I make a point of discussing my pets, etc. only with co-workers and friends
that I know would understand. Two years ago, when my cat became very ill
and I had to have him put to sleep, I think there was only one person at
work that I could really confide in. Sure, others would have been
sympathetic, but I don't think they would truly understand how painful that
time was for me.

Sue

"David McCracken" wrote in message
...
Hi everyone:

I haven't posted in this forum in a long while, but have always found it
full of great people with much knowledge and love for cats. So I
immediately thought of this newsgroup when I wanted to share this
perspective about cat ownership.

One of my two 10-year-old cats suddenly became ill over the last weekend
and she's been in the hospital for the last few days. The vet says her
immune system is attacking her red blood cells and platelets, so they've
put her on steroids and IV fluids. They've stabilized her enough that I'm
about to pick her up in about a half hour. She stopped eating once she
got to the vet, so their hope is that she'll start back up once she
returns home and gets back to her routine. Otherwise, she may be
returning to the vet and spending the holidays there.

What I really want to discuss is what I've had to endure over the past few
days with friends and co-workers as I deal with my pet's health crisis. I
suppose I could be imagining much of this, so bear with me. My general
impression is that most dog people or non-pet owners don't seem to
understand the need to, for example, stay home from work babysitting a
sick cat. I get the feeling as though cat ownership is less valid of an
excuse to be at home vs. a sick child or even a sick dog.

Jokes typically come up when I discuss how much I've already spent on my
cat (about $700 this week). Someone had commented that they're not even
sure they'd spend that much on their own child, let alone a cat. I
realize they were just ribbing me about it, but you know what they say
about there always being a shred of truth behind every joke. On some base
level, I think they were actually being sincere. I should point out that
these are otherwise good co-workers with whom I get along fine.

I'm wondering first if this is just my imagination...if other cat owners
out there have felt the sting of this stigma. Perhaps people just have a
hard time linking a 6 foot, 2-inch, 235-pound male to two little kitties
instead of, say, a Doberman.

Would appreciate any thoughts or experiences.

Thanks again and happy holidays.