In Memory of Ivy 2002-2005

[skeletontea]

Tonight, several days after returning home from a Thanksgiving get-together, I discovered my favorite cat (who I like more than all of my friends, and family) was not her usual, energetic, playful self.

I suspected perhaps she'd eaten some of the Brugmansia recently brought in from the cold, and I rushed her to the emergency vet. After some tests, they determined the plant had no role in what turned out be more serious than a mild poisoning, renal failure. They said it was either a genetic predisposition to kidney problems, or she somehow managed to get a hold of some lilies. Knowing that I would never bring lilies in the house, and knowing I'd told my mother many times never to do so, I was assured of the genetic predisposition, or so I thought.

After a long visit, we had to have her put to sleep (as there was no chance of recovery). I held her in my arms as the receptionist made truly insensitive jokes to try and lighten the mood. The technician inserted a syringe into Ivy's catheter, she cried out, and tensed up, then relaxed. After a minute, the technician checked for a heartbeat, and confirmed that Ivy was indeed dead. As I lowered her into a box I'd purchased as a coffin, her jaw fell open (which combined with the still opened eyes, was very upsetting).

As I returned home I set my wallet, and keys on the kitchen counter, where I saw a vase of partially chewed lilies that I just now found out my mother had set on the counter before we left to visit family. I am trying not to be angry with my mother. It seems that you can warn her of a potential hazard a hundred times, but she won't learn the lesson until it is to late (like the wine glass she kept leaving on the floor, despite my insistence that one of us may step on it one day, which I did, quite painfully). My mom's very upset as well, I hope I can keep myself from yelling at her, as it wouldn't do either of us any good.

I love you very much Ivy, and I miss you already.

[doctor diesel]

As I returned home I set my wallet, and keys on the kitchen counter, where I saw a vase of partially chewed lilies that I just now found out my mother had set on the counter before we left to visit family. I am trying not to be angry with my mother. It seems that you can warn her of a potential hazard a hundred times, but she won't learn the lesson until it is to late (like the wine glass she kept leaving on the floor, despite my insistence that one of us may step on it one day, which I did, quite painfully). My mom's very upset as well, I hope I can keep myself from yelling at her, as it wouldn't do either of us any good.

I love you very much Ivy, and I miss you already.

I'm so sorry to hear about your sadness, Mr Tea. But what is it with lilies? I've never heard of this before; does it apply to any domestic pet? Is my West Highland Terrier at risk from future floral arrangements?

Talking of which, I found him chewing on a giganteum pod last week - no joke.

I feel for you.


Diesel

[Coddfish]

Tonight, several days after returning home from a Thanksgiving get-together, I discovered my favorite cat (who I like more than all of my friends, and family) was not her usual, energetic, playful self.

After a long visit, we had to have her put to sleep (as there was no chance of recovery).
It is hard for some people to understand the bond that exists between a pet and his person. I have found many of the things you post on this site poignant and things I can relate to. Here is one more. My best friends are four-legged nudists too. I feel for you.

[GMorris]

I feel for you, tea. We have three cats ages 4, 5 and 6, and we've gotten VERY attached to them. Thankfully we don't have any plants and the only plant material they ever eat is catnip (well, once I found one of them playing around with a Marijuana bud, but that's a different story). I know you are angry with your mother, but yelling at her won't bring Ivy back. I'm sure you know that and it might make you feel better for a while if you did, but it really won't help in the long run. Look at it as a chance to maybe adopt a cat from the shelter. We've adopted 3 over the years, but two of those eventually found new homes other than ours due to unacceptable behaviour that could not be broken. The other two that remain are a mother and son pair of long hairs. We got the mother (named Fustifer, or Fusty for short) from a litter who's mother had gotten run over JUST as the kittens were weaned. I know you will mourn for some time, but it is something to think about in the future. All those kitties at the shelter that will just be put away, I only wish that we could adopt more of them. Three is a handful, and we occasionally feed some strays outside who now think they live here. Ours never go outside as we don't like to deal with fleas and the hazards of interacting with the feral cats and nature in general. Cat lovers REALLY love their cats!

[blackdog]

wow hey skeleton. what makes u think that a bunch of drug addicts would be interested in your loss!!!!
well you hit quite close to home.what i mean to say sarcasticly is yeah buddy i do feel for you and even more for your mother.try to switch places with her, no thanks. anyway the world sucks and were all gonna die some day some of us sooner and some later.just try to remember the good times you had with your cat and how it could have been otherwise for kitty.i myself have had to put down 2 cats and i lost 2 so no more cats in this house now i'm down to 1 doberman shepherd bitch, and i do mean bitch!! just as i got this dog as a pupster my older dobie bitch(i love my bitches) well at 12 yrs old she was failing and it was selfish gor me not to put her down and like you as i held her in my arm on top of the exam table as the vet was injecting the sodiumpenathol or whatever it was she lifted her head up and gave me a big lick across my face as if to thank me and tell me thanx for everything and that it'll be ok i........i gotta go peace da/dogg yeah addicts have no feelings bullshit

[katomic]

doc good to see you back where you been?

lol remined me of the time a mates basterd of a jack russll dog ate all most a tenth of resin that soon shut the basterd up, and off to bed he whent lol

i love dogs but not little yap yap dogs

[skeletontea]

I'm so sorry to hear about your sadness, Mr Tea. But what is it with lilies? I've never heard of this before; does it apply to any domestic pet? Is my West Highland Terrier at risk from future floral arrangements?

Talking of which, I found him chewing on a giganteum pod last week - no joke.

I feel for you.


Diesel

CFA: Lilies Can Be Deadly to Your Cat (http://www.cfainc.org/articles/lilies.html)
this link sums things up pretty well.

Thanks to everyone for their kind words, I'm heading out to my grandparent's property to bury her this afternoon. GMorris, I don't intend to yell at my mom, it wouldn't do either of us any good. I was more upset with her tendency to casually forget dire warnings oft repeated, untill it was too late. Your mentioning of the Humane Society reminded me of how I found Ivy, or rather how she found me.

I'd gone to the Humane Society looking to get a cat. None of the cats present really caught my eye, even though I was there for hours. Eventually it was time for me to go. As I was leaving, I walked along the wall of stacked cells in which cats were housed. I was nearing the door when I felt two paws reach out and grab my head. I turned to look at the cat who'd done this, and there was Ivy. There was an instant bond.

[lolleedee]

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry for your loss! I know just how you feel. I had to put my horse down in september. Pets become members of our family(sometimes, or most of the time, the BEST members of our family!!!!) It is very hard to let go and it is so easy to miss them until your heart hurts! My thoughts are with you!

[GMorris]

I was nearing the door when I felt two paws reach out and grab my head. I turned to look at the cat who'd done this, and there was Ivy. There was an instant bond.

He he, I know the feeling! I used to just go to the shelter from time to time, not really looking for anything but just looking. When I found our oldest cat, it was strange how he just seemed SO young and little, as they generally had the little bitty kitties in a seperate place. He just looked like such a dainty little thing and I fell in love in an instant. As it turned out, about 6 other people did too, and I just happened to be the first to sign up for him. The guy that cleaned the cages and fed them wouldn't (I guess couldn't) let us hold him or open the cage, but we went back the next day and the lock was unexplainably open. Once I took him out and held him, the deal was sealed!

[duke_nemmerle]

Dude that really sucks and I'm sorry for your loss. I've only met a few cats that weren't exponentially better to be around than your average human, so I totally understand the bond. Sorry bro :(

[skeletontea]

He he, I know the feeling! I used to just go to the shelter from time to time, not really looking for anything but just looking. When I found our oldest cat, it was strange how he just seemed SO young and little, as they generally had the little bitty kitties in a seperate place. He just looked like such a dainty little thing and I fell in love in an instant. As it turned out, about 6 other people did too, and I just happened to be the first to sign up for him. The guy that cleaned the cages and fed them wouldn't (I guess couldn't) let us hold him or open the cage, but we went back the next day and the lock was unexplainably open. Once I took him out and held him, the deal was sealed!

That's a great story, glad you got him. Lolledee, I'm sorry to hear about your horse, how long had you had him (or her?)

I just got back. I went to bury Ivy in my grandparents' pet cemetery (where I also have a ferret buried). It was the first time seeing my grandparents in 7 months. My grandfather helped me bury her, yet during the process, said he couldn't recall one of his cats he'd buried. I said "It was Lucky," to which he replied "No, not Bitsy." "No Grampa, Lucky." I said. He replied "Right, right....was Lucky a cat or a dog?" (Lucky died no more than 3 years ago, and was his very favorite cat. He's never shown signs of senility before today, it was quite unsettling.) My stepgrandmother (who always treated us like family, and was my favorite person in the world) has been more distant these past 3 or 4 years. This visit I noticed she had taken down all pictures of my Grandfather's side of the family from the refrigerator (including all pictures of my mother, and myself).

I don't know what to make of this recent change in my grandparents. They live completely isolated in a giant valley over 60 miles away from any town, a valley which my grandfather still mows with a riding mower, (this is an accident waiting to happen.) They are going mad at a startling rate, and they are miles away from any sort of aid.

[Paregoric Kid]

hey that really sucks. I own a bunch of cats myself. I think someone poisoned one of my cats with antifreeze a few years ago. anyways, check out the book The Cat Inside by William Burroughs

[skeletontea]

hey that really sucks. I own a bunch of cats myself. I think someone poisoned one of my cats with antifreeze a few years ago. anyways, check out the book The Cat Inside by William Burroughs

That's terrible. If someone dileberately poisoned one of my pets I don't know what I'd do to them, but I'm sure it would come with a lengthy prison term. (And I'm one of the most passive, non-violent people you could ever meet.)

