Most people put up pictures of their pets on their homepages. I rant about mine.

first posted 2000-03-15, updated 2000-10-27 (added pictures of my cats)

Shortly after I bought my house a few years ago, I arrived home one dark and rainy night to find a pathetic half dead silver tabby persian cat on my deck nervously peeking around the corner at me. Of course, I got down to cat level, and called her to me. Within 30 seconds of being petted she was purring, and when I opened the door she gladly came in. So of course, I rushed out to buy cat things like a litter box, food etc.

I cleaned her up the best I could and fed her. Her coat was not exactly long or healthy. She seemed much happier than a few hours before when she had been cold and hungry. That weekend I took her to the vet. She was diagnosed as being malnourished, and parasite infested. Her age was guessed at two years old, and the vet assumed she was abandoned. The vet gave her quite a few shots, and sent me home with some nasty stuff to kill any fleas in my carpet.

Now all of this sounds like the typical taking in a stray cat story, but it isn't. Here is a list of all of the medical or other problems this pure bred cat has had in the past few years.

• Matted fur, and sensitive skin. It is a constant struggle to keep her fur from getting into nasty tangles.
• She is way too prone to hacking up hairballs.
• Eye goop. Persians' tear ducts do not drain properly, so I frequently have to wipe the eye goop off of her face.
• Asthma. Probably due to her smushed up face, she sometimes has trouble breathing. I also have allergies, so now I have to leave a HEPA filter running all of the time instead of just tree pollen season.
• Epilepsy. When she is excited, repetitive sounds with echos (so that she can't easily locate the source of the sound) can cause her to go into a seizure. Fortunately this has only happened a few times.
• Legs
  • 2 years ago, her left front elbow dislocated and the tendons tore. She required surgery to correct this. It took months before she could walk without a limp.
  • A few weeks ago, her right rear knee dislocated and those tendons tore. She required another surgery to correct this, and is still recovering.
• She is not the smartest cat I've ever known.

Many people have suggested that I should have her euthanised. Despite all of her problems she seems to be a happy, tough, generally contented and loving cat. Her quality of life may not be 100%, but I'm sure that if her brain were larger than a walnut, she would find a way of thanking me for spending so much on the vet to keep her healthy.

What is the root cause of all her medical problems?

I firmly believe, and the vet seems to agree, that most if not all are due to her being a "Pure Bred" cat.

Inbred monster is more like it. When she had her last surgery, the pre-operative x-rays showed multiple deformities in her leg including a curved tibia and misplaced patella.

The inbreeding of animals is a disgrace. One of the reasons I don't eat meat is the horrors suffered by animals inbred to the point where they no longer closely resemble a normal member of their species.

My suggestions:

• Pick up an animal at a shelter, or take in a stray if you want a pet. There are plenty of animals who want a home. Paying large amounts of money to a breeder for a pure bred pet is insane. Don't encourage breeders.
• Don't eat animals. If you do eat animals, try to eat only those that have been treated in a humane a manner as possible.

To all who think I'm some softie, I have this to say: I'd like to find whoever bred her, and whoever abandoned her, and stick them in a kennel with a bunch of hungry pure bred pit bulls who were improperly socialized.

Related sites
Cat Scan
Cat Enema (maybe not really related, but damn funny!)

My other cat is 'Nelli, who Kitty would kill if she could.