A personal observation

Many people come on here looking for answers to problems that in the end result of taking their precious cat to the vet. Their cat is very precious to them. They do not have the money to take their cats to the vet, it is quite obvious from the posts I am reading. I think in a lot of cases, when people come on here seeking help, they do not want to be told to take their cat to a vet. That would be a simple solution if they could afford it. If they could, they probably would have never posted in the first place.

I think this forum could be improved by reducing the number of "take it to the vet" replies. These people mostly are crying out for help because they cannot afford to take their most precious friends to the vet. I wish I could help all of these cryings for help with monetary solutions. And if anbody PMs me, I will do what I can to help.

But perhaps we can come up with more innovative solutions than "take your cat to the vet" when the whole reason they are crying out for help is because they cannot.

Sure, sometimes we must take our cats to the vet. But that is not what the vast majority of people that come onto this forum are wanting.

I completely 100% agree with you. Its very fustrating when you need answers and all you hear is go to the vet. Not all of us have the resources to run to the vet everytime an animal sneezes funny. Personally i dont have the money to take myself to the vet when i need to go, but I do my best to care for my furbabies as i would a real child. Everyone of us, i am sure came here looking for answers to a question or two and hearing take em to the vet everytime leaves you or at least it did me, with a bad taste in my mouth, like why did i even freakin bother? Now dont get me wrong, i enjoy talking to everyone and would love to actually make friends here, but its hard when every answer seams so out of reach financially.

Think about this, what if one piece of your advice saved someones kitten in the instance that they couldnt for one reason or another get to the vet? Would that be worth the extra time and thought you put into your post? What if you had an emergency and couldnt get to a vet, would you want the only advice given to be, go to the vet? I doubt it.

I am sorry, but I disagree.

"Your cat needs to go to the vet" is really the only advice anyone here is qualified to give.
As much as it may sound heartless, it is the only advice until a diagnosis by a qualified vet has been done.

I would really hate to think that someone out there took someone's well meant advice and their cat died anyway, or even as a result.

There are ALWAYS ways around the financial obsticle, trust me, I haven't worked since 1999 and yet I have always managed to care for my pets even in emergencies, sometimes going without much needed things myself in order to do so.

As much as all of us loves cats sometimes a cat NEEDS to be seen by a vet. I trust the opinions of the people on this site so if they told me to go to the vet I would go to the vet. I don't think it sounds heartless at all if it's the honest truth.

Originally Posted by blondrebel76

Think about this, what if one piece of your advice saved someones kitten

Click to expand...

And what if someone gave some advice in an emergency, but that advice was wrong which resulted in the kitten/cat dying?. Then the member came back on and said " X told me do do this! ".

Bottomline is no one here is qualified, so to get a proper diagnosis a vet is the answer, and if it's financial problems then theres low cost clinics along with some surgery's doing payment plans.

The sad thing is these new people look up to y'all( i say y'all because btw i know people here dont look up to me, or like me, thats why i stick around, to give everyone someone to gripe about. I thought about leaving but that would make things to easy!) for advice and what they get for joining the site is no help just take it to the vet, dur they probably already thought of that.


And i see that i didnt make the suggestion, i just went with my feeling and i am the one being attacked for what i said. Its my feelings about it, so deal.

Before this gets into an IMO debate i'll close the thread but end it with rule number 1 of the forum rules.

1. No online advice can replace direct veterinary intervention. If you suspect that your cat may be ill, please contact your vet immediately. You are welcome to look for advice in the health forum while waiting for that appointment, but never delay proper veterinary care waiting for Internet advice. Remember that cats, and especially kittens, are very adept in keeping pain to themselves and delaying treatment may cause irreversible damage.

Just wanted to add that the issue of "can't afford a vet" has been covered in detail by a very talented writer right here -

When You Can't Afford a Veterinarian

And in case this thread comes up in searches when someone is looking for emergency advice, I'll throw in this article as well -
When Your Cat has an Emergency