Thanks for the book recommendation. I read Interzone in high school, and Naked Lunch after that. Burroughs may very well be my favorite writer. Considering my love of cats, I'm suprised I haven't picked that one up, but I certainly will.

[Coddfish]

That's terrible. If someone dileberately poisoned one of my pets I don't know what I'd do to them, but I'm sure it would come with a lengthy prison term. (And I'm one of the most passive, non-violent people you could ever meet.)
". . . and not just the men, but the women and children too. They're animals and I slaughtered them like animals. I hate them!" The Gospel of Star Wars has much to teach about the living force. The Dark Side is called upon here. If someone hurt one of my animals, I would think before I acted. . . . but I would act. Maybe "plot" is a better word than think. i would risk dying to protect or avenge my animals, just like young Skywalker and his mommy.:)

[jacky]

poor Ivy,....thanks for the words on lilie toxicity, I am a keeper of cats too, and its good to know that information.

the cat inside book by burroughs is pretty good! will dissapoint a few I guess, but shines some light on his character.

poor kittie.

[blackdog]

Friday, December 2, 2005; Posted: 6:44 p.m.

here's some nice news for once..........

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (AP) -- Emily the cat is back -- after flying home in the lap of luxury.
The curious cat who wound up traveling to France in a cargo container touched down at the Milwaukee airport on Thursday, greeted by her family and a horde of reporters.
A Continental cargo agent handed her over to 9-year-old Nick Herndon, son of the cat's owners, Donny and Lesley McElhiney. Emily meowed and pawed at reporters' microphones as the family answered questions. (Watch Anderson Cooper look into cat's long journey home -- 1:36 (http://javascript<b></b>:cnnVideo('play','/video/offbeat/2005/12/02/cooper.stowaway.cat.returns.affl');))
"She'll be held onto a lot all the way home. And then when we get home, too, she'll be cuddled a lot," Donny McElhiney said.
Her sumptuous return in business class on a Continental Airlines flight was a sharp departure from her trip to France, where she was found thin and thirsty but still alive.
"She seems a little calmer than she was before, just a little quieter, a little, maybe, wiser," said Lesley McElhiney, 32.
Emily vanished from her Appleton home in late September. She apparently wandered into a nearby paper company's distribution center and crawled into a container of paper bales.
The container went by truck to Chicago and by ship to Belgium before the cat was found October 24 at Raflatac, a laminating company in Nancy, France. Workers there used her tags to phone her veterinarian, who called the McElhineys.
Continental offered to fly the cat home from Paris after Emily's tale spread around the world and she cleared a one-month quarantine.
"This was such a marvelous story, that we wanted to add something to it," Continental spokesman Philippe Fleury told AP Television News at Charles de Gaulle airport.
After one Continental employee escorted Emily from Paris to Newark, New Jersey, cargo agent Gaylia McLeod accompanied the cat aboard a 50-seater from Newark to Milwaukee.
"I know it's close to the holidays," a tearful McLeod said. "I'm happy to be a part of reuniting Emily with her family."
On her flight home, Emily passed up a menu of peppered salmon filet and "opted for her French cat food" and some water, airline spokeswoman Courtney Wilcox said.
Apparently all that French food did Emily some good.
"She's bigger and heavier than before," Nick said

there is a reason for all the shit that happens .what that reason is i havent the foggiest?
peace da/dogg:cool:

[skeletontea]

Friday, December 2, 2005; Posted: 6:44 p.m.

here's some nice news for once..........

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (AP) -- Emily the cat is back -- after flying home in the lap of luxury.
The curious cat who wound up traveling to France in a cargo container touched down at the Milwaukee airport on Thursday, greeted by her family and a horde of reporters.


That is a very nice story, thank you blackdog, and thank you jacky. Speaking of plant toxicity, there really needs to be more mainstream education on the subject. Many pet owners wouldn't even dream of bringing a poinsettia into the house, but they'll put fresh cut lilies on the table, or hang mistletoe from a poorly tied string above a doorframe. And the irony is, the poinsettia isn't even remotely toxic! (the most adverse effects from eating poinsettia are a stomach ache.)

[poppy]

Skeletontea, as a newish opiophile I've only just read this post, and apologise to anyone who's sick of the topic but would still like to offer my sincere condolences for your loss. I am a cat (well animals in general) lover but don't actully have any mainly due to the fact that I have two lurchers (Tin-ribs and Socks) who very much have murder on their mind when it comes to smaller furry or feathery creatures.
I have over the years had three elderly dogs 'put to sleep by the vet', on the vet's recommedation one due to kidney failure brought on by extreme old age (at least 17 yrs we didn't have her from puppyhood, she was a rescue dog), the other two a jack russel and a staffie both got cancer at the age of twelve. At the vets I went to the animal was given a sedative in the scruff of the neck (which was very quick acting), then a vein was located in the front paw and the drugs to stop the heart or what ever were administered so the animal is actually asleep and not experiencing any distress when the vet is trying to find a vein (which in the case of the staff took ages, I can remember feeling very anxious unlike my mom who was oblivious to the fact that the vet was making a pigs ear of finding a vein. I was just waiting for the blood to shoot into the barrel and felt like saying do you want me to do that cos I think I'd be quicker at it than you.) To top it off as we paid the receptionist for the procedure she then asked us when we wanted to make our next appointment!!!! Generally speaking however I think we treat our animals more humanely and with more dignity than we do people In time you will be able to remember Ivy without sadness, and you will remember the good times you shared. Hang in there, also your poor mom must feel awful, so go easy on her she must feel majorly guilty especially as you had warned her of the dangers of these flowers incidently I had never heard of this and I'm interested as to whether it poses the same dangers to dogs, also are there any other toxic plants etc which I should be aware of. I also think you should take comfort in the factthat Ivy's death will not have been in vain because you have educated people on the dangers of lilys to cats which will ultimately save the lives of other cats.laters poppy

[skeletontea]

I had never heard of this and I'm interested as to whether it poses the same dangers to dogs, also are there any other toxic plants etc which I should be aware of.

As of yet, Lilly toxicity resulting in death has not been reported in dogs, though it does give them considerable gastrointestinal upset, and in my opinion should be avoided.

Here are some links which I found to be very useful:
Hidden dangers of plants (http://www.fabcats.org/hiddendangersofplants.html)
http://www.fabcats.org/hiddendangersofplants.html

Toxic Foods and Plants for Dogs (http://www.entirelypets.com/toxicfoods.html)
http://www.entirelypets.com/toxicfoods.html

Toxic to Cats (http://www.vetinfo.com/ctoxin.html)
http://www.vetinfo.com/ctoxin.html
(This is a Q&A page, which makes good mention of garlic & onion toxicities.)

The following links (though not about living plants) are also quite important:
Theobromine poisoning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobromine_poisoning)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobromine_poisoning

Nicotine poisoning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine_poisoning)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine_poisoning

[Mokelly]

anyway the world sucks and were all gonna die some day some of us sooner and some later.


I dissagree with you. The world only sucks when you make it suck. The decisions you make in your life and how you deal with problems and trajedies determine wether or not it's going to "suck". Dieing some day is irrevelent. And we are not all drug addicts on this site. You can only speak for yourself, not others and I think you did a fine job.

[Zanzibar]

Sincere sympathies from my cats and dogs and myself, skeletontea. They are such a part of our souls. Can you tell us what kind of lilies? Down here several different flowers, all called "lilies", and this is serious information you have given us. I have a big garden and I realized with a shock that there are dangers out there that I know nothing about. Snakes and ticks are bad enough.

We're all feeling with you.

[blackdog]

:yin-yang: I disagree with you. The world only sucks when you make it suck. The decisions you make in your life and how you deal with problems and tragedies determine Werther or not it's going to "suck". Dieing some day is irrevelent. And we are not all drug addicts on this site. You can only speak for yourself, not others and I think you did a fine job.

let me reiterate on what was said,however not to disagree with you but as we all know we all have our good days and or our bad and when shit happens and it most always certainly do,well life sucks, but alas when good shit happens ain't life grand!!:yin-yang: yin/yang you get what you give,you can't always get what u want but if u try sum time u just might find u get what u need,and how does it feel to want?

anyhow mokelly i hear ya thanxs fer the response yeah i was a little negative but say la vie.....life goes on and on and on and then you die! hello?? goodbye peace and god bless the u.s.and it's allies the rest can go to hell!!
peace da/dogg:cool:

[Mokelly]

I hear your opinion man, wasn't dissin ya or anything, thanks for the gentle response

[poppy]

Sorry but I disagreewith you. We all feel and class both physical and emotional pain in very different ways, therefore our reactions to it are different; but should be equally respected. Where one person who loses a loved one will turn to drugs as a way of coping another will do a charity run for a cause relevant to the person they have lost. Both are equally valid expressions of loss, but one is socially acceptable and the other isn't. The world often sucks through no fault of our own, ask anyone who has lost someone they love either through death or a relationship gone bad, or any other way for that matter, we all hurt in different ways. If you asked the people who have lost everything in the Pakistani earthquakes for example if the world sucks at the moment, I'm sure loads of them would say yes, and who would you or I (people from the relatively comfortable western world) be to comment? In the same way, who are you (or me) to decide whether anyone elses life sucks or not. You give the impression that there is a choice. I don't think there is.
Also I may as a drug addict( shock horror of the IV heroin kind) be being touchy and if I am I apologise but the way you say we are not all drug addicts on this site sounds derogatory(excuse spelling) like you're making certain assumptions,ie. that drug addicts by definition are weak and inferior. You should remember that nobody gets up one day and thinks 'yep my life's shit I'll be a drug addict' like its an easy option. it just happens, it catches you when you're not looking. As my gran used to say, 'there for the grace of God go I'. Maybe it will happen to you one day and then you'll understand that its wrong to judge.

