer if they had bothered to get the kitten the 'recommended' BOG STANDARD injections which prevent FeLV (as welll as many other illness').

I'm so sick of seeing people do things such as not insure their animals when they most certainly don't have the funds to be able to pay out for an incident like this. Or even pay for the preventative medicine... Most insurance is around £5-20 a month, depending on what type. That's like a bag of tobacco, or 4-8 cans of beer I'm sure EVERYONE who takes on the responsibility of getting a pet can afford that at least.

Neglect and ignorance is the same as abuse. No excuses. These people shouldn't have pets. :'(

 

[chksbak]

that kind of thing gets me too. pets should not be giving as gifts. pets are a cost and at times a burden. and some people are not ready for all they can bring. i used to have a chocolate lab that some how came down with diabetes not a real cheap problem.

 

[Pedro]

Most people don't think the worst can happen when they buy a pet. I know I don't. That is the last thing to cross my mind. I don't have pet insurance either, however the first sign of something wrong it's off to the Vet we go. I can take my dog to the Vets & it never costs me more than $100 unless there are more tests involved.

It also seems that the person that bred the kittens should have taken them to the Vets to get a health check before they were sold. I don't think the family that bought the kitten is entirely to blame, I have had cats & dogs that never saw the inside of a vet clinic until old age caught up with them & their quality of life wasn't good so had to be put to sleep.

 

[Mayden]

Most people don't think the worst can happen when they buy a pet. I know I don't. That is the last thing to cross my mind. I don't have pet insurance either, however the first sign of something wrong it's off to the Vet we go. I can take my dog to the Vets & it never costs me more than $100 unless there are more tests involved.

It also seems that the person that bred the kittens should have taken them to the Vets to get a health check before they were sold. I don't think the family that bought the kitten is entirely to blame, I have had cats & dogs that never saw the inside of a vet clinic until old age caught up with them & their quality of life wasn't good so had to be put to sleep.

I think it's incredibly irresponsible and neglectful for this family to do this. Not everyone "needs" insurance. I don't have Merlin insured yet as I have plenty of money "away" in case anything happens to him, Annie or any of my budgies. But I have that money, which most do not. I don't know if things are different in America (regarding vaccination needs etc) but a yearly vet visit is needed with cats and dogs to get their booster injections to prevent them from getting all sorts, from FeLV, chlamydia, Feline Aids, etc.

When you have a child, you get insurance for them (unless you're NHS covered, but that's UK only), put preventatives in place (in the form of vaccines, etc) and you make sure you have money aside 'in case of emergencies'. Why wouldn't you do the same for your animal? They're both unable to look after themselves, they need you to help them. Not leave them to get all sorts of illnesses and then be unable to help them because you can't afford X amount of money, or didn't get the preventatives.

 

[Lukask]

FIV happens though. I had a cat that I had to put down because of it. There honestly was nothing I could do but give her the best life that I could for that short amount of time...

I have a good story to add to this though that did make me angry. I work PT at a grocery store. I was ringing up this woman who was buying a LOT of Fancy Feast cat food due to is being on sale.

Me: Aw, you must spoil you'r cat! You have just one?
Her: Ummm, no, I actually dont have a cat.
Me: *Eyeballing the cat food.*
Her: I have a dog that I am trying to spoil. She's in a bit of pain...
Me: Aww! Poor thing!
Her: Yeah. She got hit by a car and dislocated her back leg 3 days ago. We cant afford dog food or a vet so we are trying to spoil her with some of this instead...
Me: ..........

 

[BillsBirds]

I know what you mean. I spent much of my life working for the SPCA, and saw this over & over again. I used to be on here as Teakwood Bird House. But, computer problems led to a new email, and I couldn't remember my password. My password couldn't be emailed to me because my new email is not the registered one. The reason that I am telling this story is because anyone who remembers me as Teakwood Bird House, will remember what an activist I am about this sort of thing. No matter what we say or do, people will always look at pets as expendable possessions, here to enhance their own lives. Not considering the life of the poor creatures.

 

[Pedro]

We are not talking about children here we are talking about a kitten some poor kid bought her sister. Yes i do understand where your coming from, I am just saying. Yes it's frustrating but if this kitten was healthy would you be so upset.

Sorry if my statement upset you but i was just looking at the big picture.

