# I can't afford to keep my kitty. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 29, 2011, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998 "2011-09-29T11:14:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jrtexgunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/edb3f5/32.png) [@jrtexgunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrtexgunner)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/21 "2011-09-30T02:13:16Z")
You may already have, but if not, you should really look into working out a better repayment schedule for your school loans. Most will assist you with a payment plan that will let you take care of your loans and still be able to eat. I’ve known plenty of people that are making loan payments so low, they will never fully repay them (not saying that is right or wrong). I would commend you on your desire to meet the financial commitments made for your education, but keep in mind-that responsibility may, relatively speaking, need to take a backseat to your well-being (and your pet). -JR ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/22 "2011-09-30T12:09:38Z")
It seems like you’re getting a lot of offers of help (and money) already. I hope things get a little better for you and you are able to keep him. My first suggestion is to make him an indoor-only cat. The need for flea meds, regular vaccinations, and routine check-ups for younger cats is all but eliminated in this case. Much easier said than done if he’s used to going outside, though. If you really must give him up, please send me a PM - I live in the Phil. area, I do a little animal rescue myself, and I know many other people who do as well. Rescues are overflowing right now because of the economy, and it seems like everyone I know already has cats and isn’t looking for another, but I might be able to help. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/23 "2011-09-30T12:53:50Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I am always amazed at people who are starving and yet insist on keeping their pets. Well, they’re family. It’s hard to give up on family. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/24 "2011-09-30T13:01:36Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > Not my art, my part. D’uh. > > StG And I thought I was going to be able to say I knew you before you were famous. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/25 "2011-09-30T13:03:43Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Well, they’re family. It’s hard to give up on family. Absolutely, but sometimes it’s the right thing for the pet, too - like I said, there’s no point in kitty _and_ human starving. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/26 "2011-09-30T13:11:03Z")
I understand your point Anaamika, but I would give up beer before I would let my cat go hungry. (Have to put things into perspective). I couldn’t give him away as I doubt anyone could value a three legged cat with a squished in face the same as I do. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/27 "2011-09-30T13:15:29Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > I understand your point Anaamika, but I would give up beer before I would let my cat go hungry. (Have to put things into perspective). > > I couldn’t give him away as I doubt anyone could value a three legged cat with a squished in face the same as I do. It’s not beer vs. kitty we’re talking about, is it? The OP is talking about using change to buy a sack of potatoes to eat. Please don’t make him feel any worse for a tough choice he has to make. I know people think that pets are very very important, but everyone needs to make their own decision on where to draw the line, and I think when it’s down to a matter of pennies for potatoes, it would not be a bad thing if the cat were to go. I also did not come into a thread of a poor person and tell him to give up his cat - I just wanted him to know, since he already made the decision, that someone is in his corner. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/28 "2011-09-30T13:17:43Z")
I tried to help you. Classic fail. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/29 "2011-09-30T13:20:24Z")
Eh? Ok, whatever. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/30 "2011-09-30T17:08:20Z")
Meh. Pets aren’t “family” to everyone. If I was struggling to that degree financially and there were no further corners I could cut, I’d try to re-home my (2) dogs and (2) cats too. To me, that’s the responsible decision to make. Obviously I care for and enjoy having my pets, but if I couldn’t provide for both them and myself, I would feel much better reducing my stress by ensuring they had a home with someone who could manage emergency medical bills, quality food, etc. I’ve rehomed plenty of pets that I loved, since I’ve rescued a few and almost always gotten really attached. It’s not like a child. 99% of dogs and cats adjust quickly and completely when they go to a good new home, being stupid and all. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/31 "2011-09-30T18:18:28Z")
> [@rhubarbarin](#): > > Meh. Pets aren’t “family” to everyone. If I was struggling to that degree financially and there were no further corners I could cut, I’d try to re-home my (2) dogs and (2) cats too. To me, that’s the responsible decision to make. It would be if there were always homes available. There aren’t. Even when you re-home an animal successfully, a slot is filled that _could_ have re-homed another animal waiting out the seven-day hold a dreary public pound. I’m not saying it’s _never_ the best course of action. Sometimes it’s unavoidable and sometimes it might indeed be the best anyone can do. But it’s a last resort in a way. Many, many owner surrenders prove impossible to place, especially with older animals, and those that do find a home inevitably displace a different animal. People who run rescues sometimes say “YOU are your pet’s best chance.” ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/32 "2011-09-30T18:47:03Z")
