Why? Cat vs Dog

Why is it that people think a dog is more deserving of medical care than a cat? I know this is not the whole of the population, but I've even seen it in my own family. My sister Natalie spent $10,000 trying to keep her Great Dane alive - he got bloat, they had the surgery, he was in ICU, and then afterwards he bloated again and they euthanized him - but when her cat was sick (which she's somehow now better), she said, "oh well she's old. We're not going to go into debt over a cat."

WHAT?!?!? Why is a cat less deserving of medical care? I don't understand the mentality. A cat is sick, they just let him/her go down the tubes, but God forbid you let the dog go down the tubes. "We'll just let our cat go at home." But not the dog. Is it size? What is this? I don't understand!!!

I'm with ya hun, I don't get it either. My Mom is the same way. She has 2 cats, who she will care for, but her dog is her BABY. She spent a fortune on surgery for a torn ligiment in her leg, but with the cats I have to BEG her to take them to a vet if something's wrong.

I feel the same way. I see that everywhere and it makes me sad. I respect and love dogs but I don't have any, my cat's wouldn't agree.
I have no words to describe how much I love cats. I can't be far from them.

I can't understand why people blame cats for health problems they may cause to people when to the best of my knowledge a dog is much worse.

Then they say cats are treacherous, I've lived with innumerable cats all my life and they are so absolutely loyal.

Do you know what's better? Growing up with a father who would wait until I was extremely sick to let me have any medical care, because he didn't want to spend the money on it. I had an incident with a stuck gallstone when I was 17 and was quite sick from it, he had insurance at that time. I could have had surgery and been saved years of being sick from a bad gallbladder... but I wasn't worth the money. He's a bit better now, but he still doesn't really believe that medical care for anything is worth the cost.. yet regularly goes to the casino.

Some people are just cheap and selfish. Others believe the "just a cat" thing because they think cats are tougher or something.

My vet seems generally surprised I've went through so much trouble with the kittens so far - though there's always a lot of great dog owners in there.

Originally Posted by Rod

I respect and love dogs but I don't have any, my cat's wouldn't agree.

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Same here. I saw the cutest scottish terrier puppy at the vet the other week - I want one now! But the cats would likely get violent. Oh well, they were here first. It's their house.

I had a lot of allergy problems growing up, so whenever I was sick with anything else - be it a cold to pneumonia to a broken foot - my mom would think I was being a hypochondriac and would wait until the last possible minute to get me medical care so I know where you're coming from.

As for dogs, my husband doesn't believe in indoor dogs and I don't believe in outdoor dogs. Especially up here. At least 6 months of winter and the rest of it blazing hot. What a horrible climate for a dog to live in, not to mention the lack of socialization and interaction that they need.

I've got both a dog and a cat, and, although they both get the necessary veterinary care, I might be ever so slightly quicker to get the CAT to the vet than I am the dog. The second something is wrong with my cat, I'm on the phone. The dog? I'm willing to wait a day or two and see how she is.

Barring anything extreme (like bloat), it seems to me that cats can go downhill a whole lot quicker than dogs.

I totally agree Laylacat. By the time a cat is showing symptoms of something wrong, it usually means something very wrong is wrong, because they are notorious for hiding ailments.

Bloat is life threatening, very serious, and treatment is required ASAP. I am glad your sister got her much loved pet the care that was needed in that situation. Not everyone would do that even, what a good Dane owner. I am sorry to hear her Dane passed despite her best efforts, her heart must really be hurting.
There are even more people with smaller animals such as reptiles or small rodents that are unwilling.

I spent around $5,000 on my chinchilla Chloe for her teeth problems and other medical issues... she ended up passing away anyways. Would I do it again? Absolutely.

My family didn't understand and they still don't, they would say things like it's just a rodent but she was my BABY and losing her was extremely traumatic. It was a year ago and I'm still not okay about it or "over it".

I hate it when people say things like, "It's just a rodent", or "it's just a cat". It drives me crazy. These are our furry kids! Humans have hurt me, betrayed me and done horrible things to me, my animals never have and my animals have always been here for me unlike most people in my life.

