# Slate article- "Why I Killed My (healthy) Cat" -Do you agree with author's reasoning? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 20, 2005, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593 "2005-09-20T20:33:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/1 "2005-09-20T20:33:49Z")
[Why I Killed My Cat](http://slate.msn.com/id/2126249/nav/tap1/) > [@](#): > > We put down our cat, Goldie. Why? Because there was one bedtime too many when my 9-year old daughter laid her head on her pillow and remarked, “Mom, my pillow is wet.” Because Goldie kept us all awake as he howled through the night. Because he decided that instead of using the litter box in our new house, he preferred to relieve himself in our only bathtub. > > I have spent 25 years caring for two successive sets of cats and have always thought of myself as having an ancient Egyptian’s admiration for their grace, beauty, and mystery. When my beloved cat Shlomo was dying of cancer at age 16, I kept her alive weeks longer than I should have. Every time I called my veterinarian to make her final appointment, I’d break down sobbing and have to hang up. Yet here I am, minus one healthy cat, and not sorry about it. > > Believe me, we tried with Goldie. During the four years we had him, we spent hundreds of dollars on medical tests to get to the cause of Goldie’s refusal to use the litter box. There was no physical problem, so we progressed to psychology. We tried Prozac (though the package insert says nothing about it being a cure for a compulsion to urinate on pillows), and a product called Feliway, a pheromone that is supposed to reduce a cat’s anxiety. Our anxiety increased as the treatments failed. We moved on to home décor, spending thousands of dollars to replace carpets so soaked with urine that they created their own microclimate. Goldie turned his attention to bedding and area rugs. etc. etc. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/2 "2005-09-20T20:43:30Z")
Goldie could have been given to someone that wanted an outside cat. Without knowing Goldie, I can’t say if that would have been a good optiion. Capital punishment for urination seems a little harse but maybe the author didn’t believe that cats should be a strinctly outdoors pet. ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/3 "2005-09-20T20:44:39Z")
My mom had to do the same thing with her cat. He never pooped anywhere but in his box but almost peed in the box for his entire adult life. Couches, beds, clothing, bedding, the ironing board, rugs, speakers - anything other than the box. The whole house reeked of cat urine. It got to be too much, and she had him put down. When I worked in a vet’s office, I always heard that the #1 reason for elective euthanasia of healthy cats was inappropriate elimination. You can’t find a home for them (if you’re honest about why you’re giving them up), and they’d end up being put down in a shelter, unless you can find a no-kill shelter that’s not full to the brim. The point to all this? It’s a horrible decision to have to make, but I can understand the reasoning. ---
**Author:** ![xbuckeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9e8a1a/32.png) [@xbuckeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xbuckeye)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/4 "2005-09-20T20:47:37Z")
I sure would’ve tried to find him another home. The author didn’t sound very patient…one night of howling? Wah! My cat has only once protested her litterbox, and that was due to my inattentiveness to its cleanliness (OK, it was growing white fuzzy mold, I would’ve crapped on the floor too) so I guess you could always say that I’ve never been there. Close the rooms you don’t want the cat in or keep the cat confined to a room that is easy to clean. Keep the cat outside (for more than one day) or give the cat to someone who has the patience to deal with it. I have seen ‘problem pets’ do beautifully in a new household. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/5 "2005-09-20T20:54:27Z")
Do I agree with the author’s specious excuse-making? No. The article doesn’t say how old Goldie was, but I didn’t get the impression he was elderly. > [@](#): > > Please don’t tell me you would have taken in Goldie. You wouldn’t have, and he wouldn’t have wanted you to. There are three things he couldn’t bear: change, other animals, and confinement. We never considered just dropping him off at a shelter. According to the American Humane Association, only about 25 percent of relinquished cats are ever adopted. We weren’t going to lie about Goldie’s problems to make him sound more appealing, because that would mean his unwitting new owners would quickly return him. And we weren’t going to find some no-kill shelter and dump him there to spend forever locked in a cage in torment. I probably wouldn’t have, but I know people who would’ve given it a shot. Different owners, different environments, different living conditions can do wonders to a cat’s state of mind. Goldie’s chances may have been 25% (or less), but that’s still better than 0%. One can rationalize any type of decision (the shelters are awful, nobody would ever consider adopting, etc.), but that’s incredibly presumptuous. > [@](#): > > And spare me the argument that Goldie was a member of the family and nothing could justify my actions. I feel love for my animals, but I maintain there is a distinction between people and pets. Goldie was a pet, but he had ceased to be an acceptable one. He was miserable and so were we. I believe my obligation was to give him a quick, painless death. Essentially, “If Goldie couldn’t find happiness with us, then happiness was impossible.” Rubbish. I’ve personally seen cats’ behaviors change dramatically (for the better) when given a new home. We’ve adopted cats that we were warned would behave this way or that, but never did because they found a home that they acclimated to. You never know, and to assign your pet a death sentence, not because it’s suffering from a terminal condition but because it has become “unacceptable” borders on the monstrous. I can’t imagine the frustration the author went to, but to say that what she did was her only option is a cop-out. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/6 "2005-09-20T21:00:43Z")
It is my impression from the clip that the cat howled all night, every night. From the treatments listed, this obviously went on for months and months (possibly years). Personally, I do not find lifetime confinement to a 12x12 box a solution that is distinctly preferable to being put down. That’s no life for a cat. And on the other hand, living in a cat-urine soaked house is no life for a human. The vast majority of people do not have access to someone who “needs another outdoor cat.” (please, no one needs another outdoor cat). For many people who live in urban areas. “put the cat outside” is not an option either. It is a sad reality, but reality all the same. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/7 "2005-09-20T21:00:48Z")
> [@xbuckeye](#): > > I sure would’ve tried to find him another home. The author didn’t sound very patient…one night of howling? Wah! My cat has only once protested her litterbox, and that was due to my inattentiveness to its cleanliness (OK, it was growing white fuzzy mold, I would’ve crapped on the floor too) so I guess you could always say that I’ve never been there. Close the rooms you don’t want the cat in or keep the cat confined to a room that is easy to clean. Keep the cat outside (for more than one day) or give the cat to someone who has the patience to deal with it. I have seen ‘problem pets’ do beautifully in a new household. Where does it say “one night of howling”? The article gives the impression that this was a nightly problem, not a one-off. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/8 "2005-09-20T21:19:46Z")
> [@astro](#): > > [Why I Killed My Cat](http://slate.msn.com/id/2126249/nav/tap1/) > > etc. etc. I hate cats. That said, a good subtitle for this article would be “Why I’m an evil fuck who’s going to hell.” ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/9 "2005-09-20T21:22:58Z")
My sister took in a dog which had been returned to the shelter twice. With care and lots of training, the dog is a successful and happy member of her family now. I vote for shelter, and hope the cat gets lucky, or advertise the cat while being honest about its problems. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/10 "2005-09-20T21:29:57Z")
> [@Avarie537](#): > > You can’t find a home for them (if you’re honest about why you’re giving them up), and they’d end up being put down in a shelter, unless you can find a no-kill shelter that’s not full to the brim. I just wanted to clear up a common misperception: that limited-access shelters will take (assuming they have room) any kind of cat no matter what its problems are. Limited-access shelters will almost never take a cat who pees everywhere, because that cat is virtually unadoptable. Shelters are in the adoption business, not the long-term sanctuary business. Very very few limited-access shelters are _also_ sanctuaries for unadoptable cats. (Best Friends in Utah is one that is both LA and a sanctuary.) Even people who want an indoor/outdoor cat will usually not take a pee-er, unless they plan to NEVER let the cat in. Few LA shelters will adopt to people who plan to keep the cat as an outdoor-only cat. Thus, few LA shelters will take a pee-er. ---
**Author:** ![lorinada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@lorinada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorinada)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/11 "2005-09-20T22:16:47Z")
I am a cat lover as well as a person who has given heavily of my time and money to animal welfare causes, but I don’t necessarily think euthanasia is the evil thing so many in my position do. On the other hand, my mom adopted a cat who peed everywhere. I took her in as a last resort. She never once peed outside her litter box again. So, sometimes a change of environment can help. But then you are asking someone else to take a flawed kitty, possibly become attached, and then maybe having to face passing it on to the next person or putting it down. There is no easy solution to this problem. I, personally, believe euthanasia is preferable to living in confinement, whether it’s a bathroom in the owner’s house or a cage at the local shelter. I am not about to pass judgement on the author. ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/12 "2005-09-20T23:12:40Z")
