Special Needs Pets

[Velvetee]

Did anyone watch Channel 4's "Special Needs Pets"? What is your take on it, would you do everything in your power to prolong the life and mobility of your disabled or sick pet?

[Ice.Maiden]

Yes, but I felt so sorry for the pot bellied pig!!! Sometimes it's kinder to have animals put to sleep - if they're in pain - but with new techniques, it's possible to give a pet another few years of useful life. All depends on what the problem is.
Btw - are you keeping alright Velvetee?

[Velvetee]

Yes Thanks Ice, but my stomach is really huge, even though I'm only 10 weeks. I hope all is hunky dory with you too?

I hadn't realised parrots could grieve.

[Ice.Maiden]

Apparently, birds in that sort of family - and I'm thinking of someone I know here who owns a few macaws - can take to just one sex, if there are two owners, and they get nasty with anyone else who tries to befriend them. That's what i've been told anyway. they're also intelligent, so I can well see that a parrot might grieve.
Glad you're bouncing around hun! I was the same as you with both of my babies. At 3 months - I was wearing floppy tops, because I just felt squashed in by restrictive waistbands and so on. I gained almost FOUR stone with my fist child - horrendous - but lost it again quickly afterwards. I hope you go on like me - I had no sickness or anything, and both births were easy. x

[Noweia]

I think it's selfish keeping animals going for as long as possible. If the animal has no quality of life, the kindest decision you can ever make is to let it go.

Not all the animals the programme were like that though, the wee dog with the wheels was having a great time!

The owners of the 11kg cat really frustrated me - of course it's never going to lose weight if they keep feeding it titbits. Even the tiniest titbits can make a huge difference in weight to a cat, which is a fraction of our size. And the owners will blame the food, blame the vet, blame the cat's metabolism - anything but themselves, when reality it does come down to them.

[mandimoo]

i felt really sad for all the animals on there..... but especially the poor cat who couldnt go to the toilet and had to be 'expressed'. it was great that the owner was prepared to do it, but how they could say the cat had dignity cos it wore a nappy... did you see its face when they put the nappy on?! and neither that poor rabbit either.... but in answer to your question, no, i wouldnt do 'anything' to prolong the life of my beloved cat, because i would only be doing it to please myself. its like grief... they say its a selfish emotion. you grieve for yourself because you miss the deceased.... and the deceased dont feel, so you are not grieving for them... you are grieving for your self.

[what..the?]

well i am a rabbit and guinea pig person I did see the programme and of course I associated with the rabbit on the show, it did seem to struggle in life I didn't see the first part where they introduced the rabbit but from what I could see the rabbit seems happy and healthy apart from the movement, I think you know yourself how your pet feels and if it is upset, depressed or in pain and if that would be the case I would do the right thing and end it for them. I would be upset but they are the most important thing, if it was just a pure disablity and I didnt have to stress the animal everyday by manually emptying the bladder for example I see know problem is caring for them.

that screaming bird though I could not cope with it, even though it's not phyically ill but mentally I cannot see the bird ever carming down.

[peanutbuddy]

I was reading this, about dogs getting cancer. Many dogs get cancer and have to get chemotherapy or radiation.
http://www.cocothebloggingdog.com/2008/11/hema ngiosarcoma-in-dogs.html
I would do a lot, as long as my pet still has quality of life.