In a different thread, this was asked: Which is priority, yourself or your cats?

snake_lady

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Here's the quote, I didn't want to lose a good discussion topic.

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

Speaking of cats, does anyone else go without necessities in order to make sure their cats have what they need? To me it's just logical for me to make sure they have even if I don't. I know some will think I'm crazy for putting my cats needs above my own, but I consider my cats my kids and I think any parent would put their kids ahead of themselves.
You raised a question, about animals coming first as opposed to ourselves and that is something I've had to think about a lot as of lately.
My income is menial, and thanks to my (ex) I have legal fees out the wazoo. Without getting into a sidetracked discussion, Legal Aid only helps by paying the legal costs right now, once the house sells then I have to pay them back if I have any money left once all the penalties are paid, etc. I didn't touch my RRSP as it would have cost me around $750 to withdrawal the $1500 I needed for that lump sum payment, so I ended up putting it on a credit card with the hopes of paying off as much as I can before the interest rates go up. (I got some very low interest cheques and used one... am going to have to use another one).

So all my income is from partial WSIB and a small amount of child support from my oldest daughters father. My ex is paying the mortgage and costs related to the house, so right now, I have a roof over my and my girls heads. The income I do get has to go towards gas, childrens expenses, groceries, and bills. I've been feeding my family on under $20/wk for the last 4-5wks.

Thankfully I have not needed to buy cat food as when I do buy dry, it lasts 3-4mos. But the bin is now about 1/4 full so it is something I've been thinking about. All the cats are overdue for their checkups/booster shots right now (they were due the beginning of the year, but I was waiting because one of em was due the end of summer and I was going to take them all at once to save some money).

Their dry food costs about $100 but that lasts 3-4mos and I buy cheap wet food (friskies or fancy feast).
The vet will be $300ish.

What it all boils down to for me, is who needs what more. The cats don't "need" the vet appointment as they are indoor only, have had their first full sets of shots (but I like to do the first full sets, then 1 more....then I don't usually take them in....that's my personal standpoint on immunizations) so I am not thinking about the vet visit.

Their food.
If I had to choose between spending $20 on food for the cats or food for me, I would choose the cats.
If I had to choose between food for my children or food for my cats, I would choose my children.

If I had to choose between my medications and food for the cats, I would choose my medications.
Without my medications, I am useless, non functioning, with no quality of life, would go through some serious withdrawals, and not be able to take care of my children or my pets.

My children will always come before my pets, and my pets come before myself to a certain degree as I can go without food for a bit, but meds I cannot without jeopardizing my life. My meds cannot be filled every 3mos, except one of them which happens to be on of the cheapest meds I take. I wish they could be filled every 3 mos because I have no clue when he is taking me off his benefits and would get the doc to fill 3mos worth while I still have benefits


One small blessing I have is, a good friend of mine owns a pet food store. I am sure he will help me out with the food (perhaps allow me to pay monthly or weekly rather than all at once) and my family and I have signed up for a Christmas Hamper from the food bank and I've asked for cat food. It's a neat program here, they take down your information (ppl in your family, what you want for Christmas, etc.) and another family will "sponsor" you, buy you some gifts and giftcards for groceries and any special needs. I'm hoping to get some catfood.



I never thought I'd be back in this situation, but..... I am used to living frugally and doing what needs doing.

But the bottom line for me is that my children are my #1 priority, my pets come before my non-essential needs.

Where do you stand?
 

binkyhoo

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I dont have any children, but aside from that when my times were less prosperous kitty and I suffer together . Its ramen and purina. I am lucky that I have allways been able to eek through my vet bills back when I did not have much of anything.
 

luvmyparker

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There have been plenty of times where I have chosen to take care of Parker over myself. Having to take him to the e-vet 2 years ago meant I had NO money for the rest of the month. I had nothing...but he was feeling better. Which made it worth it to me.

Right now I have about 12 dollars left in my bank account which will be for cat food, should I run out.
Parker is my responsibility. He didn't ask for me to take him on as a pet, I chose to. So is up to me to make sure he is fed at all times, even if it means I go without for a bit. He wouldn't understand if I didn't have money to feed him and its not fair to him. Last time I couldn't get cat food for just one day, I cried...he was pestering me to feed him and there was nothing I could do until later that night, I felt horrible.


So yeah, point is Parker is my priority. I will definitely go without if he needs food or vet care.
 

Draco

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I have no children or other humans to take care of aside from myself. With that in consideration, my cats DO come first.

They eat better than I do (though now that I am back on Weight Watchers, I am taking care of myself better now).

When I am out shopping, I am always keeping an eye out for stuff for them, or related to them (an adorable sculpture)

I always let them take the best spots on the bed and I'd be curled up in a tight corner, lol

I worry over them for every little thing.. like the day Monet suddenly became really affectionate, I thought about calling the vet, but I had to talk myself to saying he's OK.

they are my babies, and I'd do anything for them!
 

Winchester

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Well, thankfully, we haven't had to deal with something like this. I can tell you that, during the times that Rick was laid-off from his work and the cats needed something, they always got it. Always. And when Banshee was on meds for feline asthma and now with Whisper on her KD food and all those meds for Tabby's ears, they will always get what they need.

Our cats only drink bottled water....and no, it's not because they're spoiled. It's because, for years, we had really crappy well water. And when we first moved here and started giving Hydrox the water from the well, he immediately blocked up. He was at the vet's for almost a week with a catheter and we almost lost him. So even though we have a water system now in the basement, the cats will always drink bottled water because we're paranoid and we don't ever want them to go through what Hydrox did. We'll find a way.