[Mokelly]

I'm going to pick apart your post piece by piece now, let me begin. First off I did NOT deny the fact that

"We all feel and class both physical and emotional pain in very different ways, therefore our reactions to it are different; but should be equally respected."

Of coarse we are all going to deal with things differently! And of coarse we are all going to have very different problems. This does not change the possibility of reacting positively or negatively, I have equal respect for the vast number of choices that could be made in the former or the latter, but my opinion is that while you can make the best of any situation big or small, you can also make them worse, or make it better for, or harder on yourself, the choice is yours and yours alone. This has nothing to do with my respect for however a person reacts, you're either helping or hurting yourself.

"Where one person who loses a loved one will turn to drugs as a way of coping another will do a charity run for a cause relevant to the person they have lost. Both are equally valid expressions of loss, but one is socially acceptable and the other isn't."

First of all, where did you get the idea that I cared wether or not something is "socially acceptable"? And I was talking of any problem or situation not just loss, but this is a good example. Any expression is a valid expression, I'm not denying this at all! Nor am necessarily in favor of something that is socially acceptable over something that is not! Where exactly are you getting all of this!>?

"The world often sucks through no fault of our own, ask anyone who has lost someone they love either through death or a relationship gone bad, or any other way for that matter, we all hurt in different ways."

The world does not suck on it's own, but very often trajedy strikes on it's own, and things go wrong all the time for reasons that are also very often hard to understand, this I am not denying in any way, shape, or form. I have lost people I love through death and other ways beyond those described in this quote. I am not saying any one way is the right way to react to anything, just that one can choose to react in a positive or negative way, either helping or hurting the situation at hand, including his/her self.

"If you asked the people who have lost everything in the Pakistani earthquakes for example if the world sucks at the moment, I'm sure loads of them would say yes, and who would you or I (people from the relatively comfortable western world) be to comment?"

I am also sure loads would say yes, and I can only imagine the amount of pain and suffering that was involved and is still involved in that trajedy. I am also sure that "loads" of people in that trajedy are utilizing positive thinking, choosing to make the best of things, to rebuild their lives and to have hope for their future. I (someone from the relatively comfortable western world) am someone to comment because I experience trajedies of my own, and must deal with them on a day to day basis. I also must be prepared for great trajedy that could strike at any moment. Did you know that we are succeptable to natural dissaster also? (Katrina?) And if a major dissaster does strike, you better bet your ass I'm going to make the best of it, not run around crying about the world sucking! And that is the truth, why not make the best of something when you have the power to do so?

"In the same way, who are you (or me) to decide whether anyone elses life sucks or not. You give the impression that there is a choice. I don't think there is."

I have not or am not deciding wether or not anyone elses life "sucks" or not, where you are getting this I do not know. I do not give the impression that there is a choice of wether or not things "suck" (as you say) or that problem situations and trajedies happen to us all, all the time! There is no choice in this. There is however, and I am giving off the impression that, there is a choice in how, not what you do but how, you can react to anything in either a positive or negative way. I'm not telling anyone to react positively or negatively or in any way for that matter, only that there is a choice.

"Also I may as a drug addict( shock horror of the IV heroin kind) be being touchy and if I am I apologise but the way you say "we are not all drug addicts on this site"
sounds derogatory(excuse spelling) like you're making certain assumptions,ie. that drug addicts by definition are weak and inferior. You should remember that nobody gets up one day and thinks 'yep my life's shit I'll be a drug addict' like its an easy option. it just happens, it catches you when you're not looking. As my gran used to say, 'there for the grace of God go I'"

I can not comment on you being a drug addict, or what kind of drug addict you are, or by being touchy about anything, that's all you man. but BY THE WAY I SAY? how the hell do you know how the hell I'm saying something? and how do you know if I am not indeed a drug addict myself? I am not, but how would you know? I was in no way derrogotory, nor did I make any assumption, ie. that drug addicts by definition are weak or inferior. There are hits, misses, and then, THERE ARE MISSES! I was simply stating the fact that every person on this site is not a drug addict, not that drug addicts are bad people, or that non drug addicts are good people. You are WAY off! And in no way did I say that it was easy to be a drug addict, or that people get up and all of the sudden decide to be one. It may catch you when you aren't looking or happen any number of ways. I can not comment on what your gran used to say.

"Maybe it will happen to you one day and then you'll understand that its wrong to judge."

No matter what happens to me today or any day I will always understand that it is wrong to judge. The entirety of your post has been very judgemental, not any of mine. I can not believe or understand where you have gotten off saying the things you have, but it is your opinion and I will respect it.

Take care,
Morgan

[Mokelly]

oh and I am appologizing for taking away from the purpose of this thread. Merry christmas and all my best wishes to skelatontea for the loss of her dear pet ivy.



poppy is making this out to be sarcastic and it is not. I am an avid animal lover and in fact am a natural vegan bodybuilder (vegan meaning no consumption of animal parts of any kind) By living in this way I save animals from torture and death every day. And on top of that I have two kitties and love them very much and am deeply sorry for both the loss of Ivy and my unfortunate involvement in taking away from this threads purpose.

[poppy]

Mokelly, I had decided to treat your last post with the contempt with which it deserves, and ignore it however, tonight you have gone a step too far with the most insincere condolences regarding Skeletontea's loss imaginable. (talk about false) and I think cocky because I assume that because nobody has replied to your post that they all agree with u, maybe they do and if they do fair enough but maybe like me they are busy in the last few days before christmas.
Anyway now its my turn to have my say (brief because I've wasted too much time on this already)
Don't worry folks, I am adult enough to realize that not everybody is interested in reading pages of me picking apart Mokelly's post piece by piece' as he did mine.
Anyway I have never seen such a gross overreation to what basically amounts to a different opinion to yours, talk about throwing your toys out of the pram!!!!! Immature and spoiled brat spring to mind. I could almost feel the venom emanating from the computer screen.
At no point during my original post did I try to insult your intelligence. Can you honestly say the same?eg.'Did you know that we are succeptable to natural dissaster also? (Katrina?)' I am a 36 year old mom of two sons aged 12 & 14 who watches the news and reads the paper etc. everyday.......... ps get your facts right as far as I know here in the UK we were lucky enough to be safe from Katrina; there are many other points such as taking my words out of context but I won't bore anyone else with the details.
I'm sure they've heard enough. However I stand by my original post particularly regarding the drug addict comment. If you did not have any prejudices regarding this you wouldn't have made the remark in the first place. Poppy

[GMorris]

Well, this definitely DOES take away from the point of the original post, such negativity, and why post on a board about opiates if not a drug addict anyway? As for picking apart posts, I could nitpick on other things as well, for instance:
Of coarse we are all going to deal with things differently! And of coarse...
That's twice that the wrong "course" was used. "Coarse hair? Of course!"
First of all, where did you get the idea that I cared wether or not......I have not or am not deciding wether or not
That's not even one of the COMMON spellings. "I don't know whether the weather will be nice or not!" According to the dictionary a wether is a castrated ram...
The world does not suck on it's own, but very often trajedy strikes... ...and I can only imagine the amount of pain and suffering that was involved and is still involved in that trajedy. I am also sure that "loads" of people in that trajedy... trajedies of my own, and must deal with them on a day to day basis. I also must be prepared for great trajedy...or that problem situations and trajedies happen to us all
Again, the same word several times, it's traGedy for goodness' sake! It's a tragedy that someone can spell 99% of the words but consistently miss a few like that. I'm not averse to the occasional typo, but I DO notice things like that, drug addict or not. Although I realize that the Americans and Brits have the occasional different spelling (like "realize/realise" just now), that's just not the case here. More nitpicking anyone?

Even got "derogatory" wrong, hmmm....

I mean, here it is Christmas Eve, and we're nitpicking. What's wrong with us? And Ivy's STILL gone. What a friggin' tragedy!

[Mokelly]

yeah I spelled a bunch of stuff wrong, big deal, I'm not trying to start a flame war but if you're going to attack something attack my ideas not my spelling, of coarse you know what I mean even though I spelled a few words wrong! If thats your way of defending poppy then so be it. I happen to have two cats of my own and was sincere about my sympathy for skelotontea. If you don't like my post then whatever, but I stand by it and am still distubed by the way YOU judged and YOU took my words WAY out of context! I'm not trying to be your enemy, I just can't believe the bs you pulled out of god knows where of my tiny post about the world not having to suck! And my facts are straight, I'm in the us and when I said "We" I was speaking of americans (Katrina), jeez it even says what my location is on every one of my posts! lol you are nuts! I don't care if you're a drug addict or not! I was simply pointing out a fact, that not all of us are addicted to drugs! I don't have a problem with it but if you do then that's you hating on yourself and taking it out on me, pure and simple. Anyone that read all the posts that started this should understand that. On top of that the way you chose to react AGAIN just proves you are choosing to be a negative person. You just should have appologized to me for taking my post way out of context. and Gmorris? come now man people make grammatical errors all the time what does that have to do with anything! I'm sure I could go dig up a ton of errors on your part if I looked around. who cares? if you want to debate use the ideas not the spelling! lol what's wrong with you guys, I'm out to make friends not enemys, but the way you're acting is making it pretty hard. I don't want to taint this thread any longer, if you wish to continue this then start a new thread. Oh and your post did deserve to be picked apart piece by piece, it was filled with fallacies and did not make sense at all. Nor did your crazy interpretation of my tiny post about being positive and the fact that some of us are wekend warriors not addicts, and even some who don't use at all. I did not say which was better, which was worse or anything of the sort! All I said was speak for yourself! I will defend myself and if you think thats childish then so be it. All of your posts regarding this topic say a lot of things about you, a whole lot. Just tell me where you got all of that from my tiny ass post about being positive? I sincerely don't get it, not trying to fight with you or anyone, I just don't get it. so if you could point it out in a way that's not hostil then that would be great. Oh and try to do it without searching my whole damned post for misspelled words please. (that was the first sarcastic sentence I've written.) merry christmas! (for real)

originally posted by poppy tea "Anyway I have never seen such a gross overreation to what basically amounts to a different opinion to yours"

