One of my closest girlfriends and her husband are pet addicts, dogs and cats. For the most part, they're responsible. They get their animals spayed/neutered, keep them up on their shots, take care of them in emergencies. They're fed well and kept pretty comfortable at home. They currently have an adult beagle, a pomeranian/poodle mix puppy and an older kitten (about 6 mos.)
But they have a tendency to find fault in them and give them away after a period of time. I admit, there's been some behaviors that I would have a hard time tolerating too- they had a cat who kept peeing on furniture (I now know that's usually caused by a medical problem, but I don't remember if they had the cat checked out by the vet for it, or just assumed it was behavioral) and they ended up dropping her off at the Anti-Cruelty Society and claimed she was a stray that they found.
In the ten years since I've been friends with them, they've had seven pets that they've given away, had euthanized, returned to the breeder, etc. They've never just abandoned an animal or anything. My dog was "inherited" from them.
When their cat recently died of natural causes, shortly after they bought their daughter a kitten, they said "I think we're going to stick to one cat and one dog from now on." The next weekend, we go over to visit them and the wife and her mom have each bought a puppy they're going to breed with each other, one of those designer dogs (pomeranian/poodle mixes.)
I just didn't even know what to say. They sort of bought them on a whim because they were cute.
Now, the kitten they have has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and they want to get another cat to be a "mentor" for her. Argh! In a moment of exasperation I told her, "you're addicted to getting pets!" and she acknowledged I was right, but didn't seem like that was going to stop her from getting another cat.
She's started asking about the cats at the shelter I volunteer at, and as much as I want to see them adopted, I'm almost reluctant to have her go there and get another animal.
But she's one of my best friends and I don't know how to deal with this!
But they have a tendency to find fault in them and give them away after a period of time. I admit, there's been some behaviors that I would have a hard time tolerating too- they had a cat who kept peeing on furniture (I now know that's usually caused by a medical problem, but I don't remember if they had the cat checked out by the vet for it, or just assumed it was behavioral) and they ended up dropping her off at the Anti-Cruelty Society and claimed she was a stray that they found.
In the ten years since I've been friends with them, they've had seven pets that they've given away, had euthanized, returned to the breeder, etc. They've never just abandoned an animal or anything. My dog was "inherited" from them.
When their cat recently died of natural causes, shortly after they bought their daughter a kitten, they said "I think we're going to stick to one cat and one dog from now on." The next weekend, we go over to visit them and the wife and her mom have each bought a puppy they're going to breed with each other, one of those designer dogs (pomeranian/poodle mixes.)
Now, the kitten they have has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and they want to get another cat to be a "mentor" for her. Argh! In a moment of exasperation I told her, "you're addicted to getting pets!" and she acknowledged I was right, but didn't seem like that was going to stop her from getting another cat.
She's started asking about the cats at the shelter I volunteer at, and as much as I want to see them adopted, I'm almost reluctant to have her go there and get another animal.
But she's one of my best friends and I don't know how to deal with this!