You make it sound like this was intentional and wilfull, rather than an awful accident.
Exactly.
Her profile, as of right now, says that her last post was at 3.39am Eastern. That would be, i think, 2.39am in Kansas. People have to sleep too, you know. And she may have had to go to work or run errands today. Much as we might love to, not everyone can spend 24 hours a day replying to Straight Dope threads.
Give her a break!
She hung around for two hours after posting her OP, and made quite a few follow-up posts. Is there some rule i’m not aware of that says she has to stay in front of her computer until every single doper has had a chance to give her a kick?
FWIW, i agree with most people that her rant at her neighbors and their dog was misplaced, and that she needs to seriously re-evaluate the way she looks after her cats. And she might well realize that after reading the responses in this thread. But, much as i love to engage in a pile-on when i think the circumstances are right, i do try to stay off when the person’s post might have been affected by grief. While castigating SpongeMom for her rather narrow view of her situation, we could also show a little sympathy.
Sorry Giraffe, it certainly was not my intention, while I know board wars happen I have seen plenty of invaders come to the Dope, it just did not occur to me that Dopers might instigate one. My bad, sorry. It won’t happen again.
And Lefty if you were talking to me I am flattered.
Who has done that, or even suggested that it be done? The link is most certainly an invitation to view her forum, which is all anyone has done. All you’ve got is Lefty on his high horse telling us not to do stuff that no one has done. I ask again, where was it even implied, except by Lefty, that we “take this thread over there”?
*One **was stepped on, got its jaw broken ** and we didn’t know it, **and it ** **ended up starving to death ** because we found out too late and nothing could be done. * (Bolding mine)
As I noted before, I just love the passive voice. No sense of responsibility there at all. Shit happens. Nothing we could do about.
No one is suggesting that she killed the kitten on purpose. She did, however, know that a human being had stepped on the head of a creature that weighed at the most a couple of pounds. That should have triggered a vet trip right there. Failing that, close observation for several days is absolutely called for. She was not even aware that the kitten was not eating. I simply meant to juxtapose this apparent lack of empathy and observation skills with her stated desire to become a veterinarian.
These two things are not mutually exclusive. My sister bred and raised rottendogs for several years. Her two cats considered her dogs nice warm cat beds. They dog slobber they got on them was from absent minded licking not viciousness.
The animal’s behaviour has to do with its upbringing NOT its breed.
That said, even a misbehaving dog has a right to go into its own yard without warning the neighborhood animals that it is going to do so. I’m sorry spongemom about your kitties though.
Sometimes I cool down later and regret things I said. While I regret my violation of board rules earlier, I find that my rage towards Spongemom has not abated in the slightest. I don’t think folks are upset with her for what she said - her insults towards her neighbors are merely the icing-sugar glaze on top of it. I just don’t see this as something you can come up with a subsequent justification for. I’m not enraged because of what she’s saying in her grief. I’m enraged because she let such an awful thing happen - four times over.
When I worked at a vet clinic, a client once came in with their second cat dying of feline leukemia, a disease that’s preventable with vaccination. One of the doctors told me that she really wished she could sit the client down in her smacking chair and slap some sense into her. I can understand making a mistake, but four times?
I’m a cat lover, and this thread is making me slightly hysterical. I had better not look again.
I never thought a message board could make me cry. A fucking message board. You people are ruthless in your attacks. I never thought I’d run into so many insensitive, uncaring, and flat out mean people at one fucking time.
First off, ignore Crafter_Man when it comes to cats. He’s got his own rules that most people don’t agree with.
Second, what’s gone down here is hard, but you should take it as an opportunity to take a step back and look at yourself. We are not all evil uncaring people, most of us do care and empathize with pet owners. Your actions, as described in your OP do not suggest a set of bad dog owners, but a cat owner who did not fulfill her duties to protect her pets. That does not make you a bad person, but you need to see this and appreciate why people are taking you to task.
I can’t see what you did as anything short of utter neglect, though. I guess you can’t explain it away either. I nearly cried reading your message this morning, out of sorrow for your cats. I still can’t muster any sympathy for you, though.
I hope that in the future you realize the responsibility that pet ownership entails. And I think you should have this thread locked. It’s very unlikely to get any better.