That's the thing poppy, it wasn't a different opinion, I wouldn't mind that one bit and would welcome it. it was the misconstrued interpretation of my post. not an opinion at all. I have not been hostile at all, in fact when I picked your other post apart I agreed with you most of the time, just took out and revised the fact that you thought I was being negative or judgemental in anyway, when you in fact proved to be the most judgemental of all! come on man and anyone else, read the posts! what makes sense and what doesn't? And Gmorris! ahahhahahahhahah I still can't believe you went through my post to find misspelled words! Hilarious! I'd really like to see you do that to every post on the board! it would be really funny! Like instead of sharing your opinion on something just correct their spelling errors! lmfao

[poppy]

yeah I spelled a bunch of stuff wrong, big deal, I'm not trying to start a flame war but if you're going to attack something attack my ideas not my spelling, of coarse you know what I mean even though I spelled a few words wrong! If thats your way of defending poppy then so be it. I happen to have two cats of my own and was sincere about my sympathy for skelotontea. If you don't like my post then whatever, but I stand by it and am still distubed by the way YOU judged and YOU took my words WAY out of context! I'm not trying to be your enemy, I just can't believe the bs you pulled out of god knows where of my tiny post about the world not having to suck! And my facts are straight, I'm in the us and when I said "We" I was speaking of americans (Katrina), jeez it even says what my location is on every one of my posts! lol you are nuts! I don't care if you're a drug addict or not! I was simply pointing out a fact, that not all of us are addicted to drugs! I don't have a problem with it but if you do then that's you hating on yourself and taking it out on me, pure and simple. Anyone that read all the posts that started this should understand that. On top of that the way you chose to react AGAIN just proves you are choosing to be a negative person. You just should have appologized to me for taking my post way out of context. and Gmorris? come now man people make grammatical errors all the time what does that have to do with anything! I'm sure I could go dig up a ton of errors on your part if I looked around. who cares? if you want to debate use the ideas not the spelling! lol what's wrong with you guys, I'm out to make friends not enemys, but the way you're acting is making it pretty hard. I don't want to taint this thread any longer, if you wish to continue this then start a new thread. Oh and your post did deserve to be picked apart piece by piece, it was filled with fallacies and did not make sense at all. Nor did your crazy interpretation of my tiny post about being positive and the fact that some of us are wekend warriors not addicts, and even some who don't use at all. I did not say which was better, which was worse or anything of the sort! All I said was speak for yourself! I will defend myself and if you think thats childish then so be it. All of your posts regarding this topic say a lot of things about you, a whole lot. Just tell me where you got all of that from my tiny ass post about being positive? I sincerely don't get it, not trying to fight with you or anyone, I just don't get it. so if you could point it out in a way that's not hostil then that would be great. Oh and try to do it without searching my whole damned post for misspelled words please. (that was the first sarcastic sentence I've written.) merry christmas! (for real)

originally posted by poppy tea "Anyway I have never seen such a gross overreation to what basically amounts to a different opinion to yours"

That's the thing poppy, it wasn't a different opinion, I wouldn't mind that one bit and would welcome it. it was the misconstrued interpretation of my post. not an opinion at all. I have not been hostile at all, in fact when I picked your other post apart I agreed with you most of the time, just took out and revised the fact that you thought I was being negative or judgemental in anyway, when you in fact proved to be the most judgemental of all! come on man and anyone else, read the posts! what makes sense and what doesn't? And Gmorris! ahahhahahahhahah I still can't believe you went through my post to find misspelled words! Hilarious! I'd really like to see you do that to every post on the board! it would be really funny! Like instead of sharing your opinion on something just correct their spelling errors! lmfao
Mokelly you are a twat!!!, there's no other word for it, talk about hysterical (yep you've gone up a notch from over-reaction.) I apologise to Skeletontea about abusing this thread. I've aready posted my opinion on Ivy so my true feelings are already known.(not oversentimental bullshit)
Anyway like you suggested, either start a new thread so folk can avoid it if they so wish, or pm your opinion, or shut the fuck up!
You say you're trying to make friends, funny way of going about it, in the past I have found moaning and taking the piss is not a way to win friends and influence people. I expect you're a Billy No Mates in the real world as well as here (sorry that was below the belt but you're enough to test the patience of a saint). Mokelly do me (and everyone else a favour and shut the fuck up. I wonder how you would react in any other discussion?Poppyx
Shit just noticed a spelling mistake I meant 'already', God knows what sort of a mountain my mate Mokelly will make of that. I must point out that gmorris deserves the respect he's earned from experience, somethng u (Mokelly)know Jack shit about,ie. the concept of the elder, ie a person who has earned a position of superiority within a social group through experience. U talk about being a 'weekend warrior' what battles have u fought (I mean psychological not physical)Did I hear the word none.........I don't know maybe I was mistaken.
Not only do I have supersonic respect for the members of our (British and American) armed forces, I also have the utmost respect for people who conquer daily battles in the most adverse situations eg physical and mental disability etc............................................... .................................................I could go on forever, u know the people who I'm referring to.
I am seriously wondering what the fuck are u doing on a forum such as this?
Whats the point if u r'nt into getting wasted?

[skeletontea]

How the hell did a thread about the death of my favorite cat, and recommendations of which plants to avoid so your pets do not befall the same fate as mine turn into a flame war?

Poppy, I understand where you are coming from. There are one or two people who's posts I don't particularly care for. They give info that ranges from stupid, to potentially life-threatening, but yelling at someone isn't going to change them. Odds are they'll just get pissed off due to being called a "dumbf*ck," and completely ignore your suggestion, perhaps they'll even continue doing whatever it is they've been berated for, just to irritate their newfound adversary.

Instead, perhaps just make a polite mention of what someone is doing that irritates you, they may not even be aware of their actions. If they don't agree, so what? It's a message board full of people you will never meet in real life, so why let real emotions get involved? Unlike in real life where disagreements can ruin lifelong friendships and work relations, on a message board, if you don't like what someone says, you can simply not read their posts. This is the best advice I can offer to everyone.

[Mokelly]

man! who gave you socks for xmas! lol holy shit man read what you write! You are so hostile and judgemental it's crazy! Really entertaining actually. And who the hell told you I wasn't into getting wasted? Opiates are all I do, that's why I'm on this forum. If you read any other part of the site you'll see I've posted experiments and given advise. I am also a former member of the New York Army National Guard. And listen here boy, you need to get your head checked the way you're rambling. And respect is not given at any age, respect is earned, not given, and his (gmorris') post does show great "experience" with his post doesn't it. You are a riot man I hope this goes on forever because not only are you making yourself out to be a fool, but it's just funny as hell! I was simply setting the facts straight from the start man, not judging, not "over-reacting" just setting the facts straight, in favor of no one, pure and simple. Why don't you just sit down and re-read all the posts and realize that! Come on man gimmie a break. And one minute I'm being sarcastic and the next "over sentimental"? Your mad at your father aren't you lol !!!seriously though what's you're prob man I've made no hostile posts. And in my short time here I've made quite pleasant acquaintances, including a moderator that I'm going to have review this thread, and frankly I hope he lets it continue cause you are wicked funny man, oh and your posts suggest a lot about your persona, you sound like a really kind soul. I wish there were more people like you. Merry Christmas

[Mokelly]

Hey skelatontea, I really sorry man. I'm not going to post here anymore about all this arguing. I wasn't even trying to argue in the first place. I was reading this thread about your poor cat and saw someone say "life sucks" and was simply saying you don't have to look at it that way. That's all that's it. T I've only been continuing to get to the bottom of it and find out what he's so mad about! But now I see I won't find out and I've kind of made a joke of the whole thing, hence my last post (who wouldn't with the replies I've gotten) but I've forgotten that this IS NOT my thread and definitely not a thread to be partaking in this sort of foolishness, so I'll stop. I hope you take me seriously when I say I'm truly sorry for the loss of your pet, I do have two cats, and I love them with all my heart.


Happy Holidays,
Morgan Kelly

PS: poppy I don't know how I pissed you off so bad but lets move past it ok? Seriously if you want to go around with the "life sucks" attitude it's A ok with me. But in no way did I insult you or anyone by saying "we are not all drug addicts on this site" or "you don't have to think negatively"nthey are just facts, and should be read as such, no sides are taken in these comments! Prove you are a decent human being by responding with some reason so we can get to the bottom of this instead of vulgarities and ramblings with no apparent point what-so-ever.

[skeletontea]

Don't worry about it, and thanks for the condolences.

Happy Holidays everybody.

Oh and Zanzibar, as to your question, its all lilies as far as I know (including daylilies, which aren't even in the same genus.) The plant my cat nibbled on was a Tiger Lilly (Lilium tigrinum).
Toward the bottom of the first page of this thread I gave several links for plants and foods that are poisonous to our feline friends, they should answer any other questions you may have on the subject.

