Re: Ethical question

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Posted by marisa on August 14, 2001 at 15:43:44:

In Reply to: Ethical question posted by rick on August 14, 2001 at 12:08:53:

Maybe for awhile treat both iguanas, a like other said try and find a home for one or both while doing this.....or maybe one might respond better to treatment then the other and only one would have to be put down. Its a hard situation, and I have felt like that many times. Recently our female cat gave birth to 5 kittens, she killed the first two. The third was nursing when we found her, so we thought all was well. The next day she passed a dead kitten. At that point we took her to the emergency room. She had ANOTHER dead kitten inside that was to big to come out. After "inducing" labor the vet said a c-section would cost 1500 dollars (including all her other issues, bleeding, after care etc) and might not help her survive.

In the end we had to think about this: If we spend that money to possibly help this cat (who we "rescued") would we have enough money to care for our reptiles and other pets? Would we be able to afford a vet visit if our iguana needed one a.s.a.p. ? Or any of our other animals?

In the end we put her down the next day.

What good came out of this? I am currently bottle feeding Albert. The lone kitten who survived out of 5 in the litter. I have been bottle feeding him since he was one day old, he is three weeks on Wednesday. It has been three weeks with no more sleep at a time than 4 hours, but it worked out for the best of both cats. If we had streched ourselves and done the operation which may have worked or not, we most likely wouldn't have the money to care for Albert, and his "premie" kitten needs.

Its a hard choice but make sure you look at the whole picture first. You aren't a "bad" person if you cannot afford such serious medical care, and you aren't a "bad" person if you put them down for the best interest of the iguanas.

Marisa

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: Maybe for awhile treat both iguanas, a like other said try and find a home for one or both while doing this.....or maybe one might respond better to treatment then the other and only one would have to be put down. Its a hard situation, and I have felt like that many times. Recently our female cat gave birth to 5 kittens, she killed the first two. The third was nursing when we found her, so we thought all was well. The next day she passed a dead kitten. At that point we took her to the emergency room. She had ANOTHER dead kitten inside that was to big to come out. After "inducing" labor the vet said a c-section would cost 1500 dollars (including all her other issues, bleeding, after care etc) and might not help her survive. : In the end we had to think about this: If we spend that money to possibly help this cat (who we "rescued") would we have enough money to care for our reptiles and other pets? Would we be able to afford a vet visit if our iguana needed one a.s.a.p. ? Or any of our other animals? : In the end we put her down the next day. : What good came out of this? I am currently bottle feeding Albert. The lone kitten who survived out of 5 in the litter. I have been bottle feeding him since he was <b>one</b> day old, he is three weeks on Wednesday. It has been three weeks with no more sleep at a time than 4 hours, but it worked out for the best of both cats. If we had streched ourselves and done the operation which may have worked or not, we most likely wouldn't have the money to care for Albert, and his "premie" kitten needs. : Its a hard choice but make sure you look at the whole picture first. You aren't a "bad" person if you cannot afford such serious medical care, and you aren't a "bad" person if you put them down for the best interest of the iguanas. : Marisa

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