I think it just depends on if they are cat people or dog people. There are some who won't spend money on either. Just depends on the people and the situation. I love my cats dearly and make every effort to give them needed medical care and love. However there is a line to be drawn in our household. When the prognosis is not good we really think long and hard. In other words when one of our cats gets to the stage that it is only comfort care and nothing better is in store for the cat, we don't prolong their life just for our own benefit. It is always a hard decision.

In my neck of the woods, and in fact I work with plenty, people just don't seem to care about cats. They are somehow less than. I never understood it either, but the general idea around here is, I'm not spending more than a hundred bucks on a sick animal. Only one guy I Work with is a cat lover and he's a sweetie pie, but the other ones are the "old fashion" types, like farmers, who take it upon themselves when an animal is sick, if you unfortunately know what I mean. I just don't get people. My parents raised me to be caring towards animals, but even they would want to hold on tight to their money if one of our animals got sick. I have to admit they did what they were supposed to do, though.
One thing I can't stand is when men around here joke about sick animals, and when they discovered Feline HIV, they were so struck by it that they couldn't stop talking about it, and even make jokes about that. Some people just don't understand.

One is being converted though, his wife brought home a 1 year old siamese cat, female, and guess who the cat is clinging to now? The man! Hahaha! That's his "buddy" and tells him when to go to sleep. So I think maybe it's more just... not having cats through their lives, not understanding what it means to have a friend and companion like that. And some are just evil and selfish.

The thing is though with my sister - kudos to her for taking the dane in and getting him treated - but her cat is only 7. That's really not THAT old when it comes to a cat.

But then she took her other great dane (not the one who passed away from bloat) in for all sorts of blood panels, etc.,. because she had arthritis, and she was 9. I'm sorry but 9 in a great dane is very old. And in comparison to a cat that's 7, well 7 is about middle aged, isn't it?

I do agree that what you're willing to spend and what you're willing to put an animal through is important. And to discuss it if you're in a committed relationship. My husband and I have decided if one of our cats had cancer we would not put them through chemo, and we would try and just keep them as comfortable as the time comes. However, if they had diabetes, we would definitely take them in for treatment and give them their daily meds. We haven't made all the decisions ahead of time so far, but quite a few. We learned from Linus that we needed to talk about this sort of thing, and plan, and we're looking into pet insurance for Mandarin since he is the older of our two kitties. Back to the matter of medical care. It's a matter of severity of disease, quality of life, etc.,. not the species when it comes to my husband and I. Like he has no problems dropping money if one of the cats have an eye infection - Mandarin has herpes and Majel might have it seeing as she had one eye infection this year - which is good. That's how it should be. You don't just let a cat's eye deteroriate or put them to sleep just because of an eye.

It just made me mad about my sister Natalie because she called me up and said her cat had been sick for four months and that she was just going to let her go if it was her time, and she wasn't going to spend any money on getting her better, because she wasn't going to go into debt over a cat.

The key words that rubbed me the wrong way were "over a cat". It's okay to do it over a dog, but not a cat? Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaar...

It just doesn't make sense to me that one would choose a certain species over an other for treatment. It should be severity, chronic matters, and many other things put into consideration before what breed or species it is.

At 7 a Dane is old, it's about average life expectancy since big dogs don't last as long as small one. Paul's chihuahua/ jack russel mix was at least 17 when she was put down, My Old English Sheepdog Abby was old 11 1/2 when she was put to sleep. If your sister is only used to big dogs then she might think 7 is old for a cat but if she's willing to put so much money into a Dane that is 2 years past it's average survival and nothing into an 'old' cat, who isn't old at all then she has issues.

People in rural communities do deal with sick animals in their own way, but it does save the animals from suffering so in a way it's a lot better than people having a sick animal and forcing it to live in misery until it's finally 'lucky' enough to die. It's mostly older people raised om farms that do this. That is how you dealt with a sick animal back in the day, unless it was livestock or your best prized(aka can't afford a new one as good as this one) herding/ hunting dog it wasn't worth spending the money. I can understand that, is it right? Hell no, but you could always get a new cat to be a mouser, less worthy herding dogs can be replaced and so can lesser hunting dogs. Like I said I can understand older people(60+) doing this but there is no excuse for a younger person to. It's not right but it was how they were raised and most don't even think about it being animal cruelty. As I said in a way it isn't they don't have to suffer like animals that are sick, and won't be taken to the vet. In the lesser of 2 evils of an animal not receiving vet care shooting it is better than just letting it suffer. Older people know how to deliver a painless kill shot, they have had enough experience if they have worked a farm, not to mention they tend to have good aim.

