The Many Problems of Getting a Pet You Can't Take Care of or Afford

Three years ago, I was convinced that getting a cat was the right decision for me. I grew up all my life with cats and I knew how to treat them. I mean, I love cats! And anyone that knows me well teases me a lot about how much I talk about kitties.

I am one of those people that will sit on Youtube and watch kitty videos and laugh and go, "Ohhh I want another kitten!"

But was getting a cat really right for me?

I got my first cat when I was a sophomore / junior in college. I knew I would be in college for another two years so I wasn't worried about moving and traumatizing the cat every 6 months for moving. The cat I got was very mellow and sweet.

However, after having him for about 6 months (I adopted him from this woman who couldn't keep him) I found out that he had cancer. The hospital bill to do all the tests to see what was wrong with him cost almost $400.

Then I found out that if I wanted to do the surgery to remove the tumor I had to give him a blood transfusion over the weekend of the emergency clinic which was about another $200. The surgery itself was well above that.

I was willing to do what I had to do to save he cat. It was probably going to cost me $1,000. Problem was, I was a college student and had absolutely no money.

My mom and dad had to pay for his first visit to the vet and told me that if it was a tumor, I should just put him to sleep because he was very sick. He was also anemic, that was why he had to have the blood transfusion.

This should've been my first sign that I was not at a good time in my life to take care of a cat. It was more work than I had bargained for.

Well my cat died a day later. I had tried calling vets all over to fit him in for the surgery that day. The vet that my parents go to for their animals did not have the staff on hand for that surgery on a Saturday.

I felt like I still should be able to have a cat though. I was now on my last year of schooling and I decided to get a kitten versus adopting an older cat.

cat

Credit: moocatmoocat on Flickr

Copyright: moocatmoocat on Flickr