azurelunatic | Politics, health care, poverty, and critters.

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Politics, health care, poverty, and critters.

I'm not a bleeding-heart. I was raised too practical and pragmatic for that to ever happen. Things die, there aren't enough resources well-organized enough to go around, and the best we can do is sometimes all we can do.

My mother, despite not thinking she was doing so, raised me with a strong belief in reincarnation. I was raised with chickens. I was raised with geese. I was raised with ducks.

I really, really, really can't stand interacting with the sort of people who see taking an animal that you can't take care of properly to an animal shelter as murder, murder most foul, and then will screech loudly about it to the rooftops. Yes, often the animal will die. Sometimes, someone else can take the animal. Sometimes the animal has a debilitating and painful medical condition. Unless that person was there in person and knows the whole situation inside and out -- there are a lot of grey areas. A lot. Domestic cats and dogs loose on the streets are really not a good thing. Domestic cats and dogs living with people who can't take care of them is not a good thing.

I think spending a hundred dollars or more on a purebred fancy something-or-other when there are cats and dogs just as nice and friendly and pretty at the animal shelter or stray is a really dumb idea. I think leaving your critter reproductively intact if you're not planning to breed it is a pretty dumb idea as well. I think spending money you can't afford on medical treatments for a pet is also a pretty dumb idea. I understand people who have pets who are as beloved as family members spending money they can't afford on medical treatments -- but I do not think that this should be the standard that others are held to.

Honestly, until all the humans in this world are getting a developed-world-acceptable level of healthcare, my first priority is not on animal healthcare, including the situations where someone knows an animal is sick and can't take proper care of them and takes them to a shelter.

I have not had an eye exam for three years, going on four this fall. My school insurance does not cover eye care, nor does it cover reproductive care. I had a pap smear and female exam three years ago. $100+. I haven't been with my job long enough to get their health insurance. I haven't had a general health checkup in at least four years. I saw a doctor in 2001 for a bad case of Swimmer's Ear -- I get this when stressed. I've had flare-ups a few more times in the past three years, but haven't had the cash on hand to see a doctor. Fortunately, the medication left over after the full course of treatment from last time was still effective. Dental care isn't covered by my school insurance either. I'd be in constant pain right now if my parents weren't helping take care of me on that front. Even so, the filling that fell out two years ago hasn't been replaced, and will probably stay not replaced until I can find a dentist that doesn't suck. (I think

sorcha007 found one. The last dentist almost left a filling un-filled until I pointed it out, and when it fell out two days later I was too pissed off to go back.)

This is reality. Welcome to it. You, who flame away at "I can't take proper care of my cat, so I'm taking it to the shelter" -- may you take a good deep fresh breath of "I'm in constant pain but I don't have the money to see a doctor so I'll live with it until it goes away or until it gets so bad that I have to go to an urgent care facility and then eat bills I can't afford either." I wouldn't actually wish that you experience this yourself, mind, but be aware, if you're living in a sheltered existence, that this is what happens. My priorities are not your priorities, and for-fucking-give me for not wanting to share the details of my situation and reasoning when I say that something is not possible for me.

If I learned that

eris_raven had cancer or some such thing, and the cost of treatment would be $1,000? I'd cry my eyes out, but in our current financial situation, it just wouldn't happen. We'd take the best care of her at home that we could, but when it came time, we'd take her to the vet, and I'd hold her until the end. Hell, I'm crying just thinking about it. She's my raven-girl. She's my Calico. She came back to me. And I'd have to let her go again. I'd have to let her go knowing that there was something I could do to help her, but I couldn't give it to her. But that's reality. That's the world I live in.

Sometimes reality just fucking sucks.

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&%*($%.

I *wish* more people would say "I can't take proper care of my pet, so I'm giving it to someone who can." Sentimentality is all well and good, but so is realism, and under no circumstances should people be *encouraged* to let something suffer on purpose.

Sheesh.

Yeah.

You can afford snakes. Yay snakes! I cannot. Therefore, I do not have snakes. I have been resisting (sorta) any attempts to get more pets in here, because, um, not enough room, not enough money.

You can afford cats, and I cannot :P

This is true. However, we did not buy our cats. Our cats showed up homeless and we took them in.

Cats are expensive in money and energy to keep, though.

My cat, the one that lives with my mom now, was $40 for the cat and $400 for the first vet bill.

Ah.

We mostly let the cats fend for themselves and take common-sense care of them when not feeling so great. Moshie got decatted and some shots, $50. Eris got decatted and some shots, $60-something.

Neutering, full set shots, tapeworms, ear mites, and an eye infection.

As someone who had a cat with feline leukemia and had to watch him slowly dying, because there was nothing that could be done that wasn't extremely expensive and wouldn't have helped anyway, I agree.

I sometimes wish we'd had the...courage, or whatever it takes, to end his life sooner, but we just made him as comfortable as possible and let him die naturally, as no one in my family could really face taking him to be put to sleep.

It was sad, yes, but animals are /not/ more important than people. You get some that seem to think they are.

