It’s been too long since I’ve posted on this blog, but 2018 has turned out to be quite a roller coaster, much of which has plunged and twisted. And this was the case this week when our two- year old cat, Hudson went to have a teeth cleaning, and ended up having fourteen teeth removed.
Yes, I said fourteen.
Turns out that Hudson has stomatitis.
We had no idea.
Yeah, he had putrid breath. But there was no drooling, no crying, and he was still so affectionate that we never thought that something so serious was happening. And he is two. Two. That’s it.
Yes, he is a rescue. We believe in rescuing cats rather than paying a breeder. Hudson and Ripley are both rescue cats who spend most of their time inside. Our last cats were the same and we rarely took them to the vet after the one almost died because of a vaccination.
Last year when I blew out my right knee, money was tight. We didn’t take the cats for a check-up. Not when it usually costs about $400.00 for the two of them. And I wasn’t so sure that it was needed. So we put it off.
Until now.
I would be lying if I didn’t confess that the thought of a $2000.00 vet bill didn’t make me pause. Colleagues gasped, “You’re gonna spend that on your cat?” And yes, for a moment, euthanasia crossed my mind, especially after googling stomatitis. I don’t want any animal in pain. For a brief moment I wondered if the Vet would adopt him.
And then I remembered that he is one of our furry children. We would do anything for our son. Anything. I am sure you would too.
When we adopted Hudson, we heard this horrible story about how he and the rest of the litter were locked in a barn so their mother could not feed them. The Farmer/owner left them to die. A rescue group was called and they went in to take the litter of kittens.
And when we adopted him, we made a vow to care for him.
Even if that means a ton of money.
Children are expensive. And when we have them in our lives, in our families, and in our society, we have taken a vow to raise them and care for them the best that we can, furry or not.
Recent events have made me believe that we are living in the Upside Down from STRANGER THINGS.
Are we really taking care of our children when so many don’t have enough food, live in shelters, and are victims of abuse? Is putting guns in the hands of teachers who job it is to TEACH them the best answer? Do our schools need to have every door locked with an armed cop roaming about? Isn’t that a prison?
As Americans, we’d better figure this out.
The problems our society faces are too complicated for a simplistic answer. And when we fail our children, we fail as a nation.
“United we stand, divided we fall.”
JMonell
Meandering Through Midlife 
Aww! I had a kitty with stomatits. After she had her teeth removed, things were so much better. But at the time (8 years ago) it cost ~$1200+ and that was not a trivial expense. But I loved her so much, and I knew that, even if I had to make payments for a while, I owed it to her. It made her much happier and healthier. I’m glad I did that. My dear Cocoa passed away in 2016 after 18 years with me. I have no regrets. She was a good kitty and I loved her.
In 2009 I balked at paying $4000 for exploratory surgery (just to find out what was wrong, not to solve the problem) on a cat when I didn’t have the money and two years earlier nearly avoided foreclosure on a home. A neighbor had moved out of town and asked me to adopt Munch, an adorable tuxedo cat. I am still sad I had to put the cat down. I grieve that, but 4k was more than 10% of my annual salary at that time, and I had a lot of debt and no savings, recovering from the housing market crash.
I did the best I could to care for him, and after the price tag went above $1500, at the time, I had to make that choice. Whenever we rescue, we must do the best we can with the resources we have. Yes, pets may be a little different than human children. But we owe them our very best, and within our means, we should care for them.
We do not take good care of our children in this country. We allow so many to go without basic needs, because the political will is not there to protect the innocent. It sickens me how much more we could do, but we do not, in this very wealthy country.
Hope your kitty recovers. I am glad you were able to provide the surgery. I think the recovery will be good, and he will live a long and healthy life.
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Thanks so much for the well witness. We took him to the vet tonight and everything looks great! Wish you the best. 🙂
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I am so happy to hear that!
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