michelel72

Little Cindy descends the stairs, rubbing her eyes. It's Christmas morning! And there, underneath the tree ...

"A puppy!" or "A kitten!" An adorable little pet, complete with a bow around the neck. Cindy is delighted for an entire hour.

Two weeks later, no one's happy. The puppy chews, the kitten scratches. Neither reacts well to being squeezed too hard; sometimes one will nip. No one wants to bother spending time on the play the kitten needs or taking the dog on required walks. Little baby Jimmy is possibly allergic, and Dad kind of hates that damn animal, and Mom is annoyed that what she hoped would be a lap pet really isn't. The adults resent how much money the damn thing costs, and that's even considering that they would never spend a dime on medical care because it's "just an animal".

Six months later the pet is abandoned in a box in a swamp in the country, one day away from being a coyote's breakfast. Or wandering the streets, pregnant. Or run over by a car. Or taken to the vet to be "put to sleep" because it's just too expensive and inconvenient, so might as well kill it for those sins, but only by proxy and with euphemisms.

Don't do this. Don't be that person. I like to think anyone who would read my journal already knows better, but a reminder is worthwhile. Companion animals shouldn't be given as gifts, and they should never be a surprise. Dogs and cats in particular have personalities — some are terrified of adult men, some are lap pets, some bounce off the walls, some need to be the only pet, some have siblings they shouldn't be separated from, some get bored in five seconds and need both companionship and active play, some are great with kids and some terrible, on and on and on.

If you want a pet, approach adoption as the project it is. Meet the prospects, with the whole family. Know what you're looking for. Find out what you're in for. See if there's any chance the animal you're considering can spend a few days in your home as a trial. Recognize that you're adding a developed (or developing) personality to your family, as a lifelong commitment.

And be prepared to spend money. Consumerist reminds us:

According to the ASPCA, a cat costs $1,035 over the first year of ownership and $670 thereafter, while a large dog generates $1,843 in bills the first year and another $875 each subsequent year. The association also warns against the idea of surprising someone with a pet, as these often end up in shelters because the recipients either weren't prepared for pet ownership or are not pleased with your choice of pet.

If any of that sounds too daunting, or if you're at all unsure, buy a video game or a book or a movie instead.

I volunteer at a cat shelter. Trust me, there are more than enough discarded pets to have the place overflowing. (That includes the three beautiful, playful, friendly, precious kittens who were dumped at that aforementioned swamp. I hate people sometimes. Luckily they were discovered before they died — yes, we do have coyotes and foxes, as well as large and vicious racoons many times the size of these kittens.) Some of those cases are unavoidable, such as cases in which the owner died or the family lost their housing and just couldn't find other accomodations that allowed pets. Some are questionable. And some are inexcusable. Don't contribute to this. Please.

(And don't even get me started on Easter chicks and bunnies.)

So Attleboro's Old Barn is closing.

It's such a shame. The owner is a really stand-up guy who has done a lot for pet rescue, and the Barn has been where I buy my surprisingly large quantities of birdseed in bulk. I only just started buying a cat food by Pro Pac from them — it first seemed a cheap way to feed the local strays and donate to the shelter, but it's done wonders for Daisy's digestion as well. And the Barn has been one of the few ways in which I've actually been able to buy local.

Feh. I'll miss the shop and the people.

He was just one of the neighborhood strays until the day he showed up on my front stoop too sick to eat. This was in late summer 2008, I think, and the vet thought that with intervention, he might get a few comfortable months.

He made it a lot longer than that, clearly, but he had just too much going on, and this latest round had him in bad shape, so I made the call today.

Goodbye, Jasper. You were kind of a jerk a lot of the time, but you were also very sweet, and I'm glad I was able to give you a little more time in comfort.

Some people on my flist have silly or quirky conversations amongst their family and friends. My household tends to sound more like the following:

Kittens: ::gambol::
Jasper: ::NOM::
Kitten: Squeak!
Me: Hey! No! Just because the baby's head can fit in your mouth doesn't mean it should!
Kitten: ::gambols away::
Jasper: ::sulks::

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For those who are interested: The kittens were born Saturday, and violetcheetah took pictures on Sunday. So they're a little old at this point, but still cute.

My SGA story Remorse is the flavor of the month gen discussion of the month over at sga_talk. Yay! So if that's your sort of thing, please feel free to head on over. (I'm thinking of adding a comment about the sort of things I'd like to know from readers, including what didn't work, because I know I have trouble finding good topics to discuss about other folks' stories ... but I'm holding off for a little while because I don't want to be all Rushy McHastypants about it.)

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So several of my friends and acquaintances have asked me what the cutoff is for "crazy cat lady". I've answered that I don't think "five" qualifies. Sure, that's more than enough, but they're all rescues and needed a home; that was hard enough to do before the economy nose-dived. (Nose-dove?)

The cast of cats, for those who haven't yet met them:

( Daisy )
( Gonzo )
( Winry )
( OJ )
( Jasper )

And then we have Jenny; I just caught her today. She's a weensy little thing, eight pounds but not really even that.
( Jenny )
She's not exactly feral, since I was able to pick her up with some planning, but she is not fond of people. She's also pregnant. ::headdesk:: I mean, that's why I brought her in, so that her babies aren't born wild, but still. (Probably not even a year old, unspayed, left to run wild. I hate people so very very much.) So, yes, that makes six ... and counting. I have options for the kittens, and I'm hoping to place rather than keep her, but ... still. Gah.

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