[poppy]

Skeletontea you are right, sorry that last post was a tad over the top, but he seems to insult my intelligence with every word. Look at me I'm off again, and my only excuse is............I guess there is no excuse, I'm old enough to know better. He just pissed me off with his general nitpicking of everything I write and seriously not knowing when to shut up, even his last post is over the top as amongst other things he implys he's reporting me to his buddy the moderater, because I don't agree with him, how old? He also seems oblivious to the fact that I'm female, I've got two kids to prove it so I'd appreciate it if he quit calling me 'he'. Any way enough it's christmas time forgive and forget and all that. I think I'd best just leave it with Good will to all men and even Mokelly.
Anyway I'll take your comments on board and try to act on them (ie ignore him and rise above his goddam stupid comments). Enjoy the rest of the holiday. Laters Poppyx

[psychotiKK]

I'm an animal lover as our family has 4 cats and 4 dogs. I don't know if this will cheer you up at all, but I had a neighbor with many cats, and they did not take care of them at all. I heard some noises that sounded like suffering kittys so I walked over to their yard (didn't care if they called the police) and found many nearly dead kittens along with four dead ones rotting.. I can't tell you how much that bothered me. So what did I do? I stole them all, took care of them, and found them all new homes. I saved about 12 kittens lives. I want to beat the shit out of my neighbor for letting some poor animals suffer like that..

[Mokelly]

holy crap. I mean HOLY CRAP. That's so great what you did I can't even describe it man. Awesome. Yeah I get sick when I here about these little old ladies with a million cats and think they can take care of themselves. sick

[poppy]

I'm with Mokelly on this one, fucking hell, I absolutely hate any form of cruelty to animals, I just can't understand how anyone could harm an animal either through plain simple neglect or deliberate cruelty eg. violence, starvation, forcing them to run/fight etc the list goes on... (which certainly in my area happens way too often!!!)
Going back to the 'old ladies' that its all too true too often and sadly some of the old ladies who have 'a million cats,' like u say ' (not being sarcastic but agreeing with u) when they can't look after themselves or even one cat, actually think that they are being kind to the animals under their 'care'.

Last December, I was out on the local estate (scoring) when we saw this lad with a puppy under his jumper, as animal lovers we couldn't resist having a look and when the lad said it was a lurcher which had been rejected by its mum, we were smitten as we already had an eight year old greyhound and had lost out staffie to cancer age 12 earlier in the year)

He then took us to see the rest of the litter(which belonged to his uncle). The puppies and mom(a greyhound) were being kept in a tiny garden shed, which stank to high heaven and I doubt had been cleaned since the puppies had been born seven weeks earlier. Their only light came via a hole in the side. We looked through the hole and one puppy in particular kept fighting his way to the front, I picked him up and fell in love, the owner warned us that the puppy smelt and that he needed worming, so we immediately went home and cleaned him up and bought some worming tablets from the local pet shop and gave him and our other dog the relevant dose.

The next morning, my boyfriend had already gone to work, and my son and I were just watching breakfast telly before getting on with our day. Obviously we were on the alert for any sign of the puppy needing the loo, so when he squatted ready to perfom a, shall we say number 2, I quickly shoved a newspaper under his rear end. It was luck rather than judgement that got the paper in the right place, but thank heavens I managed it!!! Never in my life have I seen anything as revolting as the live worms which came out of that puppy. It looked like a wriggling mass of spaghetti, seriously!!!!! Thankfully it did him no serious harm, we named him Socks and he has grown into a lovely healthy 'teenage' dog.

We found out some weeks later that the puppy that we had originally seen died 2 weeks after we first saw it, due to its worm infestation which they never bothered to treat, and would only have cost a few pounds. It was eventually put to sleep by a vet at the local police station, where the owners eventually took it after what I imagine was immense suffering.

Also I firmly believe that most of those lovely cute puppies from that litter last December are either dead from early neglect or in the local dog home as last years unwanted christmas presents!!!! (and were just a quick £40 to the 'breeder'.It never ceases to amaze me how cruel people can be in what is supposed to be an advanced, compassionate society. I generally far prefer animals to people, the give and should be given total unconditional love.

On a lighter note,like many family pets, my dogs having been totally spoilt eating all sorts of goodies that are not suitable for dogs..... over the christmas period, including a full dinner on christmas day. Anyway their usual eating routine has gone totally to pot, and when my boyfriend fed them their usual can of dog food this morning (rather than this evening) he seriously said 'do you think that food will 'hold' them till tomorrow night?' in the same way he would have said in the past 'do you think that bag of gear will hold us till tomorrow?' (referring to the time after the last dose before heroin/methadone addicts start to withdraw......)It cracked me up anyway!!Laters Poppyx

[skeletontea]

I'm an animal lover as our family has 4 cats and 4 dogs. I don't know if this will cheer you up at all, but I had a neighbor with many cats, and they did not take care of them at all. I heard some noises that sounded like suffering kittys so I walked over to their yard (didn't care if they called the police) and found many nearly dead kittens along with four dead ones rotting.. I can't tell you how much that bothered me. So what did I do? I stole them all, took care of them, and found them all new homes. I saved about 12 kittens lives. I want to beat the shit out of my neighbor for letting some poor animals suffer like that..

How absolutely horrific! I'm glad you managed to save 12, and have found them good homes. Across the street from me, a psychotic/mentally challenged middle-aged woman lives with her mother. The younger of the two has a tendency to steal neighborhood outdoor cats, and lock them in stacked pet carriers in her garage. My next door neighbor who was telling me this whole story, said she'd called the cops on the cat horder, but since she was keeping the pet carriers clean, there wasn't a crime. Despite the fact that there were over 50 carriers stacked together, and on top of eachother, and the cats had no room to move at all, their muscles likely having turned to jelly (according to my ex next-door neighbor.) I'd like to stop her, but The Humane society already has too many cats. If I were to call them on her, and were they to respond, they'd probably end up killing what are likely very unadoptable cats.

[poppy]

"My next door neighbor who was telling me this whole story, said she'd called the cops on the cat horder, but since she was keeping the pet carriers clean, there wasn't a crime. Despite the fact that there were over 50 carriers stacked together, and on top of eachother, and the cats had no room to move at all, their muscles likely having turned to jelly (according to my ex next-door neighbor.) I'd like to stop her, but The Humane society already has too many cats. If I were to call them on her, and were they to respond, they'd probably end up killing what are likely very unadoptable cats."__________________
Skeletontea, I mean no offence by this and I suspect you won't agree with me on this one, but what the hell!
I guess the situation you are referring to begs a question regarding quality of life,(ie) maybe the cats you mention would be better off being humanely destroyed rather than subjected to what is effectively a life sentence with no forseeable parole or even time in the exercise yard.
This of course opens up a whole new can of worms as to who are we (humans) to decide who should live and who should die?!!?! I think I'd best leave it there before I get lynched by someone. Laters Poppyx

[Mokelly]

I know where you're comin from poppy! But I think this lady was taking perfectly healthy owned-cats from the street , just cause they were outside. But after they are left in those cages and treated god knows how, then they're all screwed. Thats what I got from it anyway. Oh yeah I almost forgot, HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

[GMorris]

yeah I spelled a bunch of stuff wrong, big deal, I'm not trying to start a flame war but if you're going to attack something attack my ideas not my spelling, of coarse you know what I mean even though I spelled a few words wrong! If thats your way of defending poppy then so be it.
Ah, but you have this wrong. See, the whole point of that was to point out how silly the thread was getting, not necessarily as a personal attack. The silliness was driving me nuts, so I did that just to emphasize how petty the conversation had become. Sorry you didn't see that, and no hard feelings, eh?
.. and Gmorris? come now man people make grammatical errors all the time what does that have to do with anything! I'm sure I could go dig up a ton of errors on your part if I looked around. who cares? if you want to debate use the ideas not the spelling! lol what's wrong with you guys, I'm out to make friends not enemys, but the way you're acting is making it pretty hard.
Feel free to dig, you won't find many if any, and any you DO find are most likely just typos. I proofread everything I write and if not sure of a spelling, I look it up on dictionary.com. Like I said, this wasn't meant as a personal attack, however sometimes it DOES take me an extra minute or two to decipher posts that have a LOT of grammar and spelling errors!

Happy holidays to all!

*EDIT* Just noticed this:
And Gmorris! ahahhahahahhahah I still can't believe you went through my post to find misspelled words! Hilarious!
I just have to say this, I didn't "go through the post to find misspelled words". I notice them immediately so there's no need to look for them. I DID quote the post though since I already KNEW where the mistakes were!

[poppy]

Mokelly,I'm sure as an animal lover (which you have shown yourself to be) you will agree that this is an impossible situation and that there is no right or wrong answer as to how to make things right for these cats which are effectively living in solitary confinement; in an ideal world the cats would be rescued and found wonderful homes where they'd be loved, fed, played with etc.etc.etc... unfortunately life just isn't like that, if only it was!!!!!! The reality is these cats will probably live this miserable existence till they either die or they are destroyed....
As Skeletontea said these cats would be extremely difficult to 'rehome' so the reality of the situation is that if reported to the authorities these cats would probably be 'humanely!!!' destroyed, which takes us back to the question of quality of life, and who has the right to decide whether these cats would rather be dead than live in these confined quarters.
Also there is the fact that a person such as the lady who has collected all these cats is likely to do exactly the same thing again, unless helped with her problems. Sadly we could find ourselves having a similar conversation again over another set of cats.
Obviously there are serious mental health issues regarding a character such as this lady and we clearly need changes in our health and legal systems to try to prevent such things occurring in the future. Particularly in the case of animal cruelty, the penalties we have don't seem nearly severe enough, certainly not in the UK anyway!

