Re: What concerns me is...

~*LiveLoveLaugh*~ wrote:
I know some of us have little money in here and have to stick to a
tight budget. But I just wondered, how can you "afford" a cat?? I
mean, at any given illness/problem, the vet bill can be thousands of
dollars! (Thinking of Felix and his ongoing problems w/his ears and
spending well over $3,000.00 so far).

I have seen the good folks of RPCA help each other with sick kitty
issues, however I just don't understand how someone can own a cat... but
can't afford it. Frankly, it worries me. :-(

Its exactly the same question of 'how can people afford (human) children?'
Some people plan their children (I did) but some don't (like my sister).
Some people voluntarily aquire their pets, some pets just sort of turn up.
Some people can barely afford to feed, clothe and educate their children,
but do what they can. Some people have far too much money and go to
ridiculous extremes with their children (Paris Hilton comes immediatly to
mind). Some kids get a very boring diet of cheap meat, lentils & rice and go
without pretty much any luxury - and their parents *pray* that nothing
happens to the children they can't afford, whilst other parents know that
they can cover any expenses necessary. The same with pets - some are fed
generic pet food and their owners pray that nothing untoward will happen to
them, and some spoil their pets stupid. Most of us are somewhere in between.
However, does different economic circumstances mean that the rich people
love hteir kids & their pets more than the poor people? Or deserve to have
kids & pets more than poor people? Indeed, which children are happier, which
pets are happier?

If a person genuinely can't afford medical treatment for the souls that they
are responsible for, I cannot judge them them harshly. They love their
wards, and try to do the best for them within their limited means. I would
prefer a child (or pet) to be in a loving caring dirt poor family that is
genuinely concerned about the child (or pet's) welfare than a being in a
family that will take care of every physical need the child (or pet) has
with the absolute best of everything, but be treated simply as an accesory
rather than genuinely loved.

Shmoggleberry turned up when I was struggling dirt poor student. I fed him
generic cat food. We both lived with fleas for a long time because I was
violently allergic to most of the cheap flea treatments and couldn't afford
the expensve stuff. After a year or so, he got really sick and I had to take
him to the vet. When I went in the next day (I didn't even have a phone, so
had to walk to the vet) was when I found out that said vet didn't take part
payments and thought that Shmogg would need at least $1000 of treatment.
There was *no way* I could raise that sort of money in just a few days. I
had to refuse consent to operate, and just give him another day of
observation with IV fluids. The only thing i could do was pray, and I did.
Alot. As it turned out, my prayers were answered, the vet was wrong, and the
IV fluids did the trick. I owed $120 instead. Which meant I walked ot Uni
that fortnight, fare evaded on the train to get to work, and ate weetbix
pretty much exclusively.

Would anyone care to tell me that I should not have kept Shmoggleberry when
I was a poor struggling student because I couldn't afford the potential
$1000 vet bill?

Yowie


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Relevant Pages

  • Re: What concerns me is...
    ... how can you "afford" a cat?? ... Some people voluntarily aquire their pets, some pets just sort of turn up. ... had to take him to the vet. ...
    (rec.pets.cats.anecdotes)
  • Re: Vet
    ... fact, because I'm poor, my current two dogs might be the last two I get ... but I don't blame the vet. ... If you can't afford the vet, ...
    (rec.pets.dogs.health)
  • Re: Was Harry breast-fed? (spoilerish?)
    ... Take the pets to the vet? ... Volunteer at the schools? ...
    (alt.fan.harry-potter)
  • Re: Now what?
    ... I can't even afford to call the vet, ... If you are out of money for this, ... using the pony until the pony says otherwise. ...
    (rec.equestrian)
  • Re: Keeping an eye on Dill.
    ... I wholly agree with you there but if it comes down to a point where you just can't afford to buy the medication at the price the vet charges and there is a cheaper source available elsewhere then it would be foolish not to use it IMHO. ... I only suggested it to Lachlan as he mentioned he would struggle to pay for any extra medication for Dill on top of what he was already being prescribed. ...
    (uk.people.support.depression)