Originally posted August 13
Pet care has been budgeted at $45 a month: $5 a month goes in an envelope for every other month nail trims (long-ish story for another time), $25 for pet food and litter, and $15 stays in savings to be taken out at the vet via debit card when needed. Spending money on the cats is a sore issue with me and has been for some time. I used to be Menagerie on every forum I joined. At the height of our love for animals we had 3 cats, 2 birds, 2 degus, 2 gerbils, and 13 tanks of fish and crustaceans. That was BEFORE children. Between two moves, the fish took care of themselves, the gerbils lived a great gerbil life and passed away a few years ago, we said goodbye to my beloved cat, Spice, months before our daughter was born, one bird passed away five years ago and left her partner in serious need for companionship, so we found an incredible new home for him—outside sanctuary which is heated in the winter! That leaves us with 2 tanks of fish, 2 degus, and 2 cats.
Both Josie and Squirrel are seniors and on $40 cat food and when I have switched, I have been greeted by rash issues or a urinary tract problem and that added up to over $150 in vets bills quickly. I will not take them off this food and hope they do not need veterinarian specialty food as they get older, because they will need to get a job.
The cats have been indoors for half their lives. I do not like having outside kitties—too much can and does go wrong. As a child I lost a cat to a neighbor who did not care for cats and I spent a couple years as a veterinarian technician while an undergraduate and saw too much! When I met Professor, his kitty, Josie, loved being outdoors and was quite a hunter. We acquired Squirrel with our first apartment and she has been with us ever since. I will admit that there is no great emotional attachment to either of these cats since I was Spice’s human and then my daughter came along.
Josie has always been a sneaky and outright bold escaper and will go through legs, put up with getting caught in the door as it’s being closed, and will confidently walk up to the door and meow when company comes over. The last tactic has worked on my dad many times and out she goes. When we moved into the house with a lovely fenced yard, I did not have it in me to fight and let the cats outside.
When I came down stairs yesterday, I was greeted by a note instructing me to call the vet and make an appointment for Josie. I had not seen Josie, but the note indicated she had a swollen area on her face. Then I saw Josie. *sigh*
When Professor brought her back from the vet and I got over the $111.59 vet bill (plus she needs to go back next week), he said Josie is lucky to be alive. It is possible that she was bit by a possum or raccoon, which are known to live in an over grown weed and brush filled space that runs between our fence line and the neighbor behind us for at least three houses. This is the end of the great outdoors for the kitties and probably a twisted ankle for me. The cats are both trying to get out every time I go near a door. They may have to live in the garage until they settle down! We will be building a cat run that they can access from the garage and I’m hoping to have it built this weekend since Professor has taken some time off to work around the house. Believe me, there will be pictures and sad kitties!
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