Cats Are Not Disposable

[AmeliaG]

I'm allergic to my cats.

I LOVE it when people tell me they had to abandon their pets because of allergies (if it's a severe allergy or a baby, I'm don't do this) because then I look at them and say... I'm allergic to my cats. All five of them. And that's all I say... you get this awkward embarrassed silence from the abandoners. And I just let it go on and on... and they get more and more uncomfortable.

I frankly think people LIE about allergies. It's a medical excuse so people use it. There are MANY degrees of allergies. I get red watery itchy eyes, my nose gets stopped and if I'm not careful... I might have an asthma attack. I take Zyrtec every night and keep a Ventolin inhaler on hand along with som Benadryl. It's totally worth it to have my babies in my life.

Some people can't be bothered to be inconvenienced even a little bit. Losers.

**personal attacks will not be tolerated. Please consider this your only warning**

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Since I have been involved in animal rescue, I have met A LOT of people who simply lie about allergies. Yes, there are people who have severe animal allergies. I am one of them. Whenever I take in a new guinea pig (since I foster for the rescue, that's about once a month), my allergies suffer big time for a few days. I do get used to them after a while, and it stabilizes. I take daily allegy meds, and get on with it. The reason I have guinea pigs and rabbits is because my allergies to them are manageable with daily meds. The reason I do NOT have dogs or cats and stay the heck away from horses is because my allergies to them are very severe and absolutely NOT manageable with daily meds. I have been hospitalized multiple times for asthma attacks in the presence of dogs. I simply stop breathing. It's terrifying.

So I totally understand allergies, and I sympathize with people who really suffer from them. That said, there are a VAST number of people who dump their animals at my rescue because of "allergies" that I know to be, at best, exaggerated, and at worst, a lie. We've had people dump pets they've lived with for 5 years citing mysterious "allergies," when it later turned out they only dumped the one with the medical problem they didn't feel like paying for, and bought a few cute babies to replace it. It is unfortunate, but there are many people who hide behind allergies, as they sound like a reasonable excuse for dumping a pet. There are also many more people with mild allergies (sniffling, watery eyes and the like) than there are people who risk going into anaphylatic shock in the presence of animals. As it happens, I have many friends and relatives who suffer with allergies to some degree, and they are all are far less severe than my own. Mild allergies are very common, but they are also very manageable.

For those with severe allergies.... Personally, since my dog allergies are so severe, I simply didn't live with roommates who have dogs, and I didn't date men with dogs. I would never ask someone to give up a pet for me. So I just didn't involve myself with that. Likewise, I never dated men who could not live with my guinea pigs and rabbits. This may be controversial, but I made a committment to my pets that was more important than my dating life or finding a mate. That was very black and white to me.

But there are valid reasons for giving up a pet. I do think, if my fiance and I had a child who turned out to be severely allergic to our pets, and there was no reasonable way to keep the pets and the child separated, we would probably have to rehome. I don't think that happens often in households where kids are exposed to pets from birth, but I suppose it is not impossible. There are also certain life circumstances that we cannot predict. Not like graduating, moving, or having a baby, but like the one woman who brought three guinea pigs to my doorstep because her husband had suffered a massive stroke. She had to quit her job to stay home and care for him, so she could no longer afford to care for the pets. She was heartbroken. There was no way she could have predicted that would happen, and my heart went out to her. So I do think, even for those of us hardened by many years of animal rescue, it is important to keep an open mind.

I just want to say that I thought this was a great post.

I do think it is easy to become hardened from being in rescue, unfortunately. There are many heartbreaking stories (like the one you described), the saddest for me were pets whose owners had died. This is why I feel so strongly that there is a place for rescue, but it became very maddening when you felt like a bail-out service for irresponsible owners.

As for allergies, I have always been fortunate that my husband and I do not suffer from allergies. If one of us did, we would likely not own a pet, which is sad to think about, but probably the most practical solution. I think that allergies are a perfectly valid reason for not getting a pet, but I definitely struggle with those who adopt or buy a pet KNOWING they have allergies, only to have to give the pet up later.

 

[tyty333]

I have to brag on my 6th grade neighbor boy. They have 2 cats and found out that he is allergic to them (I'm not sure how
bad). He is going twice a week for allergy shots (he is taking it for the team!). The family loves the cats and arent
willing to give them up (including the son). They are hoping to build up his immunity to the cats so I guess he wont have
to take shots forever. (His dad is a doc). Anyway...I am very proud of him!

 

[Dreamer_D]

agreed.

I also can't take the " we can no longer keep the dog we had for 6 years because now we have a baby!"

seriously?!?!?!

Again I think this depends on the situation - no one would rather hear "well, we really like the dog so although he growls at our baby and we are frightened to let him near it we are keeping it". Most people are not deliberately cruel or neglectful and I am really sick of reading about toddlers being mauled because our affection for animals has blinded us to the safety of our children.

