Hold Me!

So I visited the vet today with my cat…..excuse me, my family’s cat.  She’s had some funky lump on her gums that’s now gotten out of hand and needs to be operated on.  So we’re being referred to a specialist in the Twin Cities.  I have two things I want to discuss about my experience and then one request.

First off, when did operating on a pet get so expensive?  Wait, let’s back up, when did pets start having so many problems?  I don’t remember pets having these issues in the past….or maybe we just didn’t treat them.  I know pets have become like family members but some people have trouble differentiating between a human and a cat or dog.  That’s over the line in my world.  I love my critters but I’m also a realist; they don’t talk to you and half the time they have NO idea what that gibberish is you’re speaking to them about.  They don’t attempt to sit at the dinner table because they wish they were human.  There are lots of people who disagree with me and will even go so far as to direct me to a website of some nut job who can read the minds of animals and will tell me that they get depressed, anxious, nervous, and would love to start a 401K to take care of they’re offspring.  If you believe all of this then what’s stopping our society from protecting pets under the same laws that protect humans?  Wait…that’s already happening……oh no!

Ok, where was I?  Oh yeah…I made my first point…now my second, then a request.  So at the vet, my cat’s doctor tells me about the need for surgery and then informs me she will call down to the clinic to see what they will need and what I should do next.  She returns to suggest a date and offered solutions on making the trip more convenient since we’re traveling 150 miles each way.  Before leaving, she basically told me that we’re lucky to have our cat here and healthy and that this surgery will extend here life and that the clinic will update them on the status of the operation.  She wished my cat good luck and told me that we’ll have the post-op consultation locally.  Wait a minute?  Um, what if I don’t want to do it?  I felt like a jerk.  I felt like she didn’t even want to discuss the options…….as if there weren’t any.  Well there was at least one other option as I saw it; put the cat down.  I will say it again, I love my critters but there’s a line that I refuse to cross and part of that decision is how much it takes to cross that line.  I made a call and found out that $2500 wouldn’t be difficult to hit and it could be more.  It just can’t happen.  My family can’t afford $2500 for a cat; no matter how much we love her and how many good years she may have left. 

So we have decided to not go ahead with the surgery and to say goodbye to our beloved Neeshie (Nee-she).  I am sad but also angered that I feel like I’m going behind the vet’s back to do this.  I almost feel like NOT going to my vet to have her put down so that I can spare the confrontation.  I have no problem explaining my view on this but I’m a bit bothered that she didn’t even consider another option.  For a moment I questioned whether my family should own a pet if we’re not willing to make any sacrifice to keep that pet healthy and happy.  I realize that she and many other vets may see my situation as a no-brainer.  A relatively young cat with plenty of life left and a $2500 surgery to make her all better.  Yet she might not have 3 kids, bills, future vacations, plans for a new home, etc.  Where does my cat fall into all that…….the bottom.  I don’t expect anybody to understand I just wanted to tell my story and grieve through my employer’s website.  Now, for my request…..hold me!