[lilreps]

This story is kinda old, but i still think about him all the time.

I bought a 6 week old kitten from a pet store in my college town. He was SOO tiny (like one pound). I had him for a week or so, and he started getting diarhhea, he wasn't eating much or playing much. So i took him to the vet. About 300 dollars later in meds and lots of painful shots, the doctor assured me he'd be ok, that he had a parasite in his tummy that was eating away at his stomach. I thought he'd be ok.

A couple days later, he took his first poop in the litter box (yeah!!) and i really thought he'd get better. One morning i left for class, and he was sleeping on the couch, just like always..when i came home he had passed away. The doctor wanted to do an autopsy but I wouldn't let him..obviously we didn't catch the parasite in time.

At first I was devastated. He was my first pet and I had to bury him two weeks after I got him. After my grief passed, I got angry. I went back and yelled at the owner of the pet store. I found out from many people, including the vet, that she never took good care of her animals, and that she gave them injections of medicines that were sometimes too old for use...a lot of people had pets die that they got from there. So I went in and screamed at the lady, and she offered me a new kitten. at first i was hesitant, because 1. i was still grieving and 2. i didn't want to have another pet die. But I decided to take one, because seeing the little kittens she had pent up in the cage made me angry.

I can honestly say it was the best move I could have made. And my advice to most people who have just lost a pet is to get a new one. Everything happens for a reason, and if my timmy wouldn't have died, I wouldn't have george, my new cat, and he probably would have died in the pet store.

And honestly, he was the BEST therapy i could have asked for. He's a happy, funny, cuddly cat and he made a bad situation good.

 

[Padunk]

If there's real truth to the rumor, make a report about the owner of that petstore... for the animals that are still there.

Good to see you've found a winner in George.

 

[Jeanie]

I'm glad you were lucky the second time. It must have been terrible to see a sweet little kitten die. I'm so sorry about that.


For future reference and for the rest of our members:
Please never buy a cat or dog at a petstore. The are usually bred at kitty and puppy mills, without much thought for the health or quality of the animals, only how much money they can make. Buy from an individual breeder who raises the animals at home, underfoot, where they are loved and get the best of care. You'll pay less and suffer less heartbreak. Pups and kittens need to run and play and be loved, not penned up in small cages with several others.

 

[Ioana]

But what will happen to the poor pets if nobody wants them? Maybe there should be more drastical measures taken against such stores' actions. I feel so sad to even look at pictures with animals in cages.

 

[Jeanie]

Ioana, If people refused to buy cats and dogs from a pet store (where they are paying much more than they would it they bought from a small, ethical breeder) the pet stores would have a sale and not buy any more from puppy mills and kitten mills. Eventually, the unethical breeders could be put out of business. As it is, the females are used as puppy and kitten machines. They're not beloved pets. The main object is money, not love of the animal of betterment of the breed. We have to start somewhere and hope the word spreads or this will continue. When the money stops, there will be no incentive to the pet shop owners or the pup and kitten mills to continue the practice.

The employees might be animal lovers, but they can't provide the room or care that these babies need. The owners would not give them the time or the space.

 

[Ioana]

It is so disapointing. I am very likely to turn my head towards the ones that look like they won't stand a chance anyways.
Such buisnesses should be banned. I am afraid the other way around it would take too long..

 

[Jeanie]

I agree-wholeheartedly.

 

[Ioana]

I have a lot of faith that we can change things starting at the very bottom. We can change people and their mentalities in our own vecinity. I have seen it happening around me/ animal lovers. I am working my way from scratch and I know I will make at least some of the animal's life I come in touch with a little better.

 

[Jeanie]

That's why I spend so much time here. People have to know the truth before they are motivated to take action. Years ago I would not have hesitated to buy a cat or dog at a small petshop. Now I'm a crusader!

 

[Ioana]

And there is so much to learn from you as well as from all the crusaders in the entire forum

 

[Jeanie]

And you are also one of them! Adrienne (Adymarie) started another thread about the good deeds Petsmart does, by allowing shelters to bring their cats and kittens and allowing the abandoned kittens to be rehomed from their store! Isn't it great?

 

[Ioana]

Yes it is...While I was browsing the net looking for spay-neuter-return organizations, trying to get in touch with them --I have realized how many animal lovers are around. It made me feel so much better