Low income/unemployed people and pets

This is a forum to discuss legislation and legal matters pertaining to the rights and welfare of cats. Please remember to counter ideas and opinions with which you don't agree with friendly and helpful advice and responses.

(Page 6 of 6: Viewing entries 51 to 57)
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Solomon

The Purrmaster

Purred: Mon May 16, '11 5:40pm PST


	I just had to put in my four paws on this. I am so grateful that my mama adopted me, cuz I have FIV so I could be considered a special needs kitty. My mama is not low income, but she does struggle to make ends meet. She said she pays about $80 a month fur food & litter fur the three of us. She also has a Care Credit account which is completely paid off so if something happens to me or my sibs, she's got a "fund" ready. A couple months ago when I had to go to the ER & then my regular vet, my mama gladly forked over $1,100 alone fur vet bills plus another $200 or so fur transportation (mama had to take taxis) and she said she would do it again if she had to. Also, a few years ago mama read stories from vets about some of their patients. They talked about how some people don't want unnecessary procedures or other things on their pets and said they shouldn't be pet owners, that owning a pet was a privilege and they didn't deserve to have any. Then one vet wrote about how they spend their days working hard and ending up covered in feces & ofur things and are tired of the owners who bring in their pets with very little money expecting miracles for little or no cost, how they wish they could tell those people they shouldn't own pets. That makes mama and me so mad! Mama said vets and ofur people, like some of the fancy rescue groups, need to see that not efuryone can spend a lot of money on a pet. We understand the vet's side, but to think that some vets don't think people with low incomes should own a pet is absurd and cruel. I, Solomon, think people with low incomes are some of the best pet owners around cuz they have such huge hearts! My gamma is a cat lover. She has four kitties and just took in a pregnant stray this weekend. (We're working on finding homes fur the stray & her babies.) She only gets social security but always has money fur food, litter & other necessities fur her kitties. She cares so much about not just her kitties, but strays like this pregnant kitty, that she will go without to insure they get care and homes. Maybe some of these upper income people should try doing that sometime.

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kaya skye

not fighting my- demons-we joined- forces

Purred: Wed May 18, '11 5:13am PST


	and, thank you, solomon. yes, folks, i know it's possible that at some point i may be faced with one of my cats having an illness too expensive for me to treat. but let's consider what their chances would have been without me. kaya i don't know about, except that if SOMEONE hadn't taken her and her littermate shyloh in about the time we did they wouldn't have lasted much longer. not as underweight and parasite-infested as they were. and wesley and jadyn were born to the feral cat under my house...i found homes for almost all of her kittens, and finally managed to hook up with a rescue who found a home for HER. i know we think of them as our children, but they are not human children and there isn't a place where all kitties can go to have their minimum daily and all their medical needs met-no kitty orphanages, not really. there are sanctuaries, there are no-kill shelters, but really? not enough. so let's be real here. if a cat has found a home where that cat is loved and is getting its needs met, that cat is fine. saying that a person who can't afford thousands of dollars of vet care in the event that this becomes necessary should not have a cat is absurd-please consider where the animal would be if the person had never taken an interest in the first place.

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Allie Kat

the world is my- play thing

Purred: Fri May 20, '11 5:47am PST


	So many thoughtful responses! I think getting pets, like with most things in life such as having children, cars, houses etc, should be a thought out process. I know several people who just thought "aw kittens/puppies!" and got one without thinking of the cost and that they live for a long time and you can't just leave them alone for a week when you decide to go on vacation. That said, I was never an animal person but when my boyfriend got Kit-Kat from a coworker who was going to take her to a kill shelter. She won me over. I suffer from bouts of depression so on most days, my cats are the only thing that can get me out of bed. We are both recent grads so money is tight but my cats have NEVER gone without. We even adopted a third cat this past week. Our apartment looks like the cats have taken over but we gladly forsake the trips with our friends to Vegas, Florida etc for our babies and we always put money away each week plus spare change in a jar (you'd be surprised how spare change adds up) in case of cat emergencies. Kit-Kat ended up with a scratched cornea this past week that ended up costing about $200-250 in vet bills which we had because we saved up for it. But to be honest, even though I knew having pets wasn't cheap, I never knew just HOW expensive. We don't go on vacations or shop as often but we wouldn't change a thing.

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Harley

1173499

Purred: Thu Oct 13, '11 7:52pm PST


	I do not have a ton of money but my beloved Harley cleaned 500.00 out of my account before I finally realized he had cancer and was suffering and had to be put down.I went without for a few months to make sure my cats needs were met the best they could be.I now have took in a stray kitten that I couldn;t leave outside to try and survive.I sold my stereo system to make sure I had money to get him neutered and shots.I also sold a couple other things to put away for emergency vet care.To me a creature of Gods and the joy it offers is worth more than any of the material things I sold.I also on a budget feed 4 stray cats everyday at forty dollars a month.I manage to do this by eating hamburger dishes and casseroles instead of steak.Expensive food is not a priority to my husband and I.We are more concerned with not letting these strays go hungry.Some poor people go out of the way for the animals while I know some well off people that treat their animal like an item not a living precious companion.

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Patch

Patch - wallpaper- stripper

Purred: Sun Oct 16, '11 5:35am PST


	Well said Harley. I am now up to 6 cats, number 6 was taken in 4 weeks ago. He came from a friend who is close to having her 2nd baby. I found a home for him to go to that same night, next morning, suprise suprise, 'it isn't working can you get the cat back?'. So with Ginge coming home from the friend who had him for 3 months in a supposed furever home, and now Schumi I am stretched to my limit almost breaking point financially. Cameron won't give me extra £50 a week for my cats But hey, we go without for them don't we? Bobcat and Flea stuff for 6 cost me £91 this week, having to pay my son back a bit at a time. Without him Me and the cats would be stuffed.

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Vincent

Please- spay/neuter your- feline companion

Purred: Fri Oct 21, '11 5:08pm PST


	Harley, you are an angel. If the world was full of people such as yourself and your husband, imagine how little suffering there would be. . I know what you mean Allie Kat. When I took in my first special needs rescue, I was floored by how much it cost in end of life care alone, trying to save her (unfortunately she was older, and her genetics were just too bad to recover despite literally hundreds spent trying to save her). Thankfully I've had some amazing veterinarians, with the help of a family member was able to get Care Credit, and am pretty good at budgeting. Because of the wonderful people who have helped me, I am able to continue doing rescue and sanctuary, even though I only extremely rarely get donations of any kind.

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Kizmet

Kizmet - world famous cat- supermodel

Purred: Fri Oct 21, '11 6:13pm PST


	This makes me so angry. I lost my job in 2010, and my fur kids were the only reason I got up most days. It was hard. It was almost impossible. We relied on the kindness of others. I would not take anything for myself, but people wanted to help with the kids, so they sent food and gift certificates to Petco. When Callie got sick, I was at my wits end. Her medical bills got paid for by a friend. When she was suffering and I knew the end was near, I wanted to die because I couldn't afford to end her suffering. Another friend stepped forward and loaned me the money to have the vet come and put her to sleep. I felt so helpless. They relied on me to care for them, feed them. And there were times I felt I couldn't. But their needs always came before mine. I never once considered giving them up. I'd rather have had someone cut out my heart. And that's not completely selfish. It's not as if people are lined up to adopt adult cats. They would have lingered in shelters and probably ended up being put down. Not to mention the emotional turmoil they would have gone through being taken away from their mom and home. I promised them every day we'd stick together and get through it together. and we did.

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