What's more i had the same sort of experience but with a young girl & her bird expected to have PBFD the poor girl was beside herself with worry & just couldn't afford the cost of the Test, I had only met this person online & took it upon myself to help so i sent the $250 to this girls Vet so the test could be done. Thank goodness the tests came back negetive. You ask youself why would I do this because of all the other so called pet lovers coming down on this poor girl because she couldn't afford the tests & absolutely loved her bird. They were so cruel to her.

 

[suebee]

i think the main thing that has upset me, was the time issue, the cat suffered longer then it needed to, if they had got it to the vets earlier, it would had been the same out come but suffered less.

yes they should have had it vacinated, but in the end they did the right thing, they could have tossed it out on a road somewhere an said it ran away, thus lengthening its suffering, but there ignorance has cost them more in the long run and they would learn from this, and when daughter grows up, she will know to do the right thing.

 

[roxynoodle]

I don't think a lot of people consider vet care when they consider a pet. They think with a kitty they will only need cat food (and there are some very cheap cat foods out there like Meow Mix) and litter. The big picture is that vet bills will probably eventually cost more than even an expensive animal.

I admit I don't have pet insurance either, and just deal with the costs as they come up out of savings. I guess I look at it the same as other unexpected costs like suddenly needing a new refrigerator or lawn tractor.

However, I have had enough animals for a long enough amount of time to know when something is a vet emergency and when something can be dealt with at home. The moment my kitty begins showing signs of UTI, she is at the vet. Hey, you can probably borrow a carrier if you need to.

I do get upset hearing about people not being able to properly care for their animals. On the other hand, I wonder if at least some of them are better off with a family than in a shelter for what could be life. Sure in the shelter it would get vet care, but also be locked up in a little cage or kennel with little human interaction. I have been grappling with which is the worse evil.

 

[cockatielfan17]

yes pedro i know exactly how u feel honesty if a person cant afford tests and such. people shouldnt hate or be cruel but the people u told us about seemed they didnt even care they even said "we will wait and see what happens" (..not exactly what they said...) that shows they are neglecting there cat and they are irresponsible if they couldnt afford vet treatment forr the cat why get one in the first place

 

[Pedro]

Yes I do agree suebee. The poor little thing.

Sometimes instead of criticizing people for their short comings why not lend a helping hand. Some people really do need it.

 

[Pedro]

I think along the same line as you Roxynoodle.

 

[roxynoodle]

And then there is this, which is the opposite of how I feel, but some people feel like the vet care should not cost as much as or more than the animal because they don't see it as being on the same level as humans. So if the $20 budgie or free cat gets sick, they think, I'll just get another if it dies. And those people think someone like me who puts my animals at the same level as people is a nut. But, I can't help myself. I think all life is precious (except for maybe misquitoes and flies), and I do have very close, emotional relationships with my animals. 2 months after the fact, I'm still grieving quite a bit over my BC conure. It's how I am.

If I'm going to be honest, all of my animals have treated me 100% better then any of the men that I've dated, or my ex husband. That's why they are ex's! I dunno, ever since I was a tiny child, I've been very emotionally and mentally connected to my animals. I don't hate people. I was a math teacher for 19 years. I work well with teenagers, too. They loved me as well

And if every animal in a shelter could be provided a home with at least one human or family, might they not be better off, provided of course they weren't abused? Maybe some wouldn't live as long as they could, but if they had happy lives, that might be something.

 

[MikeyTN]

The sister got it for her younger sister. Yes its wrong to not provide adequate care when the cat needs it obviously but the parents did pay for the test for their daughter. To me its just sad but I see nothing wrong with them wanting to have a pet even if they're poor. As long as they're not abusing there's nothing wrong with that. But I wish more places would have a system at the local shelter that helps the poor family that was unable to pay high cost to give free spay and neuter. Plus shots at a low cost.

 

[Remy]

Poor kitty! It's so sad that it had to suffer so much! I am of the firm belief that if you absolutely can't afford a pet, don't get one!

Although, the fact is that many vets will treat now, and let you pay it off. I have a very poor friend. Her chihuahua ate a used tampon (gross) and it got all twisted in her insides. The vets did the surgery, which she couldn't afford, and then let her pay it off in small payments over a long period of time. They even let her buy food from them and put it on her bill.