As LuvMyParker said, the cats didn't ask to become part of our family....we chose to bring them in the house. We chose to take on the responsibility to care for them. And that's what we do.
 

stacias

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My cats come first we want them healthy and they are basicaly like our kids. So we want to give them whatever they need
 

tara g

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We have no kids, and aren't having any. Nero, Hoshi and Neko are our "kids". That being said, I will make sacrifices in order for them to have what they need, similar to how someone may make sacrifices in order for their children to have what they need. If its between my food and buying them cat food, I will get a box of ramen for myself (I think they sell them for 25 cents each or something around here) in order for them to have their food.

I thankfully have not found myself in that situation before though. I promised these cats when I took them in that they will always have what they need until they cross the bridge, and I will stick to that promise
They're such a big part of my life, I will do whatever I can for them.

I'm similar to Draco - when I'm out, I look for stuff for them alllll the time. I buy them treats whenever I pick up something for them (even though have a jar of treats. They'll never run out!) I worry about them when they're scared (like when the cleaning guy was here) and if they make strange sounds. I let them sleep on my face or sleep in a strange position because they're tucked against me and too cute to disturb.
 

misty8723

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Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

(I got some very low interest cheques and used one... am going to have to use another one).
Have you looked at the offer to make sure you aren't paying a fee for using those checks? The ones I get are all at least 3% or 4% of the amount of the check. If you add that to the interest (even if its low), sometimes it makes just as much sense to put it on the regular card and pay that off as you can.
 

misty8723

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My cats come first.

We've just spent probably at least $1,000 on vet visits, exams, medicines, teeth cleaning, etc. I pulled out my credit card and didn't blink while paying for it. In fact, we had her do additional blood tests on Cindy before the teeth cleaning because it had been a couple months since we had her checkup and bloodwork. The vet said it would probably be okay, but the closer to the surgery, the better, so we said she should do it.

On the other hand, I cancelled my blood tests that were scheduled for last Friday. It was $65 to talk to the doctor for 3 minutes eariler in the week - I don't even want to think about what it would cost for blood tests (my insurance sucks).
 

lorie d.

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I haven't had to make this type of decision. I budget carefully for my own needs, and each payday I put aside a certain amount of money for Sweetie's vet costs and other needs. Also I buy Sweetie's special prescription food in large bags which last about 5 months, so the possibility of choosing whether to feed him or take care of myself isn't an issue.

I have been using the same system to manage my finances for many years, and it has always worked out really well.
 

ducman69

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I'm going to throw in the combo-breaker and say nope, I come first.

While it certainly wouldn't be a difficult decision to upgrade my TV or laptop over medical bills for my cats, if on equal footing where I was forced to decide between my own medical bills or the food on my own plate over that of my cats, priority goes to taking care of myself first.
 

swampwitch

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It's like the oxygen masks dropping down in the airplane: you have to take care of yourself first so you can help those in your care.

That said, no cat of mine, throughout my life has ever gone hungry or without medical care. When I was a poor university student, I worked extra hours at my job and sometimes took on a second job to make sure we all had decent quality of life. Once years ago when I couldn't do that, my friends helped me host a benefit so Moon-Pie could have the surgery she needed.


These days, I've got a husband and daughter and 3 kitties, and we are all in it together.
 

larussa

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I have not yet needed to deal with this issue but Autumn would come before me. I can eat anything whereas Autumn must have cat food to keep her healthy. I could never see her food bowl being empty, not in my lifetime.
 

larussa

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"Our cats only drink bottled water."

Pam, Misty was always given bottled water and now so is Autumn. I won't drink tap water and I certainly won't give it to my kitty.
 

arlyn

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My pets of course come first.
I made the descision to get them in the first place, it's my responsibility.
I do buy their foods in large quatity so that helps keep costs down and keeps them from being a monthly expense.
We often go without food (one meal a day) and without gas in the truck.
 

kailie

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Originally Posted by SwampWitch

It's like the oxygen masks dropping down in the airplane: you have to take care of yourself first so you can help those in your care.
Very true!


When it comes to MOST things, my kitties would always come first, but like Chris, if it came down to medications that I needed to function, well then I would have to go with the medications, so that I could continue to be able to care for the kitties.

Dana and I do not have kids though and we never will, so yeah, our cats are our kids, but for those who DO have kids, I completely understand that you have to do what is best for your children.
 

tigerontheprowl

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My cats come first except if I were to be in a position when I needed something for myself in order to take care of them. Other than that, my cats are my biggest priority. They mean everything to me. Always have, always will.
 

cat person

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Originally Posted by Ducman69

I'm going to throw in the combo-breaker and say nope, I come first.

While it certainly wouldn't be a difficult decision to upgrade my TV or laptop over medical bills for my cats, if on equal footing where I was forced to decide between my own medical bills or the food on my own plate over that of my cats, priority goes to taking care of myself first.
I agree with Ducman69.

I work very hard to provide for myself and my cats. I am a licensed veterinarian technician (I know some of you cringe) to help fray the cost of owning a terminally ill cat(s), like my DLH. It came in handy when I first got my F3 Savannah Loki as well.

But if it came down to keeping my home, paying for my medicine, or buying myself food, or taking care of my cats, I would rehome my cats.

However let me put this in perspective, since my boyfriend passed away over a year ago I have gone on two dates. Well Loki the nut case scared the man half to death. Each man asked me to pick him or the cat.

Well the cat won, over the man. So it is not to say I do not love my cats. But I feel my cats are here for my enjoyment. I do not feel I would enjoy them if I was homeless and hungry. Plus on a more practical note, what kind of life would they have if I was sick, homeless, and hungry
.

Lastly I have never faced the whole issue, but I am fairly sure this is how I would react.
 
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