Anyone can make a mistake, of course, and the Cat Vet's office does make them sometimes. Years ago, our beloved cat Macska was very sick. (It's the Hungarian word for "cat," pronounced "MUCH-ka." When we named him, a 6-year-old friend called him "MUCH-a-cat," and he was!)
We took him to the Cat Vet, and they suggested exploratory surgery for cancer. If it was indeed cancer, they suggested that it would be best not to bring him back out of the anesthetic to face further pain and then inevitable death shortly afterwards. I agreed, and they scheduled surgery. I did ask the cost, but I didn't express any hesitation at all about doing as much as could be done for Macska. Since they already had him at their office overnight for observation before recommending the surgery, I asked if I could come to visit him one more time before the procedure, and I went to the room with cages and spent some time with him - but was embarrassed to see, there on his medical chart, "owner is cost-conscious." Just because I'd ASKED the amount! Wouldn't anybody? It was cancer. Macska was cremated. I didn't go right away to pick up the ashes because I was upset - but when I did go, they had LOST them! (And his carrier as well - they bought me another one.) Our other deceased cats are buried in our yard, and we would have buried Macska's ashes with them. I've always felt bad that there's no spot I can point to and say, "there's Macska." Although it might not have been honest, I've always thought that it would have been more caring if they'd have given me SOMETHING to bury - I wouldn't have known the difference, and I wouldn't have had that awful feeling of having let Macska down in the end. Melani Lamond ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
