What is with some pet owners?

Question

I'm so sick of seeing questions from pet owners saying their dog/cat is sick but they cannot afford the vet bill.
I understand in some situations people are going through rought patches, but I'm talking about the people who just got a puppy/kitten and it's sick and they cannot afford to take it to the vet- why in the world did they get a pet then?

This just makes me sick to my stomach and makes me want to cry knowing these poor animals are out there ill and their owners are too irresponsible to properly care for them.

This is why I had to stop looking in the Pet section the first time- it's just so upsetting to see these questions.

Does anyone else notice these things? Opinions?

Yes, this is why I always adopt from shelters- to give those neglected animals a second chance.

Kasha: That is great of you. I hope the kitten is healthy and I'm sure it has found a great home with you. I just adopted 2 kittens the other day (I also have 3 shelter dogs).

I'm sure you've seen plenty of questions like this, but I just want to grab the pet owner, shake them, and say "What the hell were you thinking????"

ZIMMIES: You are comparing apples to oranges, hun. A person not going to the doctor because they don't have insurance or for whatever reason is there personal choice, but when you get a pet you take on full responsibility saying you will properly care for it- that gives you no excuse to let that pet suffer or be ill- if you don't have the money to care for it, get a family or friend to loan you the money, get a payment set up with a vet, find an owner who can properly care for the pet- too many people think pets are just animals and it's no big deal if they never see a vet when they are sick- that's just being irresponsible.

Answer 1

Well.. I suppose some of it is timing..

For example.. you mention people that JUST got the dog/cat .. Well, I know that I spent about $200 on my dog the first 3 days of having him.. (and only $80 of that was paid for the dog.. which was cheap compared to most of the other shelters in the area.. ).. Had he gotten really sick that first week or two.. it would have been EXTREMELY difficult to come up with the money for a vet..

There are other factors.. I guess my biggest problem with the questions is that they get mad when you tell them to take them to the vet even AFTER they say they don't have the money.. Somehow expecting that someone online can give them an instant cure.. even with something that is OBVIOUS..

Your dog is coughing up blood, can't move it's back legs, and is having seizures.. but don't have the money to get to a vet.. of course.. yahoo answers to the rescue.. we'll give you the Maguiver cure.. Tie a bow around his left ear, give him some chicken soup.. and your dog is good as new...

There are things that CAN NOT be treated at home.. and telling people .. "well, just wait until morning" isn't good enough.. if there is a SEVERE problem, waiting until morning could mean the dog is dead in the morning.. (or even worse.. living in severe pain, and the "problem" has advanced to the point where it can no longer be treated) ..


Oh, and for zimmiesgrl..
I haven't been to a doctor since I turned 18.. (I'm now 29).. aside from two er visits .. (in part due to not having medical insurance to help me) But my dogs have all been to the vets office.. If I have a problem I call the vet.. People want pets.. but they want them under the assumption that nothing will go wrong.. that the animal will never have a problem that can't be handled.. This isn't true.. Right now I live with 2 SENIOR dogs.. one with a severe case of hip dysplasia .. on top of my younger dog.. I work two jobs that COMBINED only give me about $200 a week ,if that.. but.. guess what.. I chose to give these animals a home.. and to take care of them.. I MAKE it work.. if I have to pick up cans on the side of the road to get money I'd do it for the dogs.

Answer 2

I totally agree with you! I also understand that sometimes people run into a temporary money problem (it's happened to my family) - but in those cases, if your pet is sick and you just talk to the vet, most of the time they will work out a payment plan that you can afford. I can even understand people asking about little things (my dog has a touch of diarrhea, my cat vomitted once, my ferret seems itchier than normal, etc.). But I've seen too many questions where people are describing serious things (like my pet is bleeding from the ears, walking with only the front two feet and dragging the back two along, etc.) and they want to know what they should do about it! Uh, hello, is anybody in there?! Get it to a vet! And you can't even imagine what kind of pain that animal must be feeling and their idiot owner is online looking for some cheap or free way to take care of the poor little thing! Ugh, it drives me nuts!! I just want to reach through the computer and smack them around a bit. I put a little bit of my money into a special account every week that's just for pet emergencies. Even if it's only $5 one week, it's something. My opinion is, if you can't afford to put aside a little money every week or every other week that's only for your pet(s), then you shouldn't have one. I'm sure I'll get a few thumbs down for that comment (especially from the people that feel it's their right to own a pet whether they have the money necessary to properly care for it or not), but too bad! Pets aren't cheap. They can get sick or hurt just like a person and it costs money to take care of the problem(s). Even if someone on here could tell them exactly what is wrong with their pet, what good is that going to do for the pet? Sure, now you know what's wrong, but we can't treat or cure it. Only a vet can prescribe meds and tell you the right amount and way to use it. Only a vet can perform surgery. Yahoo Answers CAN'T do those things. The problem is, there's just too many people out there with pets that have no common sense what-so-ever and it's the poor animal that ends up suffering because of it.

