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Elderly man dies of cold exposure rather than let his cats starve

post #1 of 9
3/4/11 at 9:59am
Thread Starter 
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2...aths-neighbors

This article really makes me see how far some people will go for their animals. This lonely old man had nobody close except his 20 - 30 cats, and he chose to keep them fed rather than fix his dilapidated house or spend cat food money on heat for himself. Go ahead, read it without tearing up a bit, I dare you.
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post #2 of 9
3/4/11 at 10:09am
That is sad - poor guy. Most people who horde pets are the same way - would die willingly so long as their animals were happy.

I think most of us are no different, at least I am not...

My pets have always and will always come first. If I adopt a pet - it is not their choice. It is my choice to bring him or her into my world and depend on me, as such I make sure they want for nothing even if it means I am struggling. Why? Because they love us unconditionally. Because they trust us. Because they make us laugh when nothing and no one else can/will. Because they are amazing.
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post #3 of 9
3/4/11 at 10:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rad65 View Post
Go ahead, read it without tearing up a bit, I dare you.
Nope, couldn't do it. What a heartbreaking story. And just because I know there was a poll here recently about whether you like animals more than humans, I think this story relates. We all love our pets, and while they are fabulous companions when we are lonely, sad, even happy... our cats can't pay the heat bill.

I know I am SO lucky, that because of my family, no matter WHAT happens, Holland and I will never be homeless, or lacking for food, or freezing to death. Not everyone is as blessed as I am with a large, living family. Stories like these prove that no matter how much we love animals, no matter how much we may shy away from humans, we still need some sort of human interaction just to survive.

I empathize with John, because perhaps he didn't ask his neighbors for help because he was afraid they would give HIM help, but not his cats. Bless this man for being so kind, so friendly, and so loving to his cats. I hope they are able to find new homes just as good as John gave them.
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post #4 of 9
3/4/11 at 1:56pm
Oh my that is heartbreaking...not even sure if that is a strong enough word!! I would probably do the same for my babies too. I'm glad at the end of the article they included how the one neighbor is working to find homes for his kitties. I can't imagine how terribly guilty I would feel if I had been his neighbor but didn't see what was going on. Maybe he hid it well; but still ya know?
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post #5 of 9
3/4/11 at 2:03pm
Quote:
Now, since Pietraszek's death, Hyzny has been feeding the cats, searching for homes for the friendlier ones and shooing away the strays.

"They were his companions and his confidants. The only family he had, really," she said. "My main goal is to do for John what he would have wanted: making sure that the cats are OK."
Shooing away the strays?

I have mixed feelings. On one hand, this is the unfortunate tragedy of an alienated man who tried to do some good. On the other hand, he didn't reach out for help when he clearly needed it.
Now his cats are without him.
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post #6 of 9
3/4/11 at 2:24pm
Wow he was a great man, he really loved his cats. It's to bad such a good person like him died.
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post #7 of 9
3/4/11 at 7:02pm
I dunno, this is more just sad to me, and an example of an unhealthy attitude based on good intentions.

Fact is, there are and likely always will be (since cats are such successful and prolific breeders) more cats than there are people to care for them, and if you don't take care of yourself first and foremost, then you can't take care of any cats properly or in this case at all. If you only have the funds for one or two cats, then thats all you have.

Having just gotten off a plane a few hours ago, the typical instructions "please affix your own oxygen mask first before attending to your child" would apply here.
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post #8 of 9
3/4/11 at 7:30pm
Having met a few people like that, I can tell you it wasn't about the cats. He probably had plenty of money put away (as the article pointed out, he ate out every morning, subscribed to the newspaper, and paid his taxes in full), he just didn't want to have the gas turned on for some reason.

While it makes a nice touching news story to paint him as someone who froze to death in order to feed the poor kitties, it's likely that would have happened even if there were no cats at all. I know people who have no pets at all, but live in one room of a run-down, boarded-up house in a bad area, with no hot running water and no heat except a newspaper burning stove, eating nothing but oatmeal and hot dogs, with money in the bank! Who knows why people do these things? Probably a mental disorder.
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post #9 of 9
3/13/11 at 6:32pm
What a sad story!

Still, I can understand his desire and need to make sure "his" cats were taken care of even at the expense of his own self. Animals don't understand. They look to us for food, shelter and love. If you take that away, they don't understand.

When I was on Long Term Disability, my funds were really tight. There were weeks where I ate only rice because my money for the month had run out. But I always made sure that my cats had food, litter and vet care, even if it meant my having to go without groceries to do it.

I don't have children and I consider my cats my family. So just like someone with kids wouldn't throw them out in the street if they didn't have enough money to feed/cloth them, I would never dream of doing that to my "children", my cats.
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