Taryn

Originally Posted by Taryn

People in rural communities do deal with sick animals in their own way, but it does save the animals from suffering so in a way it's a lot better than people having a sick animal and forcing it to live in misery until it's finally 'lucky' enough to die.

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Prevailing attitude here is that a cat will go off and die on it's own when it's ready.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Prevailing attitude here is that a cat will go off and die on it's own when it's ready.

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Yeah, I've heard that one too. It's crappy and unfair to the animal to make it wait until it's 'lucky' enough to finally die.

If it was me suffering a long painful death or ending it with a well placed shot to my head or brain stem I'd take the shot.

Like I said it isn't right but it's honestly the lesser of 2 evils.

Taryn

Originally Posted by LadyHitchhiker

Why is it that people think a dog is more deserving of medical care than a cat? I know this is not the whole of the population, but I've even seen it in my own family. My sister Natalie spent $10,000 trying to keep her Great Dane alive - he got bloat, they had the surgery, he was in ICU, and then afterwards he bloated again and they euthanized him - but when her cat was sick (which she's somehow now better), she said, "oh well she's old. We're not going to go into debt over a cat."

WHAT?!?!? Why is a cat less deserving of medical care? I don't understand the mentality. A cat is sick, they just let him/her go down the tubes, but God forbid you let the dog go down the tubes. "We'll just let our cat go at home." But not the dog. Is it size? What is this? I don't understand!!!

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Most people consider that dogs are more loyal. Even some people also think that dogs are best friend and respond quickly. But, I don't believe in this comparison. Cat lovers shouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t be too discouraged.

Most people consider that dogs are more loyal. Even some people also think that dogs are best friend and respond quickly. But, I don't believe in this comparison. Cat lovers shouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t be too discouraged.

I think part of it is that people think you can get a cat anywhere since there are so many runni.g around freely- that is what i read in a animal magazine. There are organizations which advocate health care for cats but I dont recall the names. I personally wouldn't differentiate between my cats and dog. Heck I used to hate cats but took in one until my sil found a home for him. Well be did...mine. I fell in love with him and now I have two.

There are many species we choose over another. Rabbits, birds, gerbils, rats are juat some of the pets people dont want to spend money on. If you eat meat or wear leather or have leather furniture or wear fur, you have chosen one species over another.

At the clinic where I work, I see so many people spend tons of money on their cats. But I must say, that more cats do get euthanized because the owner doesn't want or doesn't have the money. With dogs, they find a way to get the money. Hopefully, this will change.

I think its "Value". People generally put more money into "adopting" or "purchasing" dogs than they do cats. A great Dane must cost a lot of money from a breeder?

I think its a case of "I spent X amount on my dog, I am not going to let that money go to waste!" while you can almost usually get a cat for free, thus making the cat more 'replaceable' than dogs.

I kinda noticed this with my parents. When they purchased pure-bred dogs from breeders, they tend to take the dogs to the vet more over every little thing, and willingly forked the money over. But once they adopted a mutt from the shelter with next to nothing, they really didn't take the dog to the vet, barely routine checkup either. Thankfully, thus far, the mutt didn't have any emergencies.

I'd do anything for my cat. Once he stepped on a razor blade in my tub, I immediately ran him to the vet for treatment and paid the money without second thought. I'd do the same for a dog if I had one too.

I do agree that ALOT of people unfortunately have these feelings about dogs vs. cats and have made comments to me over the years about the money I spend on my cats for medical care. And these are the ones who have dogs in which they have spent thousands of dollars for surgeries, treatments, tests, etc. But have told me "well, the cat is old and they are a dime a dozen, just do away with it" or "there are so many other cats, you can just get another one" or "it's just a cat, why are you so upset?" . I do not associate with those people anymore. Family or not, I just cannot tolerate it.