I knew another girl who had way too many cats, but somehow managed to take care of them all, and provide adequate vet care, even when she couldn't take herself to the doctor when she was really sick.

Last time I took Puck to the vet (I thought something was wrong, but he it turned out that was just being a weirdo), I didn't have the money with me, so they let me pay it later. No rush or anything. If the bill had been expensive, I'm sure she would have let me do it in payments.

Another fact: In many cases, taking the animal (or human) to the vet sooner, rather than later, costs less money than if you wait.

 

[roxynoodle]

I also understand poor people wanting a pet, too. I also would like to see more free or low cost spay/neuter and vaccines offered. I do my own horse and cat vaccines. And it does save me money. I especially needed to do that during all those years people were constantly dropping off unwanted cats and kittens. One really bad summer, I got 30 of them. Just feeding them was expensive! I managed to find homes for 20, whew!

And some of it is luck of the draw. 2 of my 3 dogs had relatively few health issues until the very end of their lives. Another of my dogs cost me a small fortune throughout his life. I don't want to know what I spent on him All of those cats I've had also had relatively few vet emergencies, but my current house cat has been rather expensive this past year.

So yes, you can own a dog or cat and not have huge vet bills, or you can get one that does require it. Sometimes I go long periods of time without a major expense with my horses, but then I can get hit hard if something does happen. I had brought home a rescue horse whose hooves were weak. She split one a good 1/6 completely off! That was a long recovery, many visits by the vet and farrier and well over $1000 in bills almost 20 years ago. It would surely cost more now.

 

[echoskybound]

My mom owns a dog walking business, and through it I've seen a lot of neglected pets from owners who would have never guessed they were mistreating their own pets. I've met a beagle who was never let out of the kennel and never ran in her life, I've seen an elderly retriever who was only given half a cup of water a day to prevent her from peeing in the house, etc. The sad thing is... these owners love their dogs. They don't understand what the dog needs.

I remember being very angry at my ex-boyfriends family about 5 years ago. They criticized me for taking my mouse to the vet for an illness. The vet was wonderful and did tests and gave me antibiotics. My ex's family, however, though I was out of my mind for paying for a $50 vet appointment for a $2 mouse. My mouse recovered and lived a healthy life.. but they wouldn't leave me alone about how I wasted my money. They would have gladly paid that to take their fluffy little toy poodle to the vet.

The COST of the animal does not reflect the VALUE of their life.

 

[roxynoodle]

Shows you, too, how far veterinary care has come. When I was a kid, vets couldn't do much for little rodents or reptiles. I can think of many guinea pigs we took to the vet and they died. I'm glad they could save your mouse, echoskybound! I totally agree with what you're saying, too. But, many people are going to see animals as property rather than a living being who has value.

2 of my current birds and my cat were "free". They will always receive quality vet care because to me they are companions I share my life with. I guess you could say my conure's last vet bill cost more than she did, but that doesn't matter to me. Some probably would hear that and say, "Hey, it lived 12 years, that's pretty good. If it dies, get another." But, Rowdy is one of my best friends, not property. To me they are priceless.

I remember losing a 30 year old horse early in the morning back in 98. I had to call off work because I was just too upset to go. The secretary told me, "A horse is not a family member." I had to say, "I know some are going to feel that way, but for me it is." She finally agreed to give me a "personal day", thankfully.

 

[ann]

i know how you feel, sometimes i fel the same with class pets, at my school, after we have had it for a month or two r the end of the year, they picked a name out of a hat to see who gets to keep it . my cousin got to take his class frogs home and they hardly change his water its filthy, i always tell them to clean it but they hardly do. also the crayfish they got from school laid eggs, and they did nothing and the hatchlings died . i love my cousins to death but they need to take better care of their pets. sorry for ranting on like that...people have to realize pets are not disposable toys. its especially sad around easter when people get bunnies or chicks and suddenly that chick becomes a rooster or chicken and they dont think its cute anymore...sorry again...sorry to hear about their cat, read my signiture, my beleifs in vet care are all there, i miss maxie so terribly, maybe people can learn from others mistakes (mine included).

 

[roxynoodle]

As a kid, I had a crayfish who laid eggs, too. My mom was not thrilled to find out we suddenly had about 50 of them, lol! They almost all lived though, but it was hard to find homes for so many. Of course I had no idea that "Herbie" was a pregnant female when I got her. We were probably lucky to place them all.