TOTALLY GEEKED!

You can still feed them just not using a stove. So you'd not get medical attention for your pet because the family would have to eat something not cooked in the oven? Why bother having pets if your stove means more than they do?

Tinydancer wrote:

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You can still feed them just not using a stove. So you'd not get medical attention for your pet because the family would have to eat something not cooked in the oven? Why bother having pets if your stove means more than they do?

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Heck.  I'd just pull out my camp stove and use that.  

I'm sure people think I'm nuts because I spent so much money on my Kiddie's broken leg.  I have absolutely no regrets.  I smile every month when I pay that bill. 

just Czech wrote:

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Tinydancer wrote:

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You can still feed them just not using a stove. So you'd not get medical attention for your pet because the family would have to eat something not cooked in the oven? Why bother having pets if your stove means more than they do?

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I do not cook with a microwave ever. Good gosh, what do you plan of feeding your family for the next few months if the pet is more important then feeding your family properly? High salt, high calorie junk food? There is no way in hell I would be feeding my family that way for months. 

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 There are plenty of ways to cook things including the microwave and you CAN cook healthy meals so I'm not sure why you insist the stove is more important than a pet. It's inhumane to own a pet and not care for it when it's sick or injured. To each his own I guess.

NAOW wrote:

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It's not just the stove, they have a history of not having the money to fix basic necessities. So they really can't afford to have a pet, imo.

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Exactly. They are poor decision makers in the first place. They should not have a pet, period, if they are that short of money all the time. 

Tinydancer wrote:

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just Czech wrote:

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Tinydancer wrote:

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You can still feed them just not using a stove. So you'd not get medical attention for your pet because the family would have to eat something not cooked in the oven? Why bother having pets if your stove means more than they do?

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I do not cook with a microwave ever. Good gosh, what do you plan of feeding your family for the next few months if the pet is more important then feeding your family properly? High salt, high calorie junk food? There is no way in hell I would be feeding my family that way for months. 

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 There are plenty of ways to cook things including the microwave and you CAN cook healthy meals so I'm not sure why you insist the stove is more important than a pet. It's inhumane to own a pet and not care for it when it's sick or injured. To each his own I guess.

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Taking care of a pet when it is sick or injured is different from doing surgery on a pet with a poor prognosis. IMHO, that is making the pet suffer for your needs, not the pets overall wellbeing. 

FNW wrote:

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Speaking of pets, does anyone have any experience with guinea pigs? The boys are asking for one. I've never had one, only hamsters growing up.

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 I think the care is similar to a hamster, but it's been a while since I had one. 

just Czech wrote:

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Tinydancer wrote:

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You can still feed them just not using a stove. So you'd not get medical attention for your pet because the family would have to eat something not cooked in the oven? Why bother having pets if your stove means more than they do?

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I do not cook with a microwave ever. Good gosh, what do you plan of feeding your family for the next few months if the pet is more important then feeding your family properly? High salt, high calorie junk food? There is no way in hell I would be feeding my family that way for months. 

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 You can actually cook real food in a microwave when necessary. 

FNW wrote:

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Speaking of pets, does anyone have any experience with guinea pigs? The boys are asking for one. I've never had one, only hamsters growing up.

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 Similar to a hamster, but . . . Pigs are really, really noisy and much smellier than hamsters. They require fresh vegetables daily, unlike hamsters. 

That said, they typically have more personality and are friendlier than hamsters. My brother had a Guinea pig that followed him everywhere around the house including up and down the stairs. It was adorable. 

We had a guinea pig once. His teeth grew abnormally long. Like weird weird long. He ended up dying because his teeth outgrew his mouth.

What about gerbils, FNW? I love them...so intelligent & cute!

flan

chef wrote:

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FNW wrote:

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Speaking of pets, does anyone have any experience with guinea pigs? The boys are asking for one. I've never had one, only hamsters growing up.

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 I do. Perhaps my experience was abnormal but it wasn't positive. I thought it'd be like having a hamster but it wasn't. The guinea pig I had did her level best to pee outside of her cage (and she succeeded daily). I put up a barrier around her cage to keep the pee in and she back up against it and pee over the barrier. She was friendly enough but I couldn't tolerate the daily clean up and rehomed her. I had her for maybe a month.

