Special need pets

[4getmenot]

Did anyyone watch this last night. Did you agree that we shouldnt ut these pets down? as you dont put disabled humans down

[danchip]

if they can lead happy fulfilling lives still then there is no reason to put an animal to sleep, my grandma's cat lost a back leg and adapted its life (she used her tail as a leg) to get on as normal

[4getmenot]

but how can they tell they are not in pain, they cant tell anyone if they are. And also some diabled humans have to live with pain. The bunny rabbit in the wheelchair looked in pain

[redcrx]

its a difficult one really.
a human can talk about how they feel, can adapt and adjust to the situation and has the ability to reason and understand what is going on.
In the case of the rabbit, i think id have probably had it put to sleep and spared it any suffering.

[4getmenot]

they had its poor back legs dragging alomg the ground. I know he couldnt feel anything but surely it would make them sore still

[redcrx]

i think the nappy made him sore too, all that bathing to keep him clean and he had little fur etc. But he had got some control of his legs back

[4getmenot]

so then maybe he could feel it a bit. that poor rabbit will probably have no back feet left soon

[Barmaid]

I didn't see the programme, but I do think it is possible to tell when an animal is in pain. One of my cats sits in a particular position if she is not well - ie if she has a tummy upset or feels uncomfortable, I can also tell by the condition of her fur which deteriorates immediately if she is ill. She has congestive heart failure and renal failure so she is special needs in a sense that she must take pills and have a special diet. But she seems quite happy and just carries on as normal. Mind you, if I thought she was suffering in any way, I would have her put to sleep. I do think that if you know your pet, you can guage when they are suffering.

Not sure about a rabbit in a wheelchair though!

[mandimoo]

when i saw the trailer for the show, i agreed with the argument that you shouldnt put down the animals just cos they have special needs. but after id watched it i couldnt agree in full. each case needs to be considered individually. i felt terriblly bad for the rabbit, and also that poor cat who couldnt go to the toilet and the owner had to sqeeze the poo out of him. i still feel a bit upset about that.

[4getmenot]

I turned it off after the rabbit it was horrible to watch, maybe though if disbaled humans could be out down they'd opt for that too

[redcrx]

so did you miss the masturbating parrot then 4get??

i only saw that and the rabbit, i dont think id have liked to watch someone helping a cat poo

[4getmenot]

yes missed that one, thank god