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

[ldg]

Originally Posted by Cat Person

I truly commend that

, but I would never live in an RV with my cats. I would re-home all the cats and then move to an RV.

Originally Posted by LDG

Why?

Of course, we lived full time in the RV, on the road for 7 years. The first five cats were rescued while we still lived in the RV. THEN we moved into a house. When our "fortunes" changed, we moved back into the RV.

I consider home, work, and a car necessities.

I just realized, I probably misunderstood what you said. I think you meant you wouldn't live in an RV at all - you'd rehome your cats before moving into one, not that you would rehome your cats IF you moved into one. Gotcha.

We would have had to move back into the RV, cats or no. They had nothing to do with the reason we had to move, so that's a moot point for us.

The RV is a lifestyle decision, definitely not for everyone.

 

[cat person]

Originally Posted by LDG

I haven't read anyone on here saying they would. You can't care for them well without a home. But let's face it, if you had a cat that ill that expenditures for care would threaten your home, you'd most likely have to put the cat down, as who's going to adopt that cat?

I agree with you minus a cat like my DLH Panda. She has a terminal illness, yes

. But with the proper medication she might/has lived longer then expect. She is about two years old and still going strong.

But her medication cost me hundreds of dollars (American) a month. This is even with it "at cost". So as long as I have a job, I feel it is fine to spend the money to keep her alive as I enjoy her company, she seems to be okay, and Loki loves her.

However, if I had issues with affording my medication or hers, I would pick MINE!

Lastly, no one said they would lose there home, car, or job for there cat. I think it is implied. I guess I am wrong

?

Originally Posted by LDG

A hypothetical question for you. You lose your job and your benefits. You have some savings, enough to stay in your home for a few months without a new job. Do you scale back on what you spend on yourself and your food so you can feed the kitties while you look for a job, or do you immediately start trying to rehome them?

I think I would rehome all the ones that could be rehomed. I would not risk paying for my cats and not my medication. So I would rehome the cats in order to make my savings last longer. Since getting a job in the USA is hard.

Originally Posted by LDG

Why?

Of course, we lived full time in the RV, on the road for 7 years. The first five cats were rescued while we still lived in the RV. THEN we moved into a house. When our "fortunes" changed, we moved back into the RV.

I consider home, work, and a car necessities.

I could not imagine having Loki in an RV. He is in a fairly good sized home and he is destructive. I could not imagine living with him in such a small space. As for my two indoor/outdoor DSH's Shadow and Momma, I do not think they could go in and out if I lived in an RV. Is that correct?

 

[calico2222]

Everyone's decision is a personal one and there is no right or wrong answer, IMO. Laurie, I've seen pics of your RV and how you have tailored it to make your kitties happy with the levels and places for them to hide and it amazes me! I, personally, could never live full time in an RV but I'm claustraphobic (sp?

) so it wouldn't work, with or without animals. You make it work and I commend you for that!

As for us, none of our animals will ever starve. My grocery budget per week is $100-$150 and $70 of that goes to animal food. A bag of dog food, a bag of indoor cat food and a bag of outdoor cat food, plus enough canned food and litter to get me through the week. And they don't eat expensive food...it's Purina and Friskies but they seem to be doing fine. With my husband being recently diagnosed as diabetic and having Crohn's disease, he can't eat a lot of junk so menus are a challenge on a tight budget.

My animals don't have yearly vet examines (except for Monster who has seizures) or teeth cleaning but they do go to the vet when they are sick. They don't get a lot of toys and treats, but they get love.

DH's prescriptions recently went from $25 a month to over $100 a month. Monster's meds went from $4 for a 30 day supply to over $20. That doesn't sound like a lot but to us it really hurts. Hopefully Monster will never have to go without her meds, we will cut costs however we have to, but not at the expense of my husband's health.

I know some people will probably think "you shouldn't have pets if you can't afford them". Well, we could afford them 5-6 years ago before the economy tanked, DH's hours were cut in half and prices skyrocketed. Now, we're just trying to do what we can.

Sorry for the rant...this thread just touched a nerve. I just needed to vent.

 

[ldg]

Originally Posted by calico2222

Everyone's decision is a personal one and there is no right or wrong answer, IMO. Laurie, I've seen pics of your RV and how you have tailored it to make your kitties happy with the levels and places for them to hide and it amazes me! I, personally, could never live full time in an RV but I'm claustraphobic (sp?

) so it wouldn't work, with or without animals. You make it work and I commend you for that!

I totally would not expect just about anyone to want to live in an RV full time, let alone with their animals.

Originally Posted by calico2222

DH's prescriptions recently went from $25 a month to over $100 a month. Monster's meds went from $4 for a 30 day supply to over $20. That doesn't sound like a lot but to us it really hurts. Hopefully Monster will never have to go without her meds, we will cut costs however we have to, but not at the expense of my husband's health.

I know some people will probably think "you shouldn't have pets if you can't afford them". Well, we could afford them 5-6 years ago before the economy tanked, DH's hours were cut in half and prices skyrocketed. Now, we're just trying to do what we can.

Sorry for the rant...this thread just touched a nerve. I just needed to vent.

Vent away. I doubt very much anyone will think that - the same thing has happened to quite a few of us.