Kitten Caper

As you know from my previous post, my husband and I have recently acquired a kitten.  We discovered the kitten in the middle of the street while taking a walk around the neighborhood. 

 

Thankfully, the fur babies think she is the neatest thing since kibble.  They constantly lick her face and chase her around the couch.  And the kitten is a total diva!  She loves all of the attention.

 

So, my husband and I are trying to figure out the next steps to be taken.  We have never personally owned a cat before (my mom hates cats and his sister has a cat that only really likes her).  That being said, we are relying on advice from friends that have (or have had) cats.

 

Imagine my excitement when an animal rescue group that I used to volunteer for posted on their Facebook page that a partnering animal hospital would be offering $10 spaying in September!  My husband and I were over the moon!  Since we are considering keeping the kitten, this was fantastic news (especially for our wallets).

 

I made the call this morning and received this cold response:  “I ONLY have room for male cats.”  Excuse me for trying to take care of the kitten that has fallen into our laps!  And you can honestly tell me that from Sunday evening when the announcement was posted to 9:00 a.m. the following Monday morning that all of your appointment times for female cats are full?  Seriously?

 

I was enraged.  I realize that fixing male cats means that female cats will not become pregnant.  But, spaying female cats is just as important.  All of our dogs are spayed/neutered.  Simply put, it is the responsible thing to do.  Plus, I read this horrible book once about a dog being raped by a neighbor’s dog.  True story.  At least if the dog was fixed, she wouldn’t have had to go through the stress and trauma of giving birth.

 

Not to sound self-righteous, but, my husband and I have ALWAYS taken excellent care of our dogs.  Even if this meant that we had to go without something that we needed.  Our dogs are our children.  And that’s not as crazy as it once seemed.  Many people are choosing to have fur babies instead of the two-legged variety.

 

Bottom line:  This animal hospital seems to only care about the health of male cats.  What is a responsible pet parent to do?  Do we not deserve a financial break for our animal’s care?  This is when I began my search for other low cost spay/neutering facilities.  I actually saw one listed that stated, “Low income-food stamps and disabilities only!”

 

Wait, people on food stamps can receive low cost spaying/neutering services?  In my opinion, you should not own a pet if you can barely feed yourself and possibly children, as well.  I simply do not understand the mentality behind this.

 

While we will be getting the kitten spayed when she becomes of age, I still think that it is crummy that we will have to pay full price for a life that we are trying to save, not necessarily keep.  However, I have found in the animal world that there are three options: 

 

1.       Leave the animal where you found it and let it die

2.       Save the animal and give it over to your local animal shelter where it will be killed by the end of the week (if not that very day)

3.       Save the animal and keep it yourself so you know EXACTLY what type of care the animal will be receiving (and deserves)

 

I think you know which choice my husband and I will make.