ColinEssex
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It's a joke.
Col
Getting a kitten as a pet
- Thread starter Isaac
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Col
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What? I can't reply to a joke with another joke? As long as you have been on this forum, you should know I have a congenital weakness for telling jokes.
@Isaac before stepping in the pool, watch this. ( you don't need an account. Click the X and close login window)
Having a pet at home is not that easy.
Having a pet at home is not that easy.
ColinEssex
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Yes but some oversensitive people here may think it's 'inappropriate' to a) mention buying babies or b) make a joke.
Col
Cotswold
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Yeah Doc, I'd spotted that some time ago. But nonetheless I'll stick another one up there just for you.
Cotswold
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You can't take any notice of that.
Unless the oversensitive experience this sort of thing, they'll never be cured.
Tell 'em to pull themselves together and not waste your time.
Isaac
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Now for babies we do have an extensive validation process - so extensive that only rich people can adopt, that's how expensive it is - probably a bit much
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Regarding @KitaYama video of cats attempting a "Tokyo Drift" - My step-daughter had obtained two kittens about 20 years ago. They were as awkward as any really young pet can be. The younger kitten was always trying to catch up to the older kitten but hadn't yet figured out how to maintain proper traction on hardwood floors and skidded into things all the time... including the butt of the older kitten. The video reminded me of those two kittys - who are sadly no longer with us.
My wife always begged to have a pet, and I always was against it. On our 15th anniversary, At last I broke down and presented her a new born papillon (dog) as a surprise. We named him Alfie.
I was told they will live for 12 to 14 years. But now, he's 17, two months from now will be18 years old.
The first 10 years were good. He was young, less problems. Health insurance, vaccines, trimming, food etc was around $3k to $3.5k per year.
When he stepped into his 13th birthday, the vets refused to cut or shampoo him. They were afraid that it may cause some pressure on his heart and didn't want to accept the responsibility. So trimming and shampoo, cutting nails etc was our job.
Around 14 years old, he was completely blind and from 15, he had problems walking.
2 years ago, my wife had to quit her job to take care of him. At the moment, he's not able to eat or drink on his own. My wife has to feed him with a syringe and inject the food or water in his mouth several times a day.
She still loves Alfie more than ever and taking care of him doesn't seem to be any burden.
But me, as the only one with an income, worry about CT scans, MRI tests, shots, pills which goes to more than $5K or sometimes $6k, even after being covered by insurance.
And when I think of the sadness and the tears in my wife's eye the day Alfie dies, I hate myself more than ever, for what I did. I know she's enjoyed every second of these 18 years, but I also know how immense the grief is, when she says the last goodbye.
I can feel the pain of the hole that the absence of Alfie creates in her heart for the rest of her life.
Without Alfie, she may have missed a lot of good memories, but a lot of pain and hard moments wouldn't exist too.
So, my advice to anyone who asks for my opinion about having a pet is, "think of the mountain that you will have ahead and decide on your own."
I was told they will live for 12 to 14 years. But now, he's 17, two months from now will be18 years old.
The first 10 years were good. He was young, less problems. Health insurance, vaccines, trimming, food etc was around $3k to $3.5k per year.
When he stepped into his 13th birthday, the vets refused to cut or shampoo him. They were afraid that it may cause some pressure on his heart and didn't want to accept the responsibility. So trimming and shampoo, cutting nails etc was our job.
Around 14 years old, he was completely blind and from 15, he had problems walking.
2 years ago, my wife had to quit her job to take care of him. At the moment, he's not able to eat or drink on his own. My wife has to feed him with a syringe and inject the food or water in his mouth several times a day.
She still loves Alfie more than ever and taking care of him doesn't seem to be any burden.
But me, as the only one with an income, worry about CT scans, MRI tests, shots, pills which goes to more than $5K or sometimes $6k, even after being covered by insurance.
