Ran over a stray cat - avoiding a $500 surgery and cat's disability, what would you do (story of Catwallet)

Xiru said:    77RUS: trust me, look at a hungry person having food, a person with cancer hoping a better future for other sick folks, a child getting a better education or whatever makes sense for you as a charity...You'll forget the cat.

77RUS didnt run over a hungry person, or someone with cancer. He ran over this poor, unattractive, lipless stray cat. If the cat had an owner, OP would be held financially responsible, and would either be facing a lawsuit or having his auto insurance pay the vet bills. Because the cat is a stray and has no owner, there is no one to advocate for the cat, no one will be filing a claim against OP's insurance, and its up to 77RUS.

He posted about the financial dilemma of spending so much money on a stray cat. FWF members took away the financial dilemma, so the best decision can be freely made, without cost playing a factor in the decision. The best decision may still be to put the cat down, but at least now OP can make the decision without the cloud of costs swaying the decision.

This is better than the Saturn bear of old.

what the heck send me your paypal info , I'll send $10

All of you people saying to put the cat down and not even trying to allow this cat to LIVE...if any of you are ever suffering, get hit by a car, have a health problem or anything...don't expect someone to help you. Just because we are humans doesn't make us the better species. Animals show compassion better than most of us do. Cats can be our best friends. They always know when you're upset. My cats have licked the tears off my face numerous times. I would do EVERYTHING I could to save one of my animal friends. You people that say kill it just because it's a couple hundred dollars for a stray cat...have no heart.

MelissaAnne said:   All of you people saying to put the cat down and not even trying to allow this cat to LIVE...if any of you are ever suffering, get hit by a car, have a health problem or anything...don't expect someone to help you. Just because we are humans doesn't make us the better species. Animals show compassion better than most of us do. Cats can be our best friends. They always know when you're upset. My cats have licked the tears off my face numerous times. I would do EVERYTHING I could to save one of my animal friends. You people that say kill it just because it's a couple hundred dollars for a stray cat...have no heart.

I agree.

Anyway cats, dogs and humans are comparable.

But bulls, pigs, chicken are not. If we want to eat them , their lives are our choice to make. Painful truth. Shouldn't animals have equal rights .

Please PM me I will give $10 via paypal. I can't stand to see an animal suffer. I have paid for surgeries for strays , I also do it for family members if they can't afford it. I have more compassion for animals because they can't just get a job.. they are totally dependent on the humans around them. Op this is wonderful post! Kudos to you and your wife for the kindness and caring you have given this cat. And by now you have probably reached the amount you needed so take this 10.00 for cat food, treats this kitty needs a bit of pampering.

ScrawneyWallet said:   MelissaAnne said: Just because we are humans doesn't make us the better species.

mmaf said: Shouldn't animals have equal rights.

Wow. How to say this politely...? Your belief systems differ greatly from my own. In my world, human life is in an entirely different category from all other lifeforms.

It looks like you trampled your tail.

Equal rights -> with cats and dogs

I'll send $10 -- PM me the PayPal address. Poor cat with half a lip deserves a chance.

I suggest you start a journal about everything that goes on with this cat from the first time you fed it until you ran it over and every day after that.

A one lipped stray cat surviving being runover with the help of anonymous strangers on the internet is a bestseller waiting to be written.

It's why the media does stories about this.

PM me, I'm in for $20

SUCKISSTAPLES said:   [.. If the cat had an owner, OP would be held financially responsible, and would either be facing a lawsuit or having his auto insurance pay the vet bills. ...Not to put a damper on this feel good thread but I don't think that would be the case. Saw one episode of those TV court show where a dog owner had to pay the driver of the car who ran her dog over for damage to the car. The reasoning was that it's pet owner's fault for letting it run loose. Was the *judge* in error?

capnkidd said:   generosity abounds. I have gauged the FW community incorrectly. I choose to donate $ and time to help stray children but admire the compassion here.

Generosity+Compassion = Good Karma

You have a good heart, OP. Glad to see the FWF community stepping up to help as well.

SUCKISSTAPLES said:   Leash laws generally apply to dogs, not cats.

Depends on the city--many cities have leash laws for cats as well. This does not mean you see cats on leashes everywhere--that would be an interesting sight. It just forces liability back onto the animal owner, not the driver.

There may be a way to do this tax-free.

Find a charitable organization that helps cats. Ask them to pay for the operation, in exchange for your donation of equal size. If you filter the money through a recognized charity in this manner, you can deduct the donation from your taxes.

gargam3l said:   I'm in for *zero*.

blah, blah, blah .... I am not willing to help .... blah, blah, blah .... but I want to share my opinion with everyone .... blah, blah, blah

fixed

gargam3l said:   germanpope said:   gargam3l said:   I'm in for *zero*.

blah, blah, blah .... I am not willing to help .... blah, blah, blah .... but I want to share my opinion with everyone .... blah, blah, blah

fixed
Not very FWF frugal minded of you to not seek the most bang for the buck.

originally this might have been a an opinion/discussion thread --- but now it has turned into a rescue thread --- so I think it may be nice to keep it positive and let the people that want to participate --- do it without poo poo'ing them

gargam3l said:   germanpope said:   
originally this might have been a an opinion/discussion thread --- but now it has turned into a rescue thread --- so I think it may be nice to keep it positive and let the people that want to participate --- do it without poo poo'ing them
Nonsense. If there's something wrong with my opinion, why do you seem fear that it might influence someone?

I would rather see the money spent on healthy cats - it's actually not good for the cat society to allocate spending disproportionately to expensive injuries while healthy ones die.

you need to brush up on your Egyptian history

from wikipedia --- The Egyptians viewed their gods not as spirits but as intelligences that could be personified in a body. The earliest evidence of cats as deities comes from a 3100BC crystal cup decorated with an image of the lion-headed goddess Mafdet. The goddess Bast was originally depicted as a fiercely protective and warlike lion, like Sekhmet, but as Bast's image "softened" over time she became more strongly associated with domestic cats.

As cats were sacred to Bast, the practice of mummification was extended to them, and the respect that cats received after death mirrored the respect they were treated with in everyday life. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that in the event of a fire, men would guard the fire to make certain that no cats ran into the flame. Herodotus also wrote that when a cat died, the household would go into mourning as if for a human relative, and would often shave their eyebrows to signify their loss.

Such was the strength of feeling towards cats that killing one, even accidentally, incurred the death penalty.

gargam3l said:   And here's the other thing.. the OP has enough compassion that he's going to bridge the difference in the medical bill (we know this because he wasn't asking for donations in the first place), so your 10 dollars or whatever is better off going to a cat charity.

did you miss the part of the post above regarding the death penalty?

What a nice thread.
I am more of a dog person, but I'd take any animal over many people...
I'm in too for $10 via Paypal.

PS. The upper lip missing is so strange. Not even the doctor knew what happened?

I'm in for *zero*.

The reason: Why spend $50 to help a struggling cat, when healthy ones can be saved in larger numbers for the same money?

Let me explain something to you. Televison crews do not show up to take pictures of every stray cat that goes into a shelter. They show up when there is a story behind it. This cat has a story. If this story gets out, which I believe it will, than the sky is the limit. Millions of people can and will want to help the cat. The number of donations will skyrocket.

The will either send those donations to the OP and he will direct them to a charity or those people will send money to their local shelter.

TV Reporter: What can people do to help poor little Lipless?
OP: We have already received more than enough to help Lipless, but we ask that any other donations be directed to your local shelter so more cats like Lipless can be saved.

Helping this cat will do far more to help save animals in shelters than putting it down.

The problem is, and it happens so many times, is some people can't see the forest for the trees