I agree completely with this. Apparently dog bites are one of the leading reasons that toddlers are taken to the ER

We rehomed one of our dogs when our son was 9 months old. It was a combination of many factors, but the deciding one was that she showed fear agression towards a child. It was not fair to the dog to keep her in a household where she would feel such fear and would potentially agress against a child and suffer consequences. She lives in a child free home and she, and we, are much happier. Yes, she experienced some stress when she moved, but it was less than she would have experienced living in our home for the rest of her life with so many loud kids around.

 

[ForteKitty]

I have to brag on my 6th grade neighbor boy. They have 2 cats and found out that he is allergic to them (I'm not sure how
bad). He is going twice a week for allergy shots (he is taking it for the team!). The family loves the cats and arent
willing to give them up (including the son). They are hoping to build up his immunity to the cats so I guess he wont have
to take shots forever. (His dad is a doc). Anyway...I am very proud of him!

i love happy stories!!

 

[princesss]

Sometimes you have to make people downright uncomfortable to make them actually think about what they're doing/saying, or at least acknowledge that they're full of BS.




My family had to give one of our dogs to a shelter when we left the US. He was an aggressive dog who only really loved us and tolerated everybody else. We would have kept him, but the poor dog got sick even driving around the block and the vet didn't have anything that would help him survive the 24 hours of travel time (by car and plane) to our new home. It was give him up to a no-kill shelter or he would die (either by being put down at a regular shelter or by getting so sick while traveling that he wouldn't make it). Watching him drive away was horrible...still makes me cry to think about it.

 

[dragonfly411]

Sometimes you have to make people downright uncomfortable to make them actually think about what they're doing/saying, or at least acknowledge that they're full of BS.




My family had to give one of our dogs to a shelter when we left the US. He was an aggressive dog who only really loved us and tolerated everybody else. We would have kept him, but the poor dog got sick even driving around the block and the vet didn't have anything that would help him survive the 24 hours of travel time (by car and plane) to our new home. It was give him up to a no-kill shelter or he would die (either by being put down at a regular shelter or by getting so sick while traveling that he wouldn't make it). Watching him drive away was horrible...still makes me cry to think about it.

WORD.

 

[missy]

Sometimes you have to make people downright uncomfortable to make them actually think about what they're doing/saying, or at least acknowledge that they're full of BS.




My family had to give one of our dogs to a shelter when we left the US. He was an aggressive dog who only really loved us and tolerated everybody else. We would have kept him, but the poor dog got sick even driving around the block and the vet didn't have anything that would help him survive the 24 hours of travel time (by car and plane) to our new home. It was give him up to a no-kill shelter or he would die (either by being put down at a regular shelter or by getting so sick while traveling that he wouldn't make it). Watching him drive away was horrible...still makes me cry to think about it.

WORD.

Totally agree with that statement.

So sorry about your dog princess

 

[blacksand]

I am sure Gypsy would much prefer to see people take proper care of their animals rather than watch people squirm when she points out the ridiculousness of their actions. She doesn't sound like a sadist to me, just someone who wants people to learn lessons in life.

 

[LGK]

I'm allergic to my cats.

I LOVE it when people tell me they had to abandon their pets because of allergies (if it's a severe allergy or a baby, I'm don't do this) because then I look at them and say... I'm allergic to my cats. All five of them. And that's all I say... you get this awkward embarrassed silence from the abandoners. And I just let it go on and on... and they get more and more uncomfortable.

I frankly think people LIE about allergies. It's a medical excuse so people use it. There are MANY degrees of allergies. I get red watery itchy eyes, my nose gets stopped and if I'm not careful... I might have an asthma attack. I take Zyrtec every night and keep a Ventolin inhaler on hand along with som Benadryl. It's totally worth it to have my babies in my life.

Some people can't be bothered to be inconvenienced even a little bit. Losers.

Yeah, I'm mildly cat allergic too. To some more than others- usually Siamese or Siamese cross breeds are the worst. Doesn't stop me from walking around covered in cat hair either

 

[Ella]

Pricescope does not tolerate personal attacks and posts that quote them have been removed in this thread.

Please use the report concern button and do not quote personal attacks in the future to help us easily remove them and keep PS a nice place to post.

Thank you for your cooperation.

 

[ForteKitty]

Sometimes you have to make people downright uncomfortable to make them actually think about what they're doing/saying, or at least acknowledge that they're full of BS.




My family had to give one of our dogs to a shelter when we left the US. He was an aggressive dog who only really loved us and tolerated everybody else. We would have kept him, but the poor dog got sick even driving around the block and the vet didn't have anything that would help him survive the 24 hours of travel time (by car and plane) to our new home. It was give him up to a no-kill shelter or he would die (either by being put down at a regular shelter or by getting so sick while traveling that he wouldn't make it). Watching him drive away was horrible...still makes me cry to think about it.

Sorry about your dog.

Completely agree w/ the bolded sentence.

 

[Gypsy]

Sometimes you have to make people downright uncomfortable to make them actually think about what they're doing/saying, or at least acknowledge that they're full of BS.

This.