Oh... ow. *hugs*

I pretty much agree with you, except for one edge condition: I have heard of people trying to use pounds and things to get perpetual baby mammals, instead of getting a baby mammal and taking care of it even when it's no longer cute/tiny/fuzzy and is showing the effects of how it's been reared. Clearly these people should be weeded out before the first baby mammal, if possible, and certainly before the second. I don't know if I support their being able to take their first no-longer-a-baby back to the pound or not -- it's better for the individual baby, but knowing it's possible might reinforce this sort of ugly behavior. In either case, I think puppy/kitten-recycling involves taking animals back to the shelter in a bad way.

People like that are deserving of being mocked by the entire population of Something Awful.

There should be some kind of exchange service for people who always want babies, and people who want healthy not-baby cats because babies are hard to care for.

Of course it doesn't probably work with cats the way it does with snakes, where not-baby snakes are the fast way for breeders to get new stock and are therefore often worth more than babies.

I like not-babies better.

This is why I may likely never reproduce, as it applies to human children as well.

I like not-babies better as well. Yay for not-babies!

There's much more of a demand for babies than for adults, the people who want babies only are often bad pet-owners in other ways[1], and a number of cats react really badly to rehoming, such that it shouldn't be done any more than necessary. Dogs I think vary more, to the point of a few breeds of them flatly not being rehomeable, but in any case dogs need lots of puppy-training to be good responsible adult dogs, and apparently go through an adolescent brat stage during which they still need lots of training and attention.

I don't mean to sound so snappity. I'd like it if the baby-wanters and the non-baby-wanters matched up tidily for all concerned. I'm just cynical. I'm pretty sure there are arrangements like that for the teensy babies that shouldn't have been weaned, except Mom got run over -- humans volunteer to feed and wash and tend them until they're old enough to go to the pound to be adopted.

[1] I don't mean to imply that there aren't good pet-owners that only want baby mammals, but rather that a higher percentage of the obnoxious or irresponsible ones are likely to want babies. The pound around here has taken various measures (I don't remember exactly, but they may include a flat ban on students adopting kittens/puppies) because there were so many students getting a baby mammal in September and abandoning it, either to the pound or to its death, in June.

Yes, often the reasoning for the wanting baby animals is flawed (it's cuter, and they don't pay enough attention to realize it needs more care than an adult).

I'm only thinking of that set of baby-animal-lovers that *like* the hard parts of raising and training and knowing that they're bringing up something to be well-adjusted and good.

You GO Azz... *clap clap clap*

serawench has been an LJ friend of mine for going on two years now. Her heart was breaking over this and she agonized for quite awhile.

I'm going to point her to this entry, I hope that is okay.

Definitely more than OK. I was patrolling that post up until 12:30 last night freezing flames and banning not-in-community flamers. I Don't Like It when people do things like what those people were doing to her.

God, thank you so much for saying this.

When I was in the middle of a divorce, with $300 to my name, $200 of which I owed to other people, I took a cat to the shelter because it had epilepsy. I didn't know there were treatments, I couldn't have afforded them anyway, and the vomit, urine and diarrhea that resulted were ruining everything I owned. I did love that cat, but I could not take care of him. I had to work, I could barely afford a vet visit once a year, and naively I thought that someone who could afford to take care of him might find him and take him home.

Later I learned that that shelter euthanised cats that were not perfect because they had a hard enough time finding homes that were, and I agonised over this for years (it still bothers me) because if I'd known, I'd like to have been there for him, except that I probably couldn't have afforded what the vet would have charged for THAT. I had no credit cards and no money, lived hand to mouth on temp work for $8/hour, no insurance or health care even for me and yet I still cry about it. It was 9 years ago and I'm having a hard time not crying about it just typing this.

Erk. *hugs*

I hope you never have to go through that again.

go joanie! i completely agree with you. i hate those people who feel too guilty to spay or neuter their cat or dog, who is an outside pet and then goes running around the neighborhood more likely than not impregnating feral animals and making more little feral animals, who live really terrible lives. we spayed our cats and keep them in good health. yay animals. :)

We didn't get Eris spayed for some time -- but she's STRICTLY an inside cat, to the point where every time the door's left open, either the cats are closed up in someone's bedroom, or there's someone guarding the door.

I'm currently experiencing the joys of being a strictly broke college student, though I do know my parents will help out -- but I'm too stubborn to ask for help half the time.

you should not feel bad or be stubborn about asking for help - that is what parents are for. as long as you know you're on an upward path, working on a degree and moving forward in life, you should be open to the idea of them helping you out while you get on your feet. even consider asking for a larger amount type loan, with interest, and some kind of payment plan. i find that that kind of thing can bring good results. healthier than eating ramen for every meal!! :)

Not currently working on a degree. Just, right now, trying to stay sane...

haha, isn't that what we're all up to these days? I'm petrified of graduating (this december) and excited, lost and confused all at once. maybe i should come visit you. :) CTY REUNION!!!!

Oooo, that would be interesting. I wonder what

pyrogenic's up to?

seriously dude we should like all go to vegas or something - id be down for that

Vegas? *is scared*

hahaha okay... how bout... not vegas! new york?

*is still scared*

Right now I'm very very skittish of leaving home... I'm evidently going through some kind of phase.

hmmm okay. well i'm sure we can work something out. though i like my vegas idea!!!!

Vegas is closer to Phoenix, so that's less freaky...

VEGAS! a vegas vacation sounds lovely. let's run it by josh... you can do that. :)

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Politics, health care, poverty, and critters.

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