[paperrabbit]

god, sorry ST for your loss.... I never knew that about lillies thanks so much for the info! I only have a couple plants as it is, since I do have a black-thumb and everything I touch dies, but maybe that's for the better... I have a cat too and I don't have any kids, but he is my baby and I really don't know how I would be able to handle a loss like that (christ, i am scared to let him outside), especially something that could have been so easily prevented, but accidents do happen. So you were there when Ivy was put to sleep? I think that although that is quite a painful process, it does help with closure since you see the animal peacefully leave this world.
again, i'm so sorry ((big hugs))...and maybe it is not yet time to run out and get a new cat because you still have to mourn this one, but it may not be a terrible idea sometime in the future.<3

[skeletontea]

god, sorry ST for your loss.... I never knew that about lillies thanks so much for the info! I only have a couple plants as it is, since I do have a black-thumb and everything I touch dies, but maybe that's for the better... I have a cat too and I don't have any kids, but he is my baby and I really don't know how I would be able to handle a loss like that (christ, i am scared to let him outside), especially something that could have been so easily prevented, but accidents do happen. So you were there when Ivy was put to sleep? I think that although that is quite a painful process, it does help with closure since you see the animal peacefully leave this world.
again, i'm so sorry ((big hugs))...and maybe it is not yet time to run out and get a new cat because you still have to mourn this one, but it may not be a terrible idea sometime in the future.<3

Yes, I was there when they put her to sleep. The receptionist (who didn't even have a reason to be in the room) was making tasteless jokes (which was horribly inapropriate) to try and lighten the mood during the injection. Ivy cried out, tensed up, and then she was gone. Thank you for your kind words (and virtual hugs.)

http://members.aol.com/skeletontea/ivy.jpg http://members.aol.com/skeletontea/lily.jpghttp://members.aol.com/skeletontea/ivy2.jpg
(01) A picture my mother took of Ivy about a week before she died. (02) Here is a picture my mom had taken of the lily several days before Ivy's death (this was before we knew she was poisoned.) If you look at the leaf in the foreground, you can see that Ivy has already begun chewing the leaves (which my mother didn't notice). (03) Here is a picture I shot of Ivy with the cheap digital camera in my mom's phone while at the vet's. I didn't want the medical waste bin in the background, but this was the only angle that didn't show the IV cath in her foreleg.

[exitwound]

I just can't imagine dealing with all that. I lost one of my favorite kittens in a horrible manner, but even so, what you went through sounds terrible...

[Zanzibar]

She is beautiful, skeletontea. My cat Jesse looks like her, a grey tabby. Every cat is a unique companion - that's why it hurts so much when they die.

[Mokelly]

Ah, but you have this wrong. See, the whole point of that was to point out how silly the thread was getting, not necessarily as a personal attack. The silliness was driving me nuts, so I did that just to emphasize how petty the conversation had become. Sorry you didn't see that, and no hard feelings, eh?

Feel free to dig, you won't find many if any, and any you DO find are most likely just typos. I proofread everything I write and if not sure of a spelling, I look it up on dictionary.com. Like I said, this wasn't meant as a personal attack, however sometimes it DOES take me an extra minute or two to decipher posts that have a LOT of grammar and spelling errors!

Happy holidays to all!

*EDIT* Just noticed this:

I just have to say this, I didn't "go through the post to find misspelled words". I notice them immediately so there's no need to look for them. I DID quote the post though since I already KNEW where the mistakes were!

All I have to say is we got rid of digging at eachother on this forum, and I'm not writing a college paper so I don't feel the need to proof read.

[Mokelly]

Ivy is so beautiful! I hope you have tons of great pics to look at. You have really helped me with this thread skeletontea, now that I have told the household about the dangers of poisoning the cats, I have one less thing to worry about. So thank you very much!

[GMorris]

Aww... she WAS a pretty little thing, no doubt! It just sucks that this had to happen at all, much less during the holidays. I pray that our 3 kitties remain healthy, at least until it's their time to go. It would be difficult to deal with one of them getting sick and having to die like that.

[exitwound]

this thread is making me cry profusely....nobody should have to lose their little loved ones in this fashion. it just hurts so incredibly much. my heart goes out to everyone who knows the kind of loss that those of us who have lost cats, feel....

[poppy]

Hey Exitwound, I may have taken your post wrong(edit knowing me I probably have!!) but you give me the impression (edit sorry I am making the assumption that you think) that there is no greater pain than losing a cat. I honestly understand how Skeleton and anyone else who's lost their pets in tragic circumstances feel. I have lost 4 pet dogs during my life and I know just how upsetting it is when they die, particularly if they die before their standard life expectancy through disease, accident or misadventure.
However when we get a pet we know that they have a totally different life expectancy to us and the chances are that we will outlive them. We usually decide that the happiness they bring during their lives balances out the sorrow we feel when they die making the pain of loss worthwhile.
I want to point out that at least we are able to ease an animal's suffering through euthanasia if its pain becomes too much, human beings are not offered such luxury. (I know this topic is controversial and I don't mean to hurt or offend anyone, I'm just expressing my views of what I would like for me and mine when the time comes.) Shut up Poppy before u make any more enemys!!!I think I'd best leave it there, I honestly mean no offence! Take Care. Happy 2006 to everyone

[skeletontea]

Ivy is so beautiful! I hope you have tons of great pics to look at. You have really helped me with this thread skeletontea, now that I have told the household about the dangers of poisoning the cats, I have one less thing to worry about. So thank you very much!

I'm really glad that my thread has perhaps helped others to prevent the deaths of their pets, which was really my goal with posting what had happened to Ivy.

Unfortunately Mokelly, because of finances, I haven't gotten a chance to get any rolls of film developed in a long time, and can't find the roll I shot of Ivy, and the roll I shot of last year's garden. So all I have of her are those low res shots you've already seen from my mom's digital camera. I've got a little bit of money now,..if only I could find the rolls of film.

[Mokelly]

I'm really glad that my thread has perhaps helped others to prevent the deaths of their pets, which was really my goal with posting what had happened to Ivy.

Unfortunately Mokelly, because of finances, I haven't gotten a chance to get any rolls of film developed in a long time, and can't find the roll I shot of Ivy, and the roll I shot of last year's garden. So all I have of her are those low res shots you've already seen from my mom's digital camera. I've got a little bit of money now,..if only I could find the rolls of film.


crap (blank expression)

[GMorris]

Unfortunately I know this feeling all too well. Once when I was about 13 it was Christmas time and we had a beautiful tree up. One day the overhead lights started dimming, we heard a faint cry and then a fuse blew in the house. Our first thought was the tree, which had been on and was now dark. We entered the den to check it out only to find our little kitten flopping around frothing at the mouth. Within moments it was dead, having been playing about the tree, and had chewed through one of the wires which electrocuted the poor thing. I'm grateful that it went that fast and didn't have to suffer for long, but we ALL learned a valuable lesson that day. A sad, sad day for me and my two younger sisters as well as the rest of the family. We took much more caution with Christmas trees from then on, you can believe that.

Around the same time (within a year or two), we had numerous cats and were living in the country. One of our favorite kitties, a petite grey tabby female, contracted feline leukemia. This cat had given us a couple of litters by then and was MUCH loved by the whole family. I was particularly attached to her, and had to watch her slowly decline in health. It was horrible the way the kitty suffered. I can remember her lying on my mother's waterbed (towards the end that was the only spot she wanted, probably because of the heat), just breathing laboriously. I wanted so badly to feed her, but no matter what I tried, even her favorite delicacies, she just couldn't manage more than an occasional lick or two and it almost killed me. We wanted to take her to be euthanized, we just didn't have the funds at that time. Eventually I laid with her and waited until she took her last breaths (I'm getting choked up again just thinking about it). That had to be one of the most traumatic experiences of my younger life. God, I hope I NEVER have to do something like that again.

[psychotiKK]

Pets, in my opinion, can be just as good of friends as humans, if not better. They each fit their own personality and uniqueness. I've found myself down and depressed and have had pets come up to me trying to make me feel better as if they knew I was sad. It's amazing how animals can pick up your emotions.. Last time I 'shroomed I experienced my first ego loss, and ended up having a panic attack during the trip. Two of my dogs were with me at the time, and were both terribly frightened of me/the situation. They looked at me as if I was an entirely different person. One was lieing down in the corner staring at me like he wanted to help, but had no idea what was going on. Usually he comes right up to me and lets me pet him, but he wouldn't get anywhere near me.. I had this feeling the entire trip that I was connecting with the animals and that they could read me better then any person ever could. I felt a certain bond with them that night, and I will never forget. I've never been too close to a pet that has died, but when I think about it, I get myself depressed. I just can't imagine something so sweet and innocent die. It will tear me apart when my animals die.. why must we all live just to die in the end and not remember anything about it. I'm agnostic so I'm not sure what happens to us when we die, but if we were to just rot in the ground and have no memory of existance at all then what is the point of living? I hope there is an afterlife or something, but I just don't know. I'll stop there, I really don't want to think about it. :(

[blackdog]

dope fiends aint supposed to have feelings!!!!!!!!
R.I.P.to all of man's best friends

[Coddfish]

I'm with Mokelly on this one, fucking hell, I absolutely hate any form of cruelty to animals,

I can't express how much I agree with you.
The puppies and mom(a greyhound) were being kept in a tiny garden shed, which stank to high heaven and I doubt had been cleaned since the puppies had been born seven weeks earlier. Their only light came via a hole in the side. We looked through the hole and one puppy in particular kept fighting his way to the front, I picked him up and fell in love.
I strongly believe that pupies are the best things in the world--how great is puppy breath?!?!! The damn things are too cute to let us keep our wits about us. I have 3 dogs when I really should have one or maybe two. But when each dog was a puppy (jack russels, you understand), and they came into my view for the first time---I knew, I KNEW, "I've got to have you, I'VE GOT TO HAVE YOU!"--(KISS reference, for those of you who don't know)