Answer 3

I saw this on another veterinary site, and thought you should ask these questions to the company you recommend. By the way, we recommend Royal Canin, Hills and Purina prescription diet. I know their answeres to all these questions, do you? 1) Do I have experience with the product. 2) Does the company have a veterinary nutritionist working specifically for them. 3) What is their quality control and monitoring (not available to all but I have a very good assessment of it) 4) Do they make the product or co-pack? 5) Do they know everything about their products? Can I call and ask them what the selenium level of product x is and not only do they know (most small companies don't), they will tell me right then. I can tell you this is a real biggie for me. If I call and can't get nutrition info - I won't recommend the food. 6) Do they feed the diet to animals within the companies facility. Small companies may or may not do feeding trials and if they do it is almost always at another location. Their nutritionist may not have seen a group of dogs or cats that ate that diet for any lenght of time. 7) Does the company do nutrition releated research (I know then are up on the issues and contributint to the science).

Answer 4

i see some of that but i keep answering questions. there's a lady pretending her bird just needs to learn how to chirp... ugh...

a lot of these ppl are teenagers who are 13 yrs old and their parents make the pet the kid's responsiblity and don't drive the kid and the pet to the vet! those parents need to be ashamed! they need to superverise the kid!

some ppl don't live in the USA. not all countries have vets. still, some of the stuff ppl do is sick.

some ppl might rescue a wild animal and don't wanna alert the authorities. i had a pet starling (pest bird... cities are full of 'em) at one point that my parents rescued before i was born.

my parents rescued birds in russia, including binding broken bones themselves (not that they healed streight ... but they healed!). i can see how some ppl like that might wanna share tips with each other -- but you won't find them on-line in america, that's for sure! anyplace with computers usually has vets...

american ARE a bit crazy about animals. i don't bring my bird to the vet for a regular check up! and i don't go to my own anual physical. there was a study saying thosse did not good but wasted A LOT of Dr's time -- and that's for humans. Still, if my bird was sick, i would NOT be on-line.

what i don't get, is why ppl ask these questions here -- instead of typing the exact same thing in google?

Answer 5

Most people who say they cant afford the vet really do have the money, they just dont want to use it on the vet because:

a) they already have some plans for the money, such as Christmas Shopping, vacation savings etc

b) they just cant quit smoking or drinking, or giving up some other vice for a week or two to help their pet

c) Its "just a dog/cat" and they just dont want to spend it on the pet.


So instead they come here, hoping to find some cheap solution.

Answer 6

yes, it is sad. i wonder too, why someone would get a pet knowing that they cant properly care for it, even if it was a stray or abandoned, at least find it a home that CAN care for it! some people just dont care for the welfare of the animal, they just want it to say, "look what i got" then they boo hoo when it dies from parvo from not having shots and vet care or while having puppies because it wasnt spayed or neutered when it was suppose to be.

Answer 7

I am in Australia and my boyfriend just found a kitten about a month old abandonned outside his window yesterday (see link for photo) the first thing he did was take it inside give it a drink and calm it down because it was scared. I am going to take it to the vet tomorrow night for a checkup and if all in good order and no one claims her I am going to keep her. Just wanted to share this with you so you know there are some good people out there.

http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh120/Kasha306/?action=view¤t=Smokey.jpg

Answer 8

Does it bother you as much when people don't have the cash / insurance to go to the doctor when they are sick? Unfortunately sister, this is reality.

There are so many people who can't afford to have kids having them anyway. It's kind of the same thing, isn't it? It makes ME sick knowing this. I love animals too...but give me a break.

Answer 9

Yes... I do not answer if someone says they just got an animal and can't afford the care... animals are like children.... except they don't ever leave - they take care... money and LOVE.... it hurts to see / hear people not take care ... so I adopt ...

Answer 10

Because these people care more about haveing a cute cuddly animal to show off rather than thinking of the pet their getting they think of themselves.