And when I think of the sadness and the tears in my wife's eye the day Alfie dies, I hate myself more than ever, for what I did. I know she's enjoyed every second of these 18 years, but I also know how immense the grief is, when she says the last goodbye.
I can feel the pain of the hole that the absence of Alfie creates in her heart for the rest of her life.
Without Alfie, she may have missed a lot of good memories, but a lot of pain and hard moments wouldn't exist too.
So, my advice to anyone who asks for my opinion about having a pet is, "think of the mountain that you will have ahead and decide on your own."
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AccessBlaster
Be careful what you wish for
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Can you see the butterfly on Will?
Cats' walking trails tracked by GPS in new research
See more here:
See more here:
Steve R.
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Cat valiantly defending the keyboard. This cat was previously featured pretending to be a couch cushion.
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KitaYama, your post is an excellent presentation of an important fact. Getting a pet involves bringing a living being into your family... a living being who will (hopefully) adapt to become a reasonably-behaved member of that family, a being who can accept and return some level of affection. (Some children take longer to adapt than some pets.)
When you adopt that creature that cannot obtain its own health care and proper food, you take on responsibility, not QUITE at the level of a new baby, but a big responsibility nonetheless. You also face the issue that at some time in the future you might face a difficult decision, one that will tear your heart out. The animal may reach a state of debilitation so severe that you have to consider the mercy of euthanasia. In civilized countries we do not put out old pets to die on their own. But if they don't die on their own in your home, what will you do?
My step-daughter has had to make this difficult decision for several pets, at least two cats and a dog, at different times in her life. She is now in her 50s and has had pets for at least 40 of those years. Each time, it tore her apart emotionally for several days. But she is a "pet" person and has at least three pets shared with her partner, whom she is marrying next week.
The decision belongs squarely on the pet owner who chose to give a comfortable life to that animal and chose to love it. When you accept responsibility for that pet, you must eventually consider the suffering of an animal that is slowly reaching the end of its normal life span.
You gave it a comfortable life that it couldn't have obtained for itself. Will you give it a comfortable and peaceful death? Can you? I'm not saying you should do anything, KitaYama - but your "mountain" that you mentioned includes the fact that at some point you have to come down off the mountain and into a valley. All things - good OR bad - must eventually come to an end. The question is whether the end will come with dignity and a final show of love for the animal.
When you adopt that creature that cannot obtain its own health care and proper food, you take on responsibility, not QUITE at the level of a new baby, but a big responsibility nonetheless. You also face the issue that at some time in the future you might face a difficult decision, one that will tear your heart out. The animal may reach a state of debilitation so severe that you have to consider the mercy of euthanasia. In civilized countries we do not put out old pets to die on their own. But if they don't die on their own in your home, what will you do?
My step-daughter has had to make this difficult decision for several pets, at least two cats and a dog, at different times in her life. She is now in her 50s and has had pets for at least 40 of those years. Each time, it tore her apart emotionally for several days. But she is a "pet" person and has at least three pets shared with her partner, whom she is marrying next week.
The decision belongs squarely on the pet owner who chose to give a comfortable life to that animal and chose to love it. When you accept responsibility for that pet, you must eventually consider the suffering of an animal that is slowly reaching the end of its normal life span.
You gave it a comfortable life that it couldn't have obtained for itself. Will you give it a comfortable and peaceful death? Can you? I'm not saying you should do anything, KitaYama - but your "mountain" that you mentioned includes the fact that at some point you have to come down off the mountain and into a valley. All things - good OR bad - must eventually come to an end. The question is whether the end will come with dignity and a final show of love for the animal.
Isaac
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This is the downside of owning my beloved dog Frisco. I know of course that someday I will have to part with him since he will die long before I do and chances are 9 out of 10 that I will have to put him down rather than him just dying in his sleep. But I'm willing to go through this for the joys that we share together in the meantime. Just hope the kids will be okay on that day. They have forged such a bond. And we got Frisco during some tough years for our family so the bond was deeper than ever.