Also I firmly believe that most of those lovely cute puppies from that litter last December are either dead from early neglect or in the local dog home as last years unwanted christmas presents!!!! (and were just a quick £40 to the 'breeder'.It never ceases to amaze me how cruel people can be in what is supposed to be an advanced, compassionate society.
I'm going to be frank here. Don't ever, EVER, EVER pay money to an owner or a breeder to get an animal out of a bad situation, no matter how terrible it is. There are many reasons for this--not least of which is the health of the animal you are purchasing--but the biggest one is that it perpetuates the cruelty. By giving those fuckers money, kind hearted souls actually doom other animals to similar fates by financing that whole culture. This case is comparable--albeit on a lesser scale-- to the "no negotiating with terrorists" policy of most governments. Governments CANNOT deal with those people, and animal lovers CANNOT deal with cruel breeders/owners. I hear people say "but love conquered my judgement, you would have done the same thing" or something, and I understand, I really do. An animal loving person has to be strong-willed enough to avoid situations where he will get taken in by the abused puppy/ kitten and give whatever money the breeder asks. Please, when you see a terrible situation where puppies or kittens may even die, call the authorities (one of only a few situations where I feel this is ever warranted), but say to yourself "I will NOT give this fucker money!" Get yourself suckered by a puppy at the humane society or someplace like that (you may even be able to adopt the animal you helped rescue!), not at a puppy mill. I know a woman with a HUGE heart, the best animal caregiver I have ever seen, but she buys abused birds and sugargliders. Does she understand that she is rewarding the bastards that have hurt the ones she loves? I don't know, but it is sad for me.
Also, a quick word on all the cats Skellytea talked about above; when we look at a situation like that (all too common, sadly) knowing that animals may be destroyed if we call the authorities, there's something we should ask ourselves. No, it's not "who am I to judge whether these animals would rather live like this than die?" Rather, it's "would any reasonable person accept this as a decent way for these animals to live?" If the answer is "NO" or "HELL NO" then it is incumbent upon us to bite the bullet and take action, even if it leads to the demise of some lovely animals. We only have our judgement to go by, and by breeding cats and dogs into companion animals, humans took it upon themselves to make decisions for them. How much better for the decision to be made by someone with a good heart and clear mind than anything otherwise? Essentially I am saying that if you care about these animals and you are smart enough to know the difference between acceptable and unacceptable treatment(which all of us here have shown ourselves to be, I think), then trust your judgement and make the tough decision for the abused/neglected animals. Their caretakers are obviously not qualified to do that, lacking either the brain or the heart.
This completes my sermon. I hope I didn't offend anyone. These are things I feel most strongly about. I have read above that some people think animals to be better friends than humans. In my case I KNOW that that is true. There are 5 individuals on this planet who I would do literally anything for, and three walk on four legs.
coddfish

[skeletontea]

I'm going to be frank here. Don't ever, EVER, EVER pay money to an owner or a breeder to get an animal out of a bad situation, no matter how terrible it is. There are many reasons for this--not least of which is the health of the animal you are purchasing--but the biggest one is that it perpetuates the cruelty. By giving those fuckers money, kind hearted souls actually doom other animals to similar fates by financing that whole culture.

It's shocking how slight the legal reprecussions are for animal cruelty. There was a man somewhere in my state who'd killed over 30 cats (actually sought out and slaughtered them), and he was only jailed for a month or two.

[psychotiKK]

It's shocking how slight the legal reprecussions are for animal cruelty. There was a man somewhere in my state who'd killed over 30 cats (actually sought out and slaughtered them), and he was only jailed for a month or two.

Wow, that's fucking terrible. What a sick fuck.. people like that deserve to be in jail for YEARS! That's so horrible! :(

[blackdog]

i think it's pretty simple. i watch animal cops,all of em and what these dumb stupid sickass bastards need done to them is exactly the same as what they had done to the animals. plain and simple. what is good for the goose is good for the gander!! just what exactly does that mean??i know what i meant it to mean but think about it "good for the gander" what the hells a gander or does gander mean???oh good i get to use my dictionary yeahhh ....later da/dawgg:cool:

[skeletontea]

i think it's pretty simple. i watch animal cops,all of em and what these dumb stupid sickass bastards need done to them is exactly the same as what they had done to the animals. plain and simple. what is good for the goose is good for the gander!! just what exactly does that mean??i know what i meant it to mean but think about it "good for the gander" what the hells a gander or does gander mean???oh good i get to use my dictionary yeahhh ....later da/dawgg:cool:

I'm not by any means religious, but AMEN! An eye for an eye.
And I think the gander is a male goose,...so what's good for her, is good for him,....I think thats how it goes.

[poppy]

Coddfish i see what u r saying,(ie) that by purchasing a puppy I was perpetuating the crime. In other words by paying the 'breeder', I was encouraging him to breed from his bitch again in the future to make more money on the basis of his previous successful venture.
If I take all emotions of actually seeing those puppies from the equation I totally agree with that, of course I do, but those animals were already here and needed homes. Admittedly I let my heart rule my head but (a) I was already looking for another dog, particularly one of greyhound extraction and (b) if I hadn't bought him some else would have who may not have given him the loving life he now has.

Also I should clarify that the guy I bought him off was not really a breeder in a 'puppy farm' kind of way. In fact just an uneducated lowlife whose greyhound bitch had gone out and got herself pregnant who saw a way of cashing in on the crisis.(the jury's still out on the paternity of my dog it certainly isn't crossed with the border collie (apparently for lurcher intelligence) which he said it was!!! but we love him dearly despite his odd looks and surprisingly stumpy legs!!!

I think I should add that this guy's bitch is very much classed as a working dog. She lives outside in all weathers, so I supose I shouldn't have been surprised that the puppies were kept outside in oct/nov and not loved and treated in the way I would have treated them.
Whilst there have been no more litters this year from this bitch,unless she is neutered its just a matter of time before there are. So you have inspired me to chat with him about taking advantage of the free neutering service our local animal charity provides for people on low income/benefits, but I'm not hopeful because there is a general consensus among those who use greyhounds/lurchers for rabbiting (which as a gypsy this guy does) that neutering either dogs or bitches makes them fat (a corgi on stilts is the usual description) which is obviously detrimental to the dog's speed and therefore success at catching rabbits. I have to admit that there is some truth in this statement as since my oldest dog, a greyhound bitch has been neutered (essential at the time as my male staff was still alive then in order to prevent some peculiar staffordshire bull terrier/greyhound puppies being created!! Can u imagine? Big head on skinny body or little head on chunky body........not a pretty cross!! also the dogs were tearing down doors literally trying to get to each other, the poor staff began to resemble Jack Nicholson in the shining due to his frustration which seemed considerable at the time!) Anyway basicly I've had a constant battle to keep her weight down ever since.

Ironic really as she was a rescue dog who had been beaten and was so malnourished when I first found her in the road with a broken leg having been hit by a car that I temporarily called her Tin-Ribs (whilst I thought of a suitable regal name for her) Unfortunately its a name which has stuck and is no longer at all appropriate!! We just call her Tin now to avoid questions.
Incidently despite her awful condition when I first had her at about 7 months old the RSPCA were unable to prosecute her owner (who was well known to them and had been prosecuted for animal cruelty in the past and banned fromkeeping animals for 5 years) because she wasn't quite skinny enough. Apparently Whippet/greyhound/lurcher type dogs are extremely hard to prove a case against because they are naturally skinny!

[Mokelly]

doesn't gander mean observe? like to have a gander at something it to look it over? that's what I always thought.

[jacky]

ten or so years ago, in the United States, in a state that I forget, a person decided to torture and kill a puppy.....his neighbor caught it all on video, AND called the authorities. This was early in the day, so by the time the sicko got arrested, processed and put into a dormitory dinner had not yet come.

the Inmates typically watched TV while eating dinner, and it was tuned to the local News. The good nieghbor concieved of giving a copy of the atrocity to the same local news station that the inmates were watching while eating their dinner.

with the "table turned" the newly incarcirated masochist didnt fair so well, and ended up spending some time in the infirmary........

urban legend? no, I think this really happened, just cant remember then exact year or details.

[Coddfish]

just goes to show jails and prisons have ethics, sometimes better than society on the outside.
a gander--n "an adult male goose'
and a gander--n "LOOK, GLANCE"
let it go.

[exitwound]

Don't be so sure that everyone involved in "animal rescue", the animal "refuge league" etc really gives a shit about the pets or their owners.

One of my cats was "found" by a local ARL and they never called me, not so much as a message on my machine....I found out about it later, AFTER they adopted her out and refused to let me talk to the adopted family or even know who they are, and they *claimed* to have left, in total:

ONE.

FUCKING.

MESSAGE!

In two months she stayed there. I had just had my favorite new male kitten die at nine months and I spent months trying to find him only to eventually discover his rotting remains in the old well behind the house I was living at....must have chased a mouse or something in and drowned over Memorial Day Wknd 2001....so I didn't have the heart to keep searching for this other, much older cat, after she disappeared. I tried very hard for a while but then I had to move back home, 90 minutes away in another state.

She may still be alive and out there so I try to comfort myself with that. But I have learned, this was only the first of many, horrifying, dark, outrageous things I have come to realize about the way "excess" pet animals are treated and handled. Especially when there's a FUCKING RADIO FREQUENCY IMPLANT IN THE CAT WITH MY INFO AND PHONE NUMBER ON IT!!!