I did not research getting a guinea pig before I got her so I don't know if she was just exhibiting typical guinea pig behavior or not. Her new owners had a whole bunch of guinea pigs and didn't seem bothered by what I perceived as a problem.

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We took care of one for our neighbor one time. She was cute. And we didn't have any problems with her. But, we only had her for a week.

We had a couple of gerbils. After they died, we got a hamster. After she died, we got a cat.

I swore, no more caged beasts for me.

Cage cleaning is a big pain in the butt.

Scooping a litter box once a day, is much easier.

(I know your boys can't be around cats, FNW. They would probably like the guinea pig. I just couldn't handle any more cage cleaning.) 

flan327 wrote:

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I hate hamster butts!

flan

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 Why?? Is it the giant balls?

the male hamsters are much friendlier and less territorial than the females. 

Pets and money ...

I used to spend whatever it took on my pets. But, for lack of a better phrasing, I grew up mentally and took off the rose-colored childhood glasses. I used to think that money would fix whatever was wrong and I finally got old enough to realize that there are some things money just won't fix. Maintenance care - shots, etc. - of course, that I will do. But, I will no longer spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a pet in most cases. If it's something fixable - like a broken leg - I will pay the money unless the pet is so old that healing from the injury will cause them more pain than it's worth. I would not put a geriatric pet through any protracted healing process. If a pet faces surgery AND the prognosis is good AND the pet is young and healthy enough to have a good chance at surviving and healing from the surgery - I will have the surgery performed.

I spent $500 and change on a tumor removal surgery for my rat when I was in my early 20s. Rat died about 2 weeks after the surgery. I realize now how asininely stupid it was to spend that much on a rodent. But, at the time, I thought I was doing the right thing and that all will be well. It might be callous but I will no longer spend a significant amount of money on a rodent. Both of the gerbils I had are long gone and I'm over owning rodents anyway so this won't be an issue I face again.

When my dog got cancer, I had a great vet recommended to me who wasn't a money grubber. She told me that while she could perform surgery that there'd be no use because my dog's body was already shutting down. I really appreciated her candor. My younger self would've went ahead with the surgery because, well, that's just what I did at that point in my life. My older, more pragmatic, self listened to the vet and decided to euthanize my dog. He wasn't geriatic but he was old and he was just too weak to go through surgery. I do have the peace of knowing that he really wouldn't have survived surgery. The vet delivered a mild sedative before delivering the euth shot and his heart stopped (I was holding him and felt it stop) when the sedative hit. If a mild sedative stopped his heart, general anesthesia definitely would've.

I love animals, I truly do. I take good care of my pets when I have them. But, I'm no longer of the mindset to spend hundreds/thousands to keep them alive. It comes down to what the procedure is and quality vs quantity of life for me.

flan327 wrote:

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What about gerbils, FNW? I love them...so intelligent & cute!

flan

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 Gerbils were fun to watch but both mine were antisocial. They're supposed to a social rodent but mine missed the memo, lol! Gerbils cannot have a plastic cage. They will chew through it. They also love shredding cardboard.

My favorite rodent to own were rats. Over my life, I've had 4 rats (1 male, 3 female), 1 guinea pig (female), 2 gerbils (both male), 1 teddy bear hamster (male), and 1 siberian dwarf hamster (female). The siberian dwarf was a royal bitch - there's no nice way to say it. She bit me every chance she got.

chef wrote:

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flan327 wrote:

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What about gerbils, FNW? I love them...so intelligent & cute!

flan

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 Gerbils were fun to watch but both mine were antisocial. They're supposed to a social rodent but mine missed the memo, lol! Gerbils cannot have a plastic cage. They will chew through it. They also love shredding cardboard.

My favorite rodent to own were rats. Over my life, I've had 4 rats (1 male, 3 female), 1 guinea pig (female), 2 gerbils (both male), 1 teddy bear hamster (male), and 1 siberian dwarf hamster (female). The siberian dwarf was a royal bitch - there's no nice way to say it. She bit me every chance she got.

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 I liked the Siberian hamsters, they are cute. They aren't really for petting. If you are getting a hamster, get a male. 

