I had some thoughts I needed to write down somewhere and this seemed an appropriate place to share. I hope this doesn't spark any kind of argument- my intentions are to inspire thoughtful responses. This is long, and not much a question but a collection of thoughts some might like to weigh in on.
I'll start with a personal anecdote, a trip to the vet with a sick cat: I care for six cats in my home and a daughter and we had an incident where all of my cats had fallen ill with varying symptoms and degrees of severity. Most were coming along fine but one clearly needed medical attention. What followed upon making an appointment with a nearby vet shook and disturbed me, as a cat lover and animal rights enthusiast.
I chose this vet based on availability, location and online reviews. She saw me within 24 hours. I was bothered by her cold, abrupt and accusing manner while handling my pet and speaking with me. My cat needed fluids to reduce a moderate (neither mild nor extremely severe) fever and antibiotics. She offered further testing and gave me two bills- one listing the total amount for the visit, fluids and antibiotics totaling around $60 and another listing the amount for the previous, plus bloodwork, x-rays, the full work up, totaling over $500. I left feeling awful, both the vet and the assistant had basically berated me for refusing further testing, as if I didn't have my pet's best interest at heart. I immediately called a friend, who runs a cat rescue out of state, in tears. I told her I had been made to feel I had no business caring for animals if I couldn't afford medical treatment and that I personally felt like some kind of deluded hoarder you read about in the news- only thinking I'm doing my best but putting all of my cats at risk. She snapped me back into reality by telling me I had shown I was a competent and caring pet owner by taking my cat in when she was sick and that she herself would have refused the extra tests. That everyone has to make decisions based on cost and that her rescue would fall apart if she spent $500 for each cat, every time it required medical assistance.
I realize that the treatment I received from this particular vet, one I will never return to, is an isolated incident. Many people have wonderful, helpful veterinarians for their pets whom they can trust. And everyone has a different standard of care and health- for themselves, their children and their pets.
When it comes to my own child, I have no problem just letting her be sick and allow her immune system to fight most illnesses that she may come into contact with. I don't feel the need to seek medical care for every cold or stomach ache. My knowledge though of feline health is much smaller, I don't understand quite as well how their immune systems function. When it comes to monitoring health I closely watch for changes in mood/behavior, eating and litter box habits and symptoms like lethargy or fever. But as I do with my child, I do not rush to make an appointment for every symptom. Many things, such as a watery eye, etc, clear up on their own within a couple days with no sign the animal is significantly distressed.
I wonder if my ability to do this is because I do have some (and I may even be downplaying my own abilities due to my own self-doubt) knowledge of cat health and a good deal of experience. Some don't. I also have at my disposal friends working in veterinary offices or rescues that I can text or call to ask questions if I have any. Some don't. I also have the innate drive to seek out information, to learn as much as I can about a particular subject once it's caught my attention. Some people don't have that. Because of these things, I feel incredibly privileged over others who may not possess some of these resources or abilities but still love and want to care for animals.
I used to be more active in other cat related sites and forums (mostly on Facebook before I deactivated) and some have incredibly high standards in caring for their own pets and their expectations for other pet owners. I think it's wonderful when people treat their pets as royalty- I hold no judgement toward other animal lovers who would do things differently than I would (unless of course, they are personally insulting me). I think animals of all species deserve much more kindness than what has been given to them at the hands of humans. And when I think of all the animals and pets misplaced, homeless and sitting in cages waiting for an adoption that may never happen, I'm sad that more people are not able to provide a standard of care that was decided by someone else, that vet care can be so expensive and that resources and information can feel scarce at times.
I'm not offering solutions to these things, nor am I looking for insight or approval of how I care for my animals. My head is just running a mile a minute right now and I thought someone else might like to talk about it.
If you've made it this far, thank you for reading.
I'll start with a personal anecdote, a trip to the vet with a sick cat: I care for six cats in my home and a daughter and we had an incident where all of my cats had fallen ill with varying symptoms and degrees of severity. Most were coming along fine but one clearly needed medical attention. What followed upon making an appointment with a nearby vet shook and disturbed me, as a cat lover and animal rights enthusiast.
I chose this vet based on availability, location and online reviews. She saw me within 24 hours. I was bothered by her cold, abrupt and accusing manner while handling my pet and speaking with me. My cat needed fluids to reduce a moderate (neither mild nor extremely severe) fever and antibiotics. She offered further testing and gave me two bills- one listing the total amount for the visit, fluids and antibiotics totaling around $60 and another listing the amount for the previous, plus bloodwork, x-rays, the full work up, totaling over $500. I left feeling awful, both the vet and the assistant had basically berated me for refusing further testing, as if I didn't have my pet's best interest at heart. I immediately called a friend, who runs a cat rescue out of state, in tears. I told her I had been made to feel I had no business caring for animals if I couldn't afford medical treatment and that I personally felt like some kind of deluded hoarder you read about in the news- only thinking I'm doing my best but putting all of my cats at risk. She snapped me back into reality by telling me I had shown I was a competent and caring pet owner by taking my cat in when she was sick and that she herself would have refused the extra tests. That everyone has to make decisions based on cost and that her rescue would fall apart if she spent $500 for each cat, every time it required medical assistance.
I realize that the treatment I received from this particular vet, one I will never return to, is an isolated incident. Many people have wonderful, helpful veterinarians for their pets whom they can trust. And everyone has a different standard of care and health- for themselves, their children and their pets.
When it comes to my own child, I have no problem just letting her be sick and allow her immune system to fight most illnesses that she may come into contact with. I don't feel the need to seek medical care for every cold or stomach ache. My knowledge though of feline health is much smaller, I don't understand quite as well how their immune systems function. When it comes to monitoring health I closely watch for changes in mood/behavior, eating and litter box habits and symptoms like lethargy or fever. But as I do with my child, I do not rush to make an appointment for every symptom. Many things, such as a watery eye, etc, clear up on their own within a couple days with no sign the animal is significantly distressed.
I wonder if my ability to do this is because I do have some (and I may even be downplaying my own abilities due to my own self-doubt) knowledge of cat health and a good deal of experience. Some don't. I also have at my disposal friends working in veterinary offices or rescues that I can text or call to ask questions if I have any. Some don't. I also have the innate drive to seek out information, to learn as much as I can about a particular subject once it's caught my attention. Some people don't have that. Because of these things, I feel incredibly privileged over others who may not possess some of these resources or abilities but still love and want to care for animals.
I used to be more active in other cat related sites and forums (mostly on Facebook before I deactivated) and some have incredibly high standards in caring for their own pets and their expectations for other pet owners. I think it's wonderful when people treat their pets as royalty- I hold no judgement toward other animal lovers who would do things differently than I would (unless of course, they are personally insulting me). I think animals of all species deserve much more kindness than what has been given to them at the hands of humans. And when I think of all the animals and pets misplaced, homeless and sitting in cages waiting for an adoption that may never happen, I'm sad that more people are not able to provide a standard of care that was decided by someone else, that vet care can be so expensive and that resources and information can feel scarce at times.
I'm not offering solutions to these things, nor am I looking for insight or approval of how I care for my animals. My head is just running a mile a minute right now and I thought someone else might like to talk about it.
If you've made it this far, thank you for reading.