I only got a letter from the tracking device company when the new owners wanted it re-registered in THEIR NAME. How sick is that?! I denied the request but somehow they got around it or something because no matter how hard I tried, and broke my own heart over and over, I was stonewalled by the very people whose job it is to care about such things.

Fucking sick. And the rabbit hole goes much deeper, but I don't want to cast an even darker shadow over what is a hard time for everyone who loved Ivy. She has reminded me of a lot, though, and I knew that sooner or later, I'd have to post about it all.

[skeletontea]

I only got a letter from the tracking device company when the new owners wanted it re-registered in THEIR NAME. How sick is that?! I denied the request but somehow they got around it or something because no matter how hard I tried, and broke my own heart over and over, I was stonewalled by the very people whose job it is to care about such things.

That's terrible, and it defeats the whole purpose of having your cats chipped in the first place! It's so you can easily get the cat back! What the hell?! I wonder if your ex-kitty is an outdoor cat? I'd probably try to take my cat back, even though I know that's a bad idea. I love my pets so much. And I'm also very sorry to hear about your kitty that fell in the well.

PS Jacky, That's an interesting story about that puppy killer. I wonder if its true.

[GMorris]

Especially when there's a FUCKING RADIO FREQUENCY IMPLANT IN THE CAT WITH MY INFO AND PHONE NUMBER ON IT!!!

I only got a letter from the tracking device company when the new owners wanted it re-registered in THEIR NAME. How sick is that?! I denied the request but somehow they got around it or something because no matter how hard I tried, and broke my own heart over and over, I was stonewalled by the very people whose job it is to care about such things.

Man, that really pisses me the fuck off! I'd be on that with the authorities and do everything in my power to get my animal back regardless of the circumstances. You have to pay for those chips, and there is a reason for it. Unless the new "owner" can prove that you were neglectful or cruel, there should not be any reason they can get by with that. Not only is it sick and perverted, but it says volumes about the kind of people who would fight for the right to keep someone else's pet. I have a name for people like that, and it has nothing to do with their skin color. It starts with an "N" and refers to inconsiderate people who have no regard for anyone else but themselves, even if it means hurting others. I'm about to puke...

[poppy]

Totally agree with everything everyone is saying. What is the point of paying good money to have your pet chipped if nobody is going to bother to scan the animal if it gets lost....... theres something wrong somewhere there and unfortunately the same thing happens here in the uk.

[skeletontea]

Chelsea, 1989 - 2006.
Yesterday I had to have my dog Chelsea put down (she came with that name when I got her, so don't ask what she was named after, I don't know.) I'd had her since I was ten. As hard as it was losing Ivy, this was infinately more difficult. I'd rather have buried all my friends and familly than Chelsea. Though I'm by no means a spiritual person, I felt a part of her leave when she died, and it felt like a part of me left as well. She was always there for me through much of my life, and there were many times when I felt like killing myself, yet didn't for the sole reason that no one else would take care of a deaf, and blind dog if I were gone. I will miss her greatly.

My internet connection is currently down (which is why I can rarely post right now,) but I'll likely post a photo of her when I get my modem working again.

[Coddfish]

Crap. Tough times. I can relate, and I am sorry.

[poppy]

Skeleton-tea, how awful for you to lose your dog, especially so soon after losing Ivy. How old was Chelsea? From the way you describe her it sounds at though she was getting on in years, which of course is no consolation(spelling?) when you have lost one of your best friends. I lost my much loved staffie called Garth two years ago to liver cancer at the age of 12years. When the vet told us what was wrong with him we made the choice to have him put down, even though he wasn't in any physical pain at that point (according to the vet) that would of come later as he had a large (inoperable at his age) tumor on his liver. The weight of which, caused his back end to be too weak to support him. I will never forget him trying to walk and being unable to do so and how he kept looking at his back legs as if to say 'what's going on here, why can't I walk?'
We decided that he should not suffer when he didn't have to and felt that if we were to take him home we would not be being kind to the dog. We wanted him to experience as dignifed a death as is possible (something which is denyed(spelling) to people who are in acute, uncurable pain regardless of their wishes on that matter. AnywayI stayed with him whilst he was 'put to sleep' (totally stupid expression that but u know what I mean') as I have done on two previous occasions with family dogs who have been 'put down' due to organ failure and cancer.
Anyway as I'm sure you've experienced with the loss of Ivy, soon you will be able to look back at old photos etc and focus on the good times you enjoyed with Chelsea without feeling the pain of loss.
With sympathy, Poppy

[skeletontea]

I agree that "put to sleep" is a stupid expression, yet if you use the term "lethal injection" people look at you like you are a monster. I'm sorry to hear about Garth, I can relate to the difficulty standing. Towards the end Chelsea would lose stability in her front legs and do a forward summersault while leaning down to eat her food (at one point I decided to elevate her food bowl to be level with her shoulders, this helped a bit.) A previous vet was sure she would have died 4 or 5 years ago (as she had stage 4 heart disease). Enalapril was literally a life-saver for her, its amazing how long she lasted. She was 17.

[exitwound]

Chelsea, 1989 - 2006.
Yesterday I had to have my dog Chelsea put down (she came with that name when I got her, so don't ask what she was named after, I don't know.) I'd had her since I was ten. As hard as it was losing Ivy, this was infinately more difficult. I'd rather have buried all my friends and familly than Chelsea. Though I'm by no means a spiritual person, I felt a part of her leave when she died, and it felt like a part of me left as well. She was always there for me through much of my life, and there were many times when I felt like killing myself, yet didn't for the sole reason that no one else would take care of a deaf, and blind dog if I were gone. I will miss her greatly.
My internet connection is currently down (which is why I can rarely post right now,) but I'll likely post a photo of her when I get my modem working again.

Oh God, skel! That's so harsh! I'll be thinking of you, and my whole clan will be meditating/praying for your beloved pets to have the best possible journey in the Beyond. :o

[THEPAINTER1960]

That is a very nice story, thank you blackdog, and thank you jacky. Speaking of plant toxicity, there really needs to be more mainstream education on the subject. Many pet owners wouldn't even dream of bringing a poinsettia into the house, but they'll put fresh cut lilies on the table, or hang mistletoe from a poorly tied string above a doorframe. And the irony is, the poinsettia isn't even remotely toxic! (the most adverse effects from eating poinsettia are a stomach ache.)
We are very sorrey for your loss. We have a beautiful angora and he is just the world to the two of us. So we know were you are coming from. Good luck.

[exitwound]

Thanks to your reminders, Skel, we eliminated all toxic plants from our house after many flowering potted plants were delivered by my mother in law....and just in time!

[skeletontea]

I'm glad you got rid of your toxic plants, Chelsea was the one I'd expressed concern over in a IM session with you a while back, it really feels like there's a hole in my body, its strange. Thanks for the good thoughts and meditations.

[Coddfish]

So Chelsea was 16 or 17? Maybe you can at least take solace in the fact that very few people get to spend so much time with their dogs. You have more good memories with her than most anybody has with their pets. And you got to be with her at the end, and you could assuage her pain. Those are things some people would give anything for. Maybe they count for something.

[Curio]

Unfortunately I know this feeling all too well. Once when I was about 13 it was Christmas time and we had a beautiful tree up.

Around the same time (within a year or two), we had numerous cats and were living in the country. One of our favorite kitties, a petite grey tabby female, contracted feline leukemia. This cat had given us a couple of litters by then and was MUCH loved by the whole family. I was particularly attached to her, and had to watch her slowly decline in health. It was horrible the way the kitty suffered. I can remember her lying on my mother's waterbed (towards the end that was the only spot she wanted, probably because of the heat), just breathing laboriously. I wanted so badly to feed her, but no matter what I tried, even her favorite delicacies, she just couldn't manage more than an occasional lick or two and it almost killed me. We wanted to take her to be euthanized, we just didn't have the funds at that time. Eventually I laid with her and waited until she took her last breaths (I'm getting choked up again just thinking about it). That had to be one of the most traumatic experiences of my younger life. God, I hope I NEVER have to do something like that again.

SKT..I already pm'd you how bad I felt about your loss...hadn't found this thread yet, I guess...sorry if this dredges up too much sadness for you or anyone else...made me reflect like a lot of others, I suppose:

I had probably three cats come down with FL while growing up, and I was 14 when the last one got sick. My parents drove a long haul truck and were gone for weeks at a time and unfortunately my brother who was 18, was NOT responsible or any kind of help during this time as he was off partying with friends, etc..
I'd already had one cat die in front of me like that before and after two days of this poor animal (purring, which really freaked me out, cause I thought that meant they were relaxed or at ease!!) lying underneath my bed, unable to eat, drink or do anything but exist in OBVIOUS pain...well, I grew up on a ranch and I knew "HOW" to drive, just hadn't a license.

Waited until dark, called the vet and told them I was bringing in an animal to be euthanized...took the back roads with my friend keeping ahold of the cat inside the carrier safely, while I tried to be as cautious as possible and not get pulled over. I think it's pretty messed up that at 14 I had to decide to break the LAW while also having to reconcile myself with my decision/need to end the suffering of my pet...

The next year, at age 15, I had to do an even more complicated veterinary transport when my yearling horse got an infection, collapsed, and later died. I could drive a vehicle, but pulling a horse trailer and lifting a semi-conscious 800 lb animal into it was a whole other nightmare. I managed to have some very nice neighbors that were accommodating with every bit of help they could lend to get Moon into the vet hospital..my parents came to the school later that week after they got home to say they were sorry she died :(
gee thanks

sorry...didn't mean to GO THERE...:mad: