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).
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 linkabout 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.
