You’ve lost that lovin’ feeling with your cat. It’s worse. You dislike your cat. It’s actually worse than that; you wish your cat was dead.
She’s become old and ill. There’s the vet’s bill. It can get expensive looking after an old cat with a chronic and incurable illness.
You’re busy and you now find that after all these years of cat ownership, your cat just irritates you and gets in the way.
If you have these dark thoughts, and I am sure some people do, you’re not the right person to look after a cat. No way, no how. Never live with a cat again.
A proper human-cat relationship has echos of the best marriages. There is give and take and mutual support. It’s ’til death do us part. That is the unwritten commitment a cat caretaker makes when adopting a cat. Nothing else will do.
The commitment can be tested in a cat’s old age. This is a time when the wrong person might feel like getting a new cat in the same way he gets a new car or sofa.
I was prompted to write this article on reading an article on the Guardian newspaper entitled “I wish my cats were dead”. The author is Dave Hill. It was written in 2006 so I expect his wish has come true by now.
He blandly states that he has three cats and he hates them. He explains that he hates them because:
Stinky (formerly Marmalade) produces smelly poo and she sometimes poops out of the litter box. He then inadvertently discloses that he is to blame for Marmalade pooping out of the box because it is dirty (“when the tray is on the full side “) and that the smelly poo is possibly due to a thyroid problem (hyperthyroidism). Marmalade’s hyperthyroidism also irritates him as she is too active. So Dave, I am sure you have learned by now that your attitude is appallingly insensitive.
Then Dave blames Sneezy (formerly Smudge) for being idle and poking him for attention when he is reading to his children. It seems to me that Smudge was probably neglected and when he hears Dave’s voice he is attracted to it and comes over for some interaction.
Finally, he blames Scratchy (formerly Cinders) for scratching herself all the time because of a flea bite allergy. Dave hates it. He also hates it when she joins him at his desk when working at his computer (a Mac). He accuses his cat of being scabby and pawing at his shiny, clean Apple mouse! This is appalling. Clearly Dave had almost completely abdicated his responsibilities towards his cats.
He hates the idea of spending hundreds of pounds on treatments for hyperthyroidism. He prefers to euthanise the lot. So much cheaper. Perhaps the whole article is tongue-in-cheek but it comes across as serious. I think it was meant to be deliberately provocative.
The comments to the article are enlightening. You might expect nearly everyone to criticise him but no, far from it.
At a rough assessment, 45% are against him, 30% for him and 25% who are in the middle ground suggesting something like pet insurance to ease the cost. In other words they are ambivalent.
Perhaps the comments are more shocking than the article. Having managed PoC for 7 years there is no doubt in my mind that there is a large percentage of people who either dislike cats and/or animals generally. Many people are unconcerned about animal welfare. That is the current state of play in the human-to-animal relationship circa 2000.
To answer the question in the title; it is NO, you can’t fall out of love with your cat if you truly love her.
If I had been exposed to anthrax and could die, then by all means Cipro would be necessary, but never ever without heavily supplementing magnesium and antioxidants at the same time. In itself it isn’t bad– it can save lives when nothing else can. But it’s riskier than any other family of antibiotics. Why are doctors using it when they don’t need to? And how are they so ignorant of how it works. An organic chemist posting in a forum online said he looked at the picture of the molecule and knew that it would push magnesium out if cells. He called it a chelating molecule. I’m not well versed in chemistry, but doctors are supposed to be. Tons of studies have been done on the drugs effects, done by doctors in peer reviewed journals for other doctors to read. But if you bring up the facts about the drug’s chemistry you get , “Cipro’s very safe.” That’s what the nurse says to me at the ER yesterday. Cipro has a Black Box warning from the FDA, but she called it very safe.
It’s like these vets who declaw who state, “Declawing doesn’t harm cats” while at the same time their colleagues are doing research that proves quite clearly that it is very harmful. Why he in a profession if you don’t even care what’s going on in it?
It’s insane, Michael. I was given the same stuff they use against anthrax for a minor, though stubborn, sinus infection.
Thanks, Dee, you are so sweet.
The oranges do seem to really help, and eating really healthy in general and keeping the magnesium going in as much as I can through foods, supplements and spray on magnesium oil and Epsom salt baths. I soaked my feet in a large pan in the kitchen while I ate supper in there. Monty was just mystified why momma would be doing something he had never seen her do before. And why would I be in the kitchen and not getting him any food? (never mind that he just ate.) I kept him back from my foot soak tub. They give Epsom salts orally as a laxative.
When I use the spray on stuff Monty keeps trying to lick my skin. It’s salty and he likes it. He’s really good at coming out of nowhere, getting a quick lick off my skin and then disappearing fast because he knows I don’t want him doing that. As I dozed last night I’d be awakened by a small black cat sneaking up to lick me. He didn’t get diarrhea at least. And his magnesium has been supplemented too. He is probably feeling good.
You could always have a small pin-on or badge with that message. Easy enough at Vista Print.
Very cheap.
Then, you wouldn’t have to say a word to the slackers.
I have just checked it (Cipro) out and every webpage about it has a large prominent warning at the beginning. This drug is clearly more dangerous or has the potential for more serious side effects than a typical antibiotic as far as I can tell. And the fact it used in germ warfare indicates potential problems.
You don’t need to wear a winter coat, Dee. I wear a fleece poncho my mom made for me with matching hat and mittens. Long sleeves is good, two layers if it’s really cold. If you have to be out for awhile more layers is all that’s needed. I hate those bulky coats, and then while driving I get hot and can’t get it off. I can just pull the poncho up.
Driving on snow is fine so long as you remember it’s easier to go than stop, and you can’t steer while breaking. After that it’s just practice until you get good. I sure loved my first car with it’s wide wheel base. Rear wheel drive, but still awesome on snow. Ice is the real problem for driving. Just snow is no big deal, but ice can make it impossible. Where Elisa lives they get less snow but more ice. Makes it tough.