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On Mon, 14 Feb 2005 04:43:48 GMT, "Glarb" wrote:
I've been thinking about this. I have spent huge sums of money on the cat I have had for the past seven or eight years. But I have money, and I don't think about it. But if I didn't have money -- let's say living from paycheck to paycheck -- and the vet came in and said, "$850 for labwork and surgery." Forgive me, but I would probably have to draw the line there and have the poor thing put to rest. I know this makes me a bad person, but come on y'all, what is your true limit on such matters? In the UK we have this organisation - do you not in the states? http://www.pdsa.org.uk maybe it's time for someone to set it up, if not ... Jim |
#12
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#13
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"Phil P." wrote in message ... "Mary" wrote in message .com... "Glarb" wrote: I know this makes me a bad person, but come on y'all, what is your true limit on such matters? What the hell is wrong with you? Nothing! That's perfectly normal behavior for an asshole. Once I really thought about his question, it ****ed me off. What cat lover thinks that way? If you are unfortunate enough to have to cross that bridge, that is bad enough. |
#14
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On 2005-02-14, Mary penned:
Once I really thought about his question, it ****ed me off. What cat lover thinks that way? If you are unfortunate enough to have to cross that bridge, that is bad enough. If you're claiming that you've never, ever thought about how much you could spend on a pet before it got to be too much, I say you're a liar. In fact, your previous post about mortgaging your house, etc. to pay for the cats' health shows that you *have* thought about it. It's a scary question, but I'm sure that all of us have wondered at one time or another how much we could really afford to spend to keep our loved ones alive. That's one of the reasons so many folks talk about either having pet insurance or keeping a separate account just for pet emergencies. -- monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* |
#15
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Glarb wrote: I've been thinking about this. I have spent huge sums of money on the cat I have had for the past seven or eight years. But I have money, and I don't think about it. But if I didn't have money -- let's say living from paycheck to paycheck -- and the vet came in and said, "$850 for labwork and surgery." Forgive me, but I would probably have to draw the line there and have the poor thing put to rest. I know this makes me a bad person, but come on y'all, what is your true limit on such matters? Glarb Yes we have a limit, but it is animal-dependant and procedure dependant. I have a terminally ill dog who is 11. I could have spent thousands of dollars on further diagnoses and exploratory surgery but the question became "Why - what will I buy her in doing so? A month? Will I make the situation worse?" On my vet's recommendation, we decided to let nature take its course. So far THAT decision has served her well - she has been alive 8 months since diagnosis and the vet expected a few weeks at best. When she develops complications, I will have to make that final decision. I have a cat that had a hairball blockage. I could have spent $800 on further diagnosis (which had a good chance of telling us nothing), and thousands more on exploratory surgery to correct the problem, and I opted not to do so. He passed the blockage at home and is doing great. If he had gotten worse, I would have elected to euthanize him. Not because I don't love him, but because the benefit to cost ratio for this particular cat was so low. In the past I have donated surgeries for kittens at the vet who were slated to be euthanized for lack of funds (by their owners), when the owners were "good people" and truly loved their cats. It simply has to be a case-by-case decision. In these cases it was broken bones that could easily be repaired. I tend to take a "let nature take its course" approach with myself as well, within reason. I think people are far too eager to medicate and have surgery done on themselves, as well as their animals. -L. |
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Phil P. wrote: "Mary" wrote in message .com... "Glarb" wrote: I know this makes me a bad person, but come on y'all, what is your true limit on such matters? What the hell is wrong with you? Nothing! That's perfectly normal behavior for an asshole. So are you saying you have no limit, Phil? Would you go without medication? Food? Lose your house? I'm not being snarky - just curious. I don't consider my cats equal with my child. They are a family member - a beloved companion - but NOT equal to my child. Practicality and cost-to-benefit ratio comes into play. It is situation-dependant. I have seen far too many people throw far too much money at a hopeless situation, and vets, by and large, will allow them to do so. In the end, the animal suffers far longer than it should have. And there is absolutely *no* compassion in that. I also recognize that many people with cats truly cannot afford adequate vet care. Yes, they shouldn't have cats if they cannot afford them, but many people do. They do the best with what they have. -L. |
#17
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kitkat wrote: wrote: Are these folks (me), not supposed to have the companionship of pets??? of course you should have the companionship of pets. and despite the situation you are in, it is more than clear that you do what YOU can to take care of your kitties. that is why i said this was a tough question and someone else pointed out that it is also very personal and I agree with that. not everyone is in the same situation, so how can we make a blanket statement and say everyone should be willing to spend xxx amount on their pets or else they suck. blah. the original poster was almost asking a troll question. It's sad that most ngs can't discuss ethics and things like that without it resorting to a flame-fest, and immaturity. I love these types of discussions. I think there is a lot of potential for learning. -L. |
#18
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"Glarb" wrote in message
... I've been thinking about this. I have spent huge sums of money on the cat I have had for the past seven or eight years. But I have money, and I don't think about it. But if I didn't have money -- let's say living from paycheck to paycheck -- and the vet came in and said, "$850 for labwork and surgery." Forgive me, but I would probably have to draw the line there and have the poor thing put to rest. I know this makes me a bad person, but come on y'all, what is your true limit on such matters? Glarb I don't have a set limit, like "I will only spend X amount per cat" should a situation occur. It would all depend on: the general health of the cat, what the diagnosis/prognosis was, how much discomfort the procedure would cause the cat, and how likely this test/procedure was to tell us something. In the past, I have borrowed from credit cards, borrowed money from my parents, and spent money I could have used for myself, for my cat. We also keep an emergency credit card for things like house, car, cat and human medical emergencies. -- -Kelly kelly at farringtons dot net "Wake up, and smell the cat food" -TMBG |
#19
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"-L." wrote in message oups.com... Phil P. wrote: "Mary" wrote in message .com... "Glarb" wrote: I know this makes me a bad person, but come on y'all, what is your true limit on such matters? What the hell is wrong with you? Nothing! That's perfectly normal behavior for an asshole. So are you saying you have no limit, Phil? Would you go without medication? Food? Lose your house? I'm not being snarky - just curious. Because you are an asshole too. |
#20
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"-L." wrote in message oups.com... kitkat wrote: wrote: Are these folks (me), not supposed to have the companionship of pets??? of course you should have the companionship of pets. and despite the situation you are in, it is more than clear that you do what YOU can to take care of your kitties. that is why i said this was a tough question and someone else pointed out that it is also very personal and I agree with that. not everyone is in the same situation, so how can we make a blanket statement and say everyone should be willing to spend xxx amount on their pets or else they suck. blah. the original poster was almost asking a troll question. It's sad that most ngs can't discuss ethics and things like that without it resorting to a flame-fest, and immaturity. I love these types of discussions. I think there is a lot of potential for learning. What is sad is that you seem to think you need to control the way things are discussed AND what is discussed, Lynnie. Grow a backbone and just discuss what you want to the way you want to, and stop whining about those who are already doing it. |
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