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My tightwad tendencies force me to cringe when superfluous spending rears its ugly head in our household. I’m the one that does the budget and bills each month and I know where each penny is going. How do you think I react then to unforeseen costs? Not. very. well…
Thus my reason for considering jumping ship. And…voting…(it’s so hard to type this y’all)…for…Obama. I said it! If he will promise me that his Universal Health Care will not only cover the homo sapien family members but those of the feline nature as well he may have my vote. Even my vote is cheap.
We took Mo to the vet yesterday because he was clearly showing signs that there was a problem. We didn’t know whether it was behavioral or medical in nature so it’s best to get a professional involved. All of us, even the vet, was praying that it was a medical problem. A bacterial infection can be dealt with with antibiotics (and apparently really expensive cat food). A bad attitude can only be handled with a boot or a gun. They had to keep Mo overnight because he would not cooperate by providing a urine sample. Looking like a bad attitude at this juncture.
The vet called this morning with good news. The cat has a raging bacterial infection! Yay! We won’t have to kick kitty to the curb! However, after hearing the diagnosis and then the prognosis I’m almost wishing we had found kitty a new home. Mo will be on antibiotics for two weeks. Mo will be on that really expensive cat food for the rest of his God-loving life. And he’s only one year old. I’m talking $25 for 8 pounds. That’s $3.13 per pound. What do we normally pay for cat food? Well, at Costco I can get like a thousand pounds for a couple of bucks, so you do that math. And to make matters worse even more expensive Mo is a healthy eater (he’s already 14.5 pounds). And he has a brother that shares the food dish.
THE REASON FOR MY VOTE CHANGE:
Y’all, this isn’t looking good for me. That extra cat food money has to come from somewhere! From the car fund? Not quite. We’re hoping to be proud new owners soon. Vacation fund? Nothing messes with our vacations. My own personal spending money? Get back Satan. The kids’ college fund? Now we’re talking…
If Obama’s health care plan would only cover cats I’d be all set. We could get some insurance for Mo, paid for by the wealthy who are so greedy and only living to stick it to the rest of us, and I wouldn’t have to pay one cent towards my feline’s food affliction. Ok, I will accept a small co-pay. I’ve got to do my part right?
I’ve hit on something though. If Obama’s universal health care coverage won’t cover pets (and most people consider pets as family members, so who is this guy to only allow certain family members health care?…that’s so discriminatory) then I’ll just use our girls’ college education funds. College will be free by the time my girls get there right? Everyone should have a chance to go… I’ve been so busy being miserly all these years that I’ve actually squirreled money away to use on my cats’ food!
So, Obama, even if you don’t offer my cats health care coverage (which I’ve already mentioned would be discriminatory) I’ll still vote for you if you promise to send my girls to school for free. Either way something’s gotta change. ‘Cause I don’t have the spare change to make the necessary change in my kitty’s nourishment.
Not So SAHM 
Now that’s funny. YOU voting for Obama! 🙂
Sorry about Mo, though. You’re good to take it on. Be grateful though that food can solve it. (Just remind yourself that we were made the shepherds of the creatures by the Big G himself.)
As for healthcare … I’ve long stumped for pets to be declarable dependents. (Mine eat better than I do and get medical care more often.) In fact, in my newspaper days, one of our freelancers made me some mocked-up Social Security cards for each of our then critters after a column I wrote on that topic!
Try Purina One cat food for Urinary health or a supplement from Vitamin World called Urinary Tract Support for Cats 🙂
So sorry to hear about your kitty! I’ve been in your position before…. it’s not fun, either! That is some really expensive cat food (I’m thinking you’re referring to Science Diet?). Our cat had serious kidney issues and had to be on Science Diet for all of her life as well (and she was a little piggy, too). Of course, we wound up paying out the wazoo for vet bills because of her illnesses as well. Looking back on it, I probably would’ve been better off to take out pet insurance!
good luck with all that. pets are so expensive. but what’re you gonna do, shoot ’em? no, kelly, we may not shoot our pets. that was just for me, i’m sure it would never occur to you.
Oh the unexpected vet bills!!! We’ve raked up about $2000 in vet bills just this year. (cringe)
That is too funny!! You are the first conservative that I have met that has a sense of humor about politics!!
I’m a penny-pincher, too. Which is why I’m a Democrat. The Bush (43) administration has grossly mismanaged our funds and we are eventually going to have to pay for it. Obama’s plan is to re-prioritize our spending so that we can begin taking care of many of the problems that W has failed to address. And yes – under Obama’s plan he will pay for your daughter’s education if she serves our country either through the military or public service. Will you be voting for Obama now? heheh! I thought not – but it was worth a shot!
When I first got our furbaby, I spent 1500$! This was after having him for a total of two months. Since I do treat him as part of the family, I’m for any canidate that would let us write him off on taxes AND give him universal healthcare!!
Hope ((Mo)) gets better soon! My parents cat is on something like that…teeny bag that cost a fortune AND he can only drink water that is filtered. No tap water for this cool kitty.
Whew, girl, you had me in a tizzy. You surely weren’t that desperate, were yoU? I am sure there is somewhere in the plan a home for all the helpless, neglected cats whose owners deserted them! (you would never do such a thing.) and my kids hear me say, again, ad nauseum, “and THIS is why we aren’t getting any pets!” Heartless mommy. Seriously, sorry about kitty.
As one who has a cat on the world’s most expensive prescription cat food for two years now, I hear you. Luckily they were able to diagnose Mo early on–it took them them over a year of trial and error to find our solution. By that time I was so happy we found the right food that I was glad to pay $60 a bag. They are kind of rotten little babies sometimes. 🙂
Only because I know you are teasing will I let this one slide. I love our cat and all. But even he’s not worth casting a vote for Obama.
Eeekkk..you scared me for a moment!! I’ll pay for your cat if you DON’T vote for Obama… heck, I’ll save that much in taxes if he doesn’t win! And last I checked, if she joins the military she still gets her education paid for…THAT’S NO CHANGE!! Been that way for quite some time! Did you know that you can now transfer the GI bill to your dependents?!?!? Shawn’s just finished his M. Ed. , so we’ll be using his GI bill for one of the boys!
You could try Nutro brand cat food. I kid you not, it is the ONLY food my cat keeps down! It’s completely natural – I get the sensitive stomach formula (pink bag). You can get it at PetCo and I think PetSmart. It’s not cheap, but not as bad as some of the other high-end stuff that I’ve tried and not had luck with.
good luck!
Oh Vicki…how I love thee…You are so funny…hey that rhymes….about that health plan..you know the one for humans, yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it.