The shelter told me the cat was sick

I adopted my cat from an animal shelter 5 years ago. The people at the shelter told me that the cat was sick, but they were still giving her up for adoption. I thought "well if the cat was really sick then they would just put her to sleep." And I figured she just needed medication and she'll be fine. Boy was I wrong. It turned out that she had feline calicivirus and dental problems. She needed a deep dental cleaning, teeth removal and antibiotics. Every year I took Pepper for a check up and teeth cleaning where some teeth still had to be removed. She's had a total of 12 teeth removed. It cost thousands of dollars and I am not financially well off. But I love Pepper. She is a sweet, loving cat. I just wish that I knew exactly what I was getting into and that I could afford to continue to help her out. She now has soft tissue sarcoma (malignant tumor). Even though I love my cat and have no regrets in adopting her, I would've thought that with a cat with such poor immune system and health problems that she would've been put to sleep by the shelter instead of adopting her off.

Thank you for adopting this cat. I'm sorry she's sick, but we have the same problem at our shelter. We don't have a vet on staff, and we can't guarantee health. We DO offer a refund if adopters take the cat to a vet and discover the problems are more than they can or want to handle, if they take it to the vet within 3 days.

You have given her 5 years of life that she wouldn't have had if the shelter had put her to sleep. I read your Myspace article, and I would say that if the vets feel there's nothing they can really do for this cancer, the best you can hope for is to make her last days as comfortable as possible, and help her cross the Rainbow Bridge as painlessly as possible when the time comes.

Originally Posted by mrblanche

Thank you for adopting this cat. I'm sorry she's sick, but we have the same problem at our shelter. We don't have a vet on staff, and we can't guarantee health. We DO offer a refund if adopters take the cat to a vet and discover the problems are more than they can or want to handle, if they take it to the vet within 3 days.

You have given her 5 years of life that she wouldn't have had if the shelter had put her to sleep. I read your Myspace article, and I would say that if the vets feel there's nothing they can really do for this cancer, the best you can hope for is to make her last days as comfortable as possible, and help her cross the Rainbow Bridge as painlessly as possible when the time comes.

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If anyone is interested in helping my cat out, then please send me a private message and I'll send you the link.

I didn't know that I could return the cat within three days. But I'm glad I didn't know, because I love my cat. Her sweetness overshadows her health problems and vet bills. I truly enjoy coming home and seeing her waiting for me at the door. She's adorable and a treasure. I will continue to give her love and attention until she passes on.

The truth is any time you take an animal into your home you never know what you will face. I adopted my Jordan at 4 months old, and just after he turned 4 he started having problems. I have spent thousands of dollars on him in the last year. I wouldn't want a penny of it back because he is priceless to me.

That said, a year ago the vet felt it was a strong possibility that Jordan had lymphoma. I struggled with the decision of what to do for him. After much thought, I realized how miserable Jordan would be having to go to the vet all the time for chemo. I made the very difficult decision to keep him comfortable and love him for as much time as we had. I am very lucky because the vet said that it now appears unlikely that he has chemo. My point is that you need to make the decision for your cat, none of us knows your cat the way you do. Even my vet told me, neither decision is better than the other.

Also, as a shelter volunteer I want to commend you for taking care of your cat. Many people would have returned her upon the first problem. Whatever happens know that you gave her the love and comfort that many animals never know!

I also volunteer at and we do have a vet on premises. We still get cats that have unknown illnesses. Sometimes owners do not tell us important things when they relinquish the cats.
I think although Pepper has had issues you have given her a warm loving home and a reason to live.
We try to be as forthright as we can but sometimes there are unfortunate unknowns.