If you get a rat, get a female- they don't smell as much. I never had a gerbil. My favorite kind of hamster is the black bear variety. For some reason the female black bears are more friendly than other hamster varieties. I had one that just loved to listen to Husband play guitar. She actually enjoyed being held, too. 

Ohfour wrote:

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huskerbb wrote:

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Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

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huskerbb wrote:

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Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

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All you really have to do is tell her you're not going to listen to her biotch. And if you only see her posts on FB then block her and quit being a drama queen. If it's your wife telling you tell her you don't want to hear it. Easy peasy.

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 Not that easy to block someone without causing hard feelings.  shes a nice person, I just get tired of the whining, especially when she does stuff like this.

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 It's actually quite simple.  Unless you just want to biotch about her biotching.

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 Well, like a LOT of posts on here, I want to vent about something that irritates me rather than doing something IRL that I might later regret.

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You can "unfollow" her.  You would still be her friend, you just wouldn't see her posts unless you actually went to her page.  I have a few family members that I have unfollowed, but I can still send them messages and look at something if I want to... 

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 I guess I thought you had to unfriend them.  I will do that if that's the case.

Husker got schooled.

No one can ever say, he doesn't learn. 

LOL

huskerbb wrote:

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Tinydancer wrote:

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You can still feed them just not using a stove. So you'd not get medical attention for your pet because the family would have to eat something not cooked in the oven? Why bother having pets if your stove means more than they do?

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 You shouldn't bother having them if you can't afford them.

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 Well why don't you tell your friend that and see how good it goes over...lol

just Czech wrote:

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flan327 wrote:

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huskerbb wrote:

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After much hand wringing and angst.

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 Did you clutch your pearls???

flan

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In his case, that should be "clutch your nuts".  

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 I doubt he needs any encouragement to do that!

flan

Tinydancer wrote:

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huskerbb wrote:

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Tinydancer wrote:

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You can still feed them just not using a stove. So you'd not get medical attention for your pet because the family would have to eat something not cooked in the oven? Why bother having pets if your stove means more than they do?

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 You shouldn't bother having them if you can't afford them.

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 Well why don't you tell your friend that and see how good it goes over...lol

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 See, unlike some others, I don't want to hurt other people's feelings.  I'm a people person.  I didn't even want to unfriend her on Facebook when I thought that was what had to be done.

just Czech wrote:

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Lawyerlady wrote:

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If I had to choose between paying a vet to fix my dog and getting a new stove - we'd be cooking on hotplates and in the microwave.

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I love our pets dearly, but people come before animals, IMHO. Especially if I'm broke.

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If you are broke, you shouldn't have animals in the first place.

just Czech wrote:

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msrock wrote:

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Tinydancer wrote:

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You can still feed them just not using a stove. So you'd not get medical attention for your pet because the family would have to eat something not cooked in the oven? Why bother having pets if your stove means more than they do?

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Heck.  I'd just pull out my camp stove and use that.  

I'm sure people think I'm nuts because I spent so much money on my Kiddie's broken leg.  I have absolutely no regrets.  I smile every month when I pay that bill. 

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You have a vet that lets you make payments?

Wow. We don't have that around here. Everything is up front only. 

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I used my Care Credit card to pay the vet.  It's a healthcare credit credit card that can also be used for veterinary services.  

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:

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lilyofcourse wrote:

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I may wait to replace a stove or fix a car.


But a living, breathing animal can't be put off a week or two.


The difference between these things are night and day.

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Yes, it can. A dog is not a human being. When my dog went into renal failure, they said the only hope was to take her to the big city vets for dialysis or whatever. That's absurd. She was dying. I kept her comfortable and let her die in my arms. No, you don't need to avail yourself of every treatment that's available.

When my dog was a pup and went in to get fixed, they wanted to do a bunch of preop labwork and crap. I am like Um, no. Why? And, they said that was a routine thing, blah, blah. They don't even do that type of routine labs on people anymore having surgery so no thanks. Be realistic. My sis was always broke but then spending stupid money on her dog getting her dog's ACL repaired and a lot of expensive crap like that then crying poor.

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 See.  some people have some damn sense.