Can I truly care for this animal links ... Small RANT

I have noted a BIG amount of folks saying I CANNOT afford the vet... All of us have $$ issues but when you take on an animal YOU will HAVE to sacrafice so it is properly cared for ... For most cats this means 1-2 vet checks per yr for cats 1-7 yrs old... For kittens you likely will be at the vet 6 times that first year... for older cats without issues 2-3 times a yr , those with chronic issues( common ) it could mean monthly visits ...

I use this rule of thumb would I take a human child to the dr for this ??? if yes then I call the vet ...

If your vet changes too much call around... Lower price often does not = lower quality care

these links all have VALUABLE advise and can be found in the stickies of this forum

http://www.thecatsite.com/Health/76/...erinarian.html

http://www.peteducation.com//article...articleid=2896

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22260

I have seen so many people letting Pets die and not even trying to get help. It makes me mad also.

Their medical care is only the tip of the iceberg...one has to consider the cost of good quality food.....cost of litter...time to clean their litter...time to play, time to discipline, time to teach...that all takes energy and after a full day's work...not everyone has energy left over. Then there are the transportation issues...of getting their food, taking them to the Vet......

Pets are a responsibility not to be taken lightly. I admire those who take in strays and abandoned animals.....fortunately around here...we never see stray cats or dogs.....I would love to have dozens of cats....but I know that I have neither the room, nor the funds to properly take care of them.

That is so true is a lifetime commitment, I have 2 jobs, half of one paycheck goes for the cats.... and I think I give them the best I can from where I am, a place without many resources....nor proper vet for pets...

We always put the Cats first. We spent over 2000 on the two I lost. Our Care Credit went over the limit. I will always put the Cats first no matter what.

When I first got Tiny I couldn't afford him. All I could think, though, was that he was a stray and worse off than I was; so what was I to do? I tried to find him another home, but I had no luck, and so he stayed... I used a low-cost neuter program; I gave him the bare minimum in vaccines; I feed him a mid-tier food that's as good as I can find for the price... There are probably people like me out there, who saw a cat that was worse off than they were, and figured that they would just have to find the money somehow. So far, I've found the money not just for Tiny but for his companion, who used to be a neighbor's badly neglected cat, and for Christy, whose expenses are mostly paid by her shelter. But if I hadn't been lucky--if my disability payments hadn't come through less than a month after I was fired from my latest job for not "being able to do the work"--then we might have been in trouble. As it was, I maxed out my credit card (though it wasn't a high limit)...

Thing is, sometimes you really can't afford a cat, and can't help taking one in anyway, because that can just plain needs help and the people who can help better than you can won't do it.

This thread is making me feel horrible, because when our senior cat got diabetes we took her to the vet to get euthanized, and when they didn't, we got the shelter to...

Ahh, okay. If something is seriously wrong, I agree, you need to treat it.
btw: she was 12

Many people don't know about low cost clinics or care credit, so I don't think it's that unreasonable for people to come onto a cat site and ask what they can do.

If they really didn't care about the animal they wouldn't come on here at all.

I see people ask for help though and then dont listen and never go to the Vet after we say the Cat will die.

People (not on here) have already told me that I should give my kittens back to the breeder because of their URI (they are doing well, still sneezy though - may need a stronger antibiotic) and sick bellies and who knows what is wrong with Pixel, and they need shots and speutered and everything else. They are like "Take them back, you didn't ask for sick kitties and you don't have any money."

Well screw them, those kittens are ours now! I admit, now was probably not the best time to purchase purebred kittens, and then we had the bad luck of them turning out to be ill and having weird issues, but we love them. If that means no luxuries while they are little and some credit card debt, then I will take it. I can give them a happy, healthy home with high quality foods - especially when I don't have to make so many vet visits (like after they are a bit older). For now, I'll just do without.

People make me mad. If something happened to my babies, I would be at the vet right away.

I would say that about 1/3 of my DH's salary goes toward paying for the pets in our household. If one of us were to lose our job, we'd be cancelling a lot of services like cell phones, reduce our internet speed, eat cheaper food, etc, so that we could care for our kids.

They are kids. Would you even dream of letting a child get sick enough to die without proper medical care?

While I love my cats, I do NOT consider them my kids,nor will
I ever. To me its comparing apples to oranges...not the same
in a million years. I believe you(anyone)should take care of
illnesses and basic care of any animal you have. We are on a
farm and have lots of animals besides cats to take care of. As
adults,my cats go to the vet once a year unless sick...which
I've never had a inside cat get sick yet(keeping my fingers
crossed there...).
If my cat had an illness(or any of my farm animals)and the vet
said it would cost $1,000(lets say) to fix them up, I would not
do it. Sorry. I would spend whatever it takes on my children.
End of story for me.
I think any pet owner needs to take care of basic vet work and
care for their pets but I don't think there is anything wrong with
someone not willing to spend huge amounts on their pet.
Some people would be willing to, but not me. And that doesn't mean
I don't love my pet.
As far as asking advice on this site, yes, if the owner didn't care,they
wouldn't be on here. I think mild everyday problems with cats can be
discussed here. Obviously there is a point where they need to go to the
vet instead. Thankfully no one (that I've seen ) has come on this site and
said"My cats not breathing,what should I do......"

Originally Posted by laureen227

actually, i've seen posts very similar to that... always followed by "i can't afford to go to the vet"...

Click to expand...

Yup. I've been here about 5 years and see those types of posts all the time.