I’m sure Goldie is in kitty heaven with all the other dead kitties. I’m sure he’s rolling about with a radiant ball of catnip that never depletes and always gets him righteously stoned. In kitty heaven, Goldie can mark his scent wherever he chooses, and it will smell like molasses in the oven. In fact, all kitties go to heaven, so there’s really no worries about putting them down. Only people go to hell. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/13 "2005-09-20T23:30:45Z")
The author came off as rather snippy to me. It seemed that the cat wasn’t part of her life as a pet, but as an accessory. ---
**Author:** ![xbuckeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9e8a1a/32.png) [@xbuckeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xbuckeye)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/14 "2005-09-21T01:57:18Z")
> [@Hello Again](#): > > please, no one needs another outdoor cat yeah, so kill it instead of giving it a chance > [@Hello Again](#): > > It is my impression from the clip that the cat howled all night, every night. > [@Dominic Mulligan](#): > > Where does it say “one night of howling”? The article gives the impression that this was a nightly problem, not a one-off. Sorry, I read it as he only howled when confined or travelling, which is what my cat does, along with ‘throwing herself against the door’ She learned how to jump up and turn the doorknob to open the door, but it takes her a few tries and is really loud with hollowcore doors. I think that a house without child(ren) and/or other pets was probably what this kitty needed. But now all we can do is speculate, since he was never given a chance. My cat was a sweet little fluffball before she was my cat, now she is an adorable, but incredibly stealthy, evil little monster. I would never dream of putting her down for her personality quirks. I keep her away from things she destroys. What kind of message does it send to the daughter? Animals are expendable and we can kill our pets when we get tired of them? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/15 "2005-09-21T02:10:16Z")
> [@Jeep's Phoenix](#): > > The author came off as rather snippy to me. Of course she’s snippy. She’s attempting to defend herself for something almost everybody will reflexively condemn her for. She’s defensive. Unfortunately for her, I think almost everybody is right. She didn’t need to have the cat put down, and she sounds like a bitch about it, too, which doesn’t help her case. The last sentence in particular makes her sound like a complete jerk, as does the fact despite the happiness she takes from the story, she pushed the made her husband decide to have the cat put down because she couldn’t decide. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/16 "2005-09-21T02:34:47Z")
Pets aren’t people…they exist for our pleasure and our use. This cat didn’t serve a purpose and wasn’t manageable, and, with its problems, probably couldn’t have been given to anyone else. I think the woman did the right thing. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/17 "2005-09-21T02:42:18Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > This cat didn’t serve a purpose… Neither do humans. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/18 "2005-09-21T02:49:53Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > Neither do humans. Yeah…but people are people…cats are cats. Cats, and other domesticated animals, are property. Because they’re alive, they’re a special kind of property…there are laws against abuse and neglect of animals, while there’s nothing to stop you from abusing your toaster, but they’re still property. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/19 "2005-09-21T03:01:07Z")
Meh. Humans are only important to (most) other humans. No one else cares what happens to us. And frankly, there are quite a few humans I’d rather put to sleep before most cats, if I were allowed to. People mostly annoy me. Cats usually don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593/20 "2005-09-21T03:10:30Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > Pets aren’t people…they exist for our pleasure and our use. Mostly true. Still, I think when you take on an animal, you’re accepting the obligation to treat it well (same as you do with a child, but not a toaster). Putting the cat down because it’s an inconvenience to you, even when it’s a pain in the ass like this one, violates that. If you give the cat away and no one takes it, at least you’ve made the effort. She says they didn’t even consider doing so. > [@](#): > > This cat didn’t serve a purpose No cat serves a purpose. That’s got to be the most shocking idea in this thread. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slate-article-why-i-killed-my-healthy-cat-do-you-agree-with-authors-reasoning/322593.md?page=2)