This is my cat Jet Lag.
Jet Lag has been around about as long as some of you on this site have been alive. He is around 17 years old. I say around because Jet Lag was brought to me by a former friend, who got him at a kitten give away in front of a Safeway, back when you could do that before the goddamn hippies took to legislating common sense.
Anyway.
Jet Lag is old. Probably not long for the world. A couple days ago he started barfing and feeling super crappy. After some debate (I am dirt ass poor right now), I took him to the vet. At this point, he most likely has a UTI (some of you ladies know what I'm talking about) and is on Meds.
That cost me almost $200. Can I put a price on 15 or 16 years of loyalty, warm, and putting up with my teasing and cruelty? Yes. It's about $600. At 17, that's about the limit I could spend and not be really depressed that my cat was old and I was in debt. If he was younger, that number changes.
When he was sickest, before I knew what was going on, I was more teary than a Japanese School girl at the end of "Titanic". Now I'm $200 poorer and have squeezed another few weeks, months, years, out of the best cat I've ever had. And I've had cats since before most of you on this site were born.
Is $600 really the price? Thank G*d I didn't have to find out.
PS, A call out to my other cat on the back of the couch. That's Tusk. She's about a year younger than Jet Lag. Just to finish things up, my roommate's cat is about 24. That fucking bag of bones can't even walk straight. But, neither can my roommate.
Jet Lag has been around about as long as some of you on this site have been alive. He is around 17 years old. I say around because Jet Lag was brought to me by a former friend, who got him at a kitten give away in front of a Safeway, back when you could do that before the goddamn hippies took to legislating common sense.
Anyway.
Jet Lag is old. Probably not long for the world. A couple days ago he started barfing and feeling super crappy. After some debate (I am dirt ass poor right now), I took him to the vet. At this point, he most likely has a UTI (some of you ladies know what I'm talking about) and is on Meds.
That cost me almost $200. Can I put a price on 15 or 16 years of loyalty, warm, and putting up with my teasing and cruelty? Yes. It's about $600. At 17, that's about the limit I could spend and not be really depressed that my cat was old and I was in debt. If he was younger, that number changes.
When he was sickest, before I knew what was going on, I was more teary than a Japanese School girl at the end of "Titanic". Now I'm $200 poorer and have squeezed another few weeks, months, years, out of the best cat I've ever had. And I've had cats since before most of you on this site were born.
Is $600 really the price? Thank G*d I didn't have to find out.
PS, A call out to my other cat on the back of the couch. That's Tusk. She's about a year younger than Jet Lag. Just to finish things up, my roommate's cat is about 24. That fucking bag of bones can't even walk straight. But, neither can my roommate.
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When I worked at the animal hospital there were some pets there that should have died long ago, who I felt were kept alive out of sheer selfishness (and of course, financial ability) on the owner's part. Now you or I would probably both LOVE to be able to put up any amount of money to save our cats, if we could.
I just think sometimes the wealthy forget that death is inevitable. they forget that it can be okay to let it happen naturally... It's one of those things people like you and me are forced to understand because we simply can't afford to buy the extra time.
$600 is a lot. You know I am not in the financial position to even put out half that amount if I were in the same situation. All I can hope is for a nice long lifespan of 15-17, just like Jet Lag, before any serious problems occur.
But you never know when I'll eventually come to that point you're at now.
You two have had some good years together. It's good you're still practical about it, even though I know how surreal it can be to even come close to putting a price on a loved life.
You might not believe it, but Jet Lag will probably understand.
... now I sound like a kooky cat lady. Thanks for bringing that out of me.