Have you investigated loan consolidation options, OP? I thought there was no possible way I could afford to pay mine back. But I got them consolidated, and I’m only paying $85 a month on an $11.4k loan. I have also been told by my mom and others that anyone, regardless of income, can get a free box of food at the food pantry. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/33 "2011-09-30T18:52:54Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > It would be if there were always homes available. There aren’t. Even when you re-home an animal successfully, a slot is filled that _could_ have re-homed another animal waiting out the seven-day hold a dreary public pound. > > I’m not saying it’s _never_ the best course of action. Sometimes it’s unavoidable and sometimes it might indeed be the best anyone can do. But it’s a last resort in a way. Many, many owner surrenders prove impossible to place, especially with older animals, and those that do find a home inevitably displace a different animal. > > People who run rescues sometimes say “YOU are your pet’s best chance.” Thankfully, another way that dogs and cats aren’t like family is that it’s legal and (IMO) morally just fine to kill the PITA ones no one wants to live with. 😃 This is why I have a lot of problems with ‘no-kill’ rescues who will waste untold time and resources on dogs and cats that are geriatric and living only with daily medications and treatments, or bite everyone, or generally hate humans, or piss all over your house… ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/34 "2011-09-30T19:14:05Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Really, I know I’m probably going to be disliked for this, but it does no one any good for you _and_ kitty to starve. I really hope that someone takes your kitty. I am always amazed at people who are starving and yet insist on keeping their pets. Anyway, I just posted to say I think you are doing the right thing. 🙂 Naw, no disliking, but to put an alternative spin on things: if there’s a way to afford food (with help or whatever), pet food isn’t that costly and having a pet around can be tremendously stress-reducing. We call it “fur therapy”. But I also understand how costly a pet can be if its health isn’t ideal, and it would suck to be the OP and in a position to be unable to afford needed veterinary care at some point :(. Re the OP: I hope you’re able to figure out a way to keep Chaplin but failing that, finding him a good home will do a lot to ease your guilt. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/35 "2011-09-30T23:25:17Z")
Is the OP going to come back into the thread? I sent a PM offering assistance and have not recieved a reply. Kinda disheartening… ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/36 "2011-09-30T23:40:44Z")
It’s been what, just about a day, or day and a half? We don’t know what other problems she might be dealing with at the moment. Sounds like her situation is pretty stressful, promptly getting back to a message board may not be her highest priority at the moment. I’d give her another day or two. ---
**Author:** ![Schrodinger\_s\_Platypus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Schrodinger\_s\_Platypus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schrodinger_s_Platypus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/37 "2011-10-01T16:07:44Z")
Sorry for the lack of reply. My friend in New Jersey said he can take the kitty. I just had a visit with the food pantry and they can get me some food. No luck on the food stamps, but I feel terrible about taking any charity at all and was raised to fend for myself. Thanks for the offers, but I don’t feel comfortable taking from others. The cat has a home and that is all I needed. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/38 "2011-10-01T16:30:22Z")
Glad to hear your kitty has a good home, **Schrodinger’s Platypus**. I hope you will at least look into getting your student debt restructured–it’s not like you’d be failing to pay it, just making changes so that you won’t have to hit up food pantries to survive. There’s no harm in asking–like I said, I’m sure most loan companies have seen a lot of folks with the same request, and I’m sure they’d look more kindly on someone who wants to pay them back than on someone who just defaults. What would be the downside of trying? ---
**Author:** ![phall0106](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phall0106/32/5934_2.png) [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/39 "2011-10-02T20:09:11Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > If he’s a healthy cat and up to date with his shots and been snipped, there’s the very good possibility that you won’t need a vet visit for a very, very long time. None of my three cats have been to the vet in YEARS for anything more than shots. So don’t give up hope yet…with a little help on the food issue, you can take the time to find him another home if that’s still the way you are leaning. > Hope everything works out. I was thinking the same thing, and am glad you brought it up, **kittenblue**. My indoor cats haven’t been to the vet since their initial neutering. I feed them and love them, but quite honestly, regular vet visits aren’t in the budget. I have a friend who has three cats who takes them to the vet once a year for check ups and every time a cat so much as sneezes. I’m sure he would think I’m a bad pet owner for not running my cats to the vet for every little shot and check up. I figure they were all rescued strays and are healthy (which to me, means they’re eating fine, using the litter box fine, are active and affectionate, without coughs or colds), and even under my care, they’re better off than in a shelter, or worse yet, on the streets. ---
**Author:** ![DoperChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@DoperChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoperChic)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998/40 "2011-10-03T00:20:32Z")
I’m coming in here to second (third, fourth?) the suggestion that you try to do something about your student loans. They have lots of options that can allow you to stop payments for a few months or just reduce your minimum amount due each month. When my husband got laid off a year and a half ago we were able to defer payments. We only asked for 3 months but they would have allowed us to go longer if needed. The downside to this is that the interest still counted during the 3 months we didn’t make payments but it gave us an extra $600 or so at a time that we needed every penny we could get our hands on. Here’s a [link](http://www.finaid.org/loans/ibr.phtml)about Income Based Repayment. It sounds like you may have had a change in your income since you first took out your loan/starting repaying it. If that’s the case then you should be able to qualify for an adjustment in your amount due each month. Good luck to you. I’m glad you were able to find a good loving home for your cat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-afford-to-keep-my-kitty/597998.md?page=3)