Yes, I would prefer that the people stop to think about their actions, or even better... responsibly re-home their animals. I don't get off on making people uncomfortable. I just want them to stop and to think about someone or something other than themselves-- and sometimes making them uncomfortable and forcing them to look at what they are doing IS the quickest way to do this. Thank you Blacksand for understanding this.

 

[Gypsy]

Looking back at my original post about allergies I can see how what I posted ruffled feathers. I wrote " I LOVE IT when people..."

That was sarcastic. It makes me sad. And angry. When someone says they had allergies so they gave up their animal I usually follow it up by asking the symptoms. Most people don't have "real" symptoms. Nothing that is dangerous. Of course if they do... I sympathize. But... most people just get uncomfortable and say, "Oh you know,sneezing and my eyes get watery." And I usually follow that with... "like hayfever?"... and I get a "Yes! Exactly".... and that's when the anger kicks in and I tell them I have allergies too.

Truth is I HATE IT, that is necessary to make people understand that they are full of BS. But, no... I don't have the ability to let it slide. All I can think about is the millions of animals put to sleep each year.

 

[Imdanny]

thing2of2, I agree with you completely. Here are two stories of me having pets. I'll wrap up my feelings about having pets when I've told both stories.

The story of my Doberman.

SO and I got a Doberman puppy, an expensive and well-bred Doberman puppy, 20 years ago in New Orleans, where we first lived together.

It turns out that though intelligent, territorial, a good watch dog, and a good companion, Doberman's sometimes don't do well in apartments, because they need a lot of space and time for running at high speed (the greyhound in them), and they need a lot of training, exercise, and work with you.

SO and I realized we had made a mistake, and in the dog's best interest, we'd have to find him a much better home.

I took the dog to my parent's house in upstate New York. I took him in a taxi, I took him on a plane, we went and stayed at my mother's house for a few weeks.

SO was upset. I wasn't. But I was focused on finding him a perfect home and family.

It turned out that someone in Poughkeepsie, living in an apartment, wanted him, and she begged me, telling me she would walk him all the time, etc.

I said, "No."

My mother was a little stressed because she suspected that I wanted to dump him with her, but that was absolutely not ever my intention at all.

Then one of her best friend's said she was interested in taking him, could she take him just for a weekend, and if it didn't work out, then she wouldn't be obligated.

I said, "Yes!"

Long story short, our dog got a home with a special education teacher, someone who was very good at knowing how to interact with him, and her husband, and their teenage son.

He lived inside, but when he was outside, he had his own run built for him, and a new Subaru wagon was bought, in part so that he could have the back to himself when he went anywhere.

They had three acres themselves, and they lived on land bordering a state park. Every single day, he was walked there on a long walk, where there were fields where he could run.

My mother used to visit him, and took care of him at her house when the family was away for any reason, and I got reports about him his whole long and happy life.

The lesson I learned was not, 'I can re-home a pet if it doesn't work out.' The lesson and the only lesson I learned was that I never should have taken on a responsibility I could not handle.

The story of our cat.

We decided, a long time after the experience with the dog, older and wiser, to get a cat from the shelter. I was about 40 year old and I felt it was time. I felt that I could take very good care of a pet, and that it was something I wanted to do.

SO and I went to the shelter and took home a 9 week old kitten.

The first time SO picked her up, she licked his ear.

She came running across the floor to the door when she saw him, after we had gone and filled out the paperwork.

This was four years ago.

He and I had to be separated for 7 months due to work reason. Our cat stayed with me. I'm the one who does the primary care giving stuff like feeding, washing bowls, changing litter, etc. Our cat is a 100% inside cat. There was never a question that he would have to leave for work reasons and that the cat would stay with me.

Our cat would sit on the bed, and stare at the door, and then turn and look at me, wondering where he was, with a look of confusion and hurt. She did this for days. It was terrible.

She stopped staring out the door, but her mood stayed depressed the entire 7 months. Her mood changed like night and day when she and I moved in with SO in our new place. The change was not subtle.

SO came to visit us on Christmas Eve and stayed until the morning of the 26th, after we hadn't seen each other for 5 months.

She was leery of him for a few minutes when he first walked in the door, but within 1/2 an hour, he was lying on the bed, and she came up to the bed, jumped up on it, next to his ear, licked his ear, and playfully ran off.

My feelings about having pets.

I believe that pets are a member of your family. Obviously, I'm not saying that there are never situations where it is necessary or appropriate to find a pet a new home. However, whether we choose to believe that pets are not like people, whether we choose to believe that pets' homes and families are basically interchangeable, domesticated animals like dogs and cats are pack animals and you are part of the pack. From the animal's point-of-view, you are its family.

I believe that people should not get a pet if they think of it as something that they can give up when their priorities change, or when some situation in life that can be seen from a mile away shows up.

I believe that you should know what you are getting into before you do it (as I found out with our dog). You should not get a pet if you are not ready.

You are doing it right when it is the animal's life, the animal's whole life, that is your focus, and this is not the case when you think of pets as something that you can get rid of because it suits you.

Thanks, thing2of2