Well, Cozy's going to cost a pretty penny to get him all fixed up and better. I don't even want to say how much it's going to cost my father and my brother. And yes, my brother is contributing to Cozy's care since Cozy's his cat.
This picture is Cozy at our regular vet's office. Yes, he has the Elizabethan collar to keep him from pulling out his IV and catheter. I got him this morning and took a few camera shots of him. Yes, he looks grumpy in this photo. For him, that's a good sign. He's always been a grump. When I picked him up, he heard my voice and recognized me and wanted to see me. While he may be costing a small fortune to get him to feel better, it's worth it. He's family.
I had a few people tell me if he were their cat, they would have put him down. One back tracked and said he'd do the same for his dog. My explanation for why we aren't putting him down is Cozy is family. Why put him down if he can't pee if we wouldn't put my father down if he had the same problem. You do what you can for your family. Cozy is family. He may be a grumpy cat, but he's our grumpy cat that means the world to us.
Today in Wesley lunch, we celebrated All Saint's Day, albeit a little early. Similar to one of the events I did for Saturday night worship at the United Methodist Student Movement Student Forum back in May, we had a moment of reflection of the dearly departed and lit candles in their honor. I lit a candle for my mother. I am so stressed at the moment. Between all the constant bickering of the house, the sick cat, and my upcoming graduation, I am spent emotionally. I wish she were here with me.
[♪ Listening to: "Kyrie" - Mr. Mister]
Posted by Shawn at October 29, 2007 2:23 PM in Flickr Photos, General, Schooling.
Our cat, Baby, had the same problem. The vet told us it was common in males who are neutered. I'm not sure why, though. He ended up having to have 2 operations, and it wasn't cheap either. I think it might be what caused him to die in the end. He was about 15 years old though, so my parents didn't want to spend any more money on him when he was that old.
-L.
You know, I'm not really sure what I would do. I've never really had a pet (except maybe some random fish when I was seven), so I've never been attached to animals. However, I get really squeamish when I hear about the kind of animal experimentation that causes pain and suffering, though, so I guess if I could, I would save a sick animal.
Posted by: sya at October 29, 2007 7:49 PMI would do anything for my cat and so I know exactly how you feel. I really think that people who say they'd put the cat down don't really understand what our pets mean to some of us.
Here's hoping for a speedy recovery for your cat.
Here via Blogexplosion.
Posted by: Dawn at October 30, 2007 12:28 AMHonestly, for anyone to tell you that they would have had Cozy put to sleep rather than having his problem treated is extremely ignorant and insensitive. I spend a fortune on my animals. I don't care how old they are. I don't allow the cost to factor into the decision. Instead, my decision-making is based on what is in the best interests of the animal. If they are really sick or very old (and 11 isn't old for a cat), sometimes this means that I decide not put them through extreme treatments. That fits in with my general philosophy about my own health, as well. I am very cautious about the "medical model" except in those cases where there is no choice and the chances of successful outcome are high - in which case I do not hesitate to get the surgery or whatever for my pet. That sounds to me like the case with Cozy - he has an acute illness and needed the treatment immediately to correct the problem. As a general rule, I am a believer in lifestyle change (diet/exercise/stress reduction) throughout life. For my pets, that means high quality homemade diet. Two years ago, when my beloved dog had cancer, I did not put him through surgery and chemo, because the outcome would have been worse - it is quite likely he would have had to be euthanized during surgery once they discovered how extensively it had spread. Instead, I took him to a holistic vet, and he got treatment that was not very invasive and gave him a good quality of life for the short remaining time he had left (and it was not less expensive than conventional treatment). I have never had to have a pet euthanized, they have all died naturally at home, and that has been a blessing.
Posted by: Gina at November 2, 2007 1:28 PM
