URGHH Some people

This girl I know got a kitten less than a month ago and she already took it to the shelter. She says she had to because it wouldn't come out from behind the couch. Can you believe that? Geez I mean what kind of lamn reason is that. Not only that she has the nerve to ask me if I know of anybody that has a white kitten that she can have. I guess she wants a white cat cause she thinks if it sheds it wont show up as much. I imagine that when she notices white hairs on her dark clothes she would probably want to give that one up too.
She had a puppy a couple years ago and got rid of that because she moved into a new house and didn't want it to pee on the floor. She also got a pet goat and got rid of that too. I'm not really sure why I think she just got sick of it.
There is no way I am going to help her get another animal with that record.


I don't know I just feel that once you have an animal it is yours for life not just until you get sick of it. I can't imagine getting rid of my babies. I work my life around theirs. If I have a sick animal I will go without something just so they can get proper medical attention. If I have to rent a house or apartment I make sure I rent one that allows pet's even if it does mean my rent is higher.

What do you all think?

You won't find much disagreement here!

I can only hope one day this girl grows up and takes some responsibility, however old she is she certainly isn't mature. Tell her why you won't help her find a kitten, that you only help put cats in homes that have the closest you can get to guaranteed stability.

That's really sad for the new kitten...and any other unfortunate creature she decides to "temporarily" adopt. Pets are for life, or should be, IMO. Maybe your friend should just get some goldfish. They'll last about a week and she'll be tired of them by that time anyway.

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

You won't find much disagreement here!

I can only hope one day this girl grows up and takes some responsibility, however old she is she certainly isn't mature. Tell her why you won't help her find a kitten, that you only help put cats in homes that have the closest you can get to guaranteed stability.

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I agree with Zissou'sMom - I'm not sure that there is a tactful way to say it, but I think that it should be said. Do try to keep your tone neutral, as you want her to listen, not immediately switch off. Something along the lines of:

"I can't help you find a kitten, as I believe strongly that ..." [explain about your feelings on responsibilty for a pet, and maybe point out (unjudgementally) that not everyone has the lifestyle or temperment for a pet and that she might be one of those that don't.]

Originally Posted by TunaQueen

That's really sad for the new kitten...and any other unfortunate creature she decides to "temporarily" adopt. Pets are for life, or should be, IMO. Maybe your friend should just get some goldfish. They'll last about a week and she'll be tired of them by that time anyway.

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By goldfish I hope you meant a cracker...

Mine lasted years! With the proper care Goldfish last a good few years.

Originally Posted by maverick_kitten

By goldfish I hope you meant a cracker...

Mine lasted years! With the proper care Goldfish last a good few years.

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Yeah I agree. lol A cracker gold fish would be perfect or maybe an animal cracker would be a little more exciting. She could eat one before she ever got sick of it and have a different one a few seconds later.

Originally Posted by Satai

I agree with Zissou'sMom - I'm not sure that there is a tactful way to say it, but I think that it should be said. Do try to keep your tone neutral, as you want her to listen, not immediately switch off. Something along the lines of:

"I can't help you find a kitten, as I believe strongly that ..." [explain about your feelings on responsibilty for a pet, and maybe point out (unjudgementally) that not everyone has the lifestyle or temperment for a pet and that she might be one of those that don't.]

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I agree, I know it needs to be said but it's how it needs to be said that i am having a problem with. Your suggestion really helps and I will give it a shot.

I just started working at a shelter and the majority of the animals they take in are abandoned pets. That's so sad. Many people come and just dump them outside the front gates of the shelter.

Originally Posted by Krazycatlover

I agree, I know it needs to be said but it's how it needs to be said that i am having a problem with. Your suggestion really helps and I will give it a shot.

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Good luck, I know it is a tough place to be.

Its unfortunate but I see a lot of people doing this...grown adults!!!

I work with a guy that is literally on his 4th dog from the shelters! He gets a dog and it does not behave how he envisions and instead of working with the animal he exchanges the dog hoping for the perfect pet!

And I know someone else who had 2 dogs and just took them to the pound the minute they had a kid because it was to much to handle! Come on people GROW UP!

We all love our pets but you will never have the perfect pet just like you will never have the perfect child. You will run into behavior issues or illnesses and that is just what happens when you decide to have a pet. They are not dispensable and I could not even imagine giving up my cat. He is my family.

Unfortunately pets are more often than not brought on an impulse...OH look at that cute puppy or kitten I want him...not thoroughly thinking through the responsibility and LIFETIME commitment it takes.

It took me almost a year to decide to get another kitten because I kept weighing the pros/cons, financial and stress levels of a multipet household.

In the end my love of cats and my cat made my decision yes and my new family member comes home on Friday.

My point is people need to start thinking things through before impulse buying with a pet.

Weeeeeell said!!

I was talking to my roommate last night, and I said "Aww, look at Zissou all grown up, not a baby kitten anymore!" (She's 11 mos). I didn't mean she's not cute anymore, I meant she's gotten really big and is certainly a cat now and not a kitten.

And he said "You could always destroy her and get a new one". He was kidding, I guess, I've seen how he acts with pets and it is not like that, but I was so shocked I had to leave the room. I almost started crying.

Regardless, some people really do have that attitude... all I can say is at least they bring them back to the shelter instead of killing them. It's a half step up on the ladder of atrociousness.

Why not just ask her if she realizes that cats / dogs are a two-decade long commitment, and show her those robot-dogs and cats? Or a Tamagotchi?

impulse buying is what people do, That is what all the adds on TV and radio etc are made for. They want everthing to be quick fix. Look at the rate that marraiges break apart. People dont want to work issues, One of my best friends got married, and 8 months later she left cause she said, they did not party like they used to, well it could be cause they now had a baby and house payments etc,

SO when some animal or something else does not fit into the role they think it should, well i will just take it back and exchange it for something newer.

lol i could even go into how many of the movies today are just 3 min MTV style shots.

I only gave up one pet in my life, and that was cause i so broke at that point i could not afford to feed it anymore

(that i dont think he would have been happy living in a car)

I used to work at a company that... well, let's just say I'd never do business with them and warn everyone I know not to either. The owners of the company, while they are quite... charming...don't know which end is up on a number of things... up to and including the industry they're in.

One of the owners, who happens to have a rap sheet bigger than some novels I've read, happens to have a love of bulldogs... or, I should say, bullpuppies. During the time I worked for this company I saw him with no less than five different bulldog puppies, but never any adults. Why? Because as soon as they are six months old he gets rid of them and adopts another one.

Yep, that's right... adopts. So it isn't like he's just going to a pet store where there really is no check on who is getting the dog. He has to go through an entire application process to get his new puppy FULL KNOWING he will give it away within six months.

That burns me on so many levels. The first being that he does this at all and those poor puppies never saw it coming. For all I know those cute babies were PTS, and for what? Because he was BORED! Secondly, that there seems to be no real way for shelters/foster homes to communicate "don't adopt to this psycho" with each other. And after going through the adoption process for both Karma and Buddha and knowing how thorough it is, I just can't fathom how anyone is willing to hand this guy a dog!

But I don't think you'll get any argument on here. I'm also the type that would never move somewhere I couldn't take my kids. I too paid extra for my apartment since it was the only one I could find that would take Karma (she's over 35lbs... tough to find an apt that takes dogs that large). And when I first moved to FL and asked what people do when hurricanes come I was told (and I quote) "Leave a bag of food open and hope for the best while you're on your way to the shelter". Uh, no. I don't care if I have to drive to GA and sleep in a truckstop with my kids in the backseat.... they're coming with me.

It's really just amazing how little some people think of animals... if they think of them at all.

Can you buy her goldfish?

The only pet that I admit I didn't like was my dwarf hamster. Thank goodness they don't live that long, but anytime I tried to feed it, change the water or clean the cage it would jump on my hand and start madly chewing on it. Needless to say I named her appropriatly, and when she passed on (naturally) my friends and I gave her a funeral and played "Ding, Dong the Witch is Dead" in honor of her.

Otherwise, I have loved all my pets and would never dream of giving them up for such shallow reasons.

Some people just don't understand or respect that animals are creatures with feelings and attachments. Or maybe your friend was treated like that herself - people can be just as callous with children, too
the kitten is probably better off with another family, in a more loving home. I can only imagine how lonely and scared she must have been - and maybe intelligent, too - stayed hiding behind the couch, till, in her opinion, she was evacuated. {{{Prayers and vibes}}} that the kitten finds a better home soon!
Maybe your friend needs a puppy instead, since puppies don't hide - they show submission until they feel safe and that should give your friend's ego the appropriate strokes.

I really don't like people who get animals, play with them for a couple of weeks and then get rid of them. I live in the country on a dead in road and we get a lot of dumped animals. Of course, everyone knows to bring it to me because I am a sucker for them and well take care of them until I can find a good home for them.

My husbands aunt found a pretty grey and white kitten that was dumped on our road and she brought it to me. It was very tiny but it did eat food so I ended up taking it in. At first it meowed a lot and like to bit but after a couple of weeks it calmed down and my daughter just feel in love with it that the kitten would let her carry it around and it was very loving. Well, after two weeks my aunt decided she wanted the kitten so we gave it to her because we thought she would just love it. She called me about a week later and told me that it would not stop biting them and it was a mean cat. It turned out that she took it to a shelter because of it. It turned out that they payed attention to it the first two days they had it and then they ignored it so for attention it would bit their toes. We were so upset that she did that because we would have taken the kitten back. But now we know never to give her another animal again. We also found out from our neighbor just recently that when my aunt lived next to him for a couple of years that she had cats before and never took care of them. He said he was the one who would feed them because she was never home and never pay attention to them. I am not sure what she did with them when she moved and really do not want to know.

I just do not like people like that.

That kind of people really bum me out. Here I am fighting for my oldest cat's life and they take a perfectly healthy kitten and send it to a possible death sentence... I just do not get why people do not value these precoius creatures!

She wants a white kitten!??! Yeah, trust me, I've got two white cats & they shed more than any other color cat! I personally think you should kcik this girl in the teeth. Sorry, maybe you shoul try talking to her. Tell her that any cat sheds. They need yearly vacciantions, to be spayed/neutered, litter, toys, & quality food. All in all, they costs hundreds of doolars a year. They can live to be 20 years old easily, and this is a lifetime committment.

Just think, if you don't tell her, will she get another kitten & what will happen to that one?

The problem with white cats is that their fur is more visible on clothes (our whole bunch is black and white and the only fur you see is the white)...