For the Cat Lovers

A cat owner's dilemma. You get them and they are young and cute. Their upkeep is cheap enough, and if you live where I live, you get a bonus because they are excellent varmint killers. As the cat gets older, the food bill increases.

My adult cat consumes 3-3oz. cans of cat food per day. That amounts to $1.30 per day or $9.10 per week.
Do not get the wrong impression, the cost of the cat food is not the problem, it is just a manifestation of one of the
problems of cat ownership. Let me start at the beginning.

12 years ago, this cat came to the house. You could tell that the cat was not accustomed to human handling, so we respected that and did not try to manhandle her. She would very seldom eat what we gave her because she caught most of what she ate. Sometimes she even brought a bird or a mouse and laid it on the front step. She would make a fuss about it until we could see what she had done. Usually we would give her a neck scruff and she would give us a leg rub.

But time has taken its toll on our old pussycat. Her fur is bedraggled, she has two broken teeth, and she does not roam at night as she used to. She can no longer eat the dry food and eats only what we provide now. No longer a huntress prowling about for an opportune meal, she very patiently waits for her feedings. Her once aloof attitude has softened a lot and seems to want more attention from us than in the past.

Other cats in the neighborhood come and steal her food if we aren't watching out for her and sometimes we stand guard while she eats just to make sure the other cats do not get her food. She is no longer able to protect herself and is wary about any movement. We think that her sight is impaired because she doesn't relax until we call out to her. Once she hears us speak, she returns to her docile, relaxed self.

We have discussed taking her to the vet and have her put to sleep, but neither my wife nor me want to make that trip. We don't know how old she was when she came to us, so we don't have a clue of how old she is. She was a grown cat when she came to us.

Do any of you have a similar story about a cat? If so please share your comments with us.

Cheers,
-Robert-