This really pissed me off..

[GothicSmurf]

I was going to post this on CustomersSuck.com, but I know exactally where this thread is going to go.

Anyway, I was at the Gas Station this morning when this woman behind me was in line with a handful of shit food. (Chips, pop, etc.) The guy with her, well I don't know what the hell he was on, but it was something. He was staring at the Bananas by the counter "like, whoa, it's a banana. I want a banana..."

The girl asks if they need milk and the guy continues looking at and fondling the bananas. After the third time of her asking him, he finally gets that she is indeed talking to him.

He then says, "What do we need milk for?"

She replies, "Well for the cats and cereal..."

He then turns back to the bananas and asks the clerk, "Can we get bananas on food stamps?"

The clerk says they can, and the guy goes, "Yeah get the milk. You don't really eat that much cereal, and I won't drink it, but the cats will."

Alright this pissed me off for two reasons. Although I am not an animal person, I do know that cats should not drink milk.

And the main reason: Obviously these people (or person) doesn't make enough money to feed themseves... yet they have animals. Animals are expensive... they have at least two seeing as how she said cats= plural. Even if they are stray cats and she doesn't own them... she obviously feeds them on a regular basis or the thought wouldn't have come up.

And money is taken out of MY paycheck on a regular basis to fund these types of programs. Money that could have been used to feed my child. I don't have pets right now because I cannot afford to feed them.

Yet these douche waffles have multiple animals and are using FOOD STAMPS to feed them!

I wish I would have said something but I was in such :shock: that I was at a loss for words.

Seriously. If you can't feed yourself, don't have animals. I don't have money taken out of my checks so you can starve while you decide to feed your fucking zoo.

[Boozy]

Could you provide us with more information please? I hate to pass judgment on people without knowing the full situation.

How long have they been on foodstamps? 1 week? 10 years?

How long have they had these cats? 1 week? 10 years?

How many cats do they own? 2 cats? 20?

I'm guessing you don't know the answers to these questions. And yet you feel perfectly free to pass harsh judgment on your fellow human beings. I hope you are lucky enough to never find yourself in a situation where someone else is pointing the finger at you without knowing the road you've walked down.

[Rapscallion]

I don't know that I'd ask those questions quite like that, but I have to admit that they could be factors.

However, one of my customers for long enough was a family court judge. He wasn't able to mention details of any specific cases, but he did talk about the number of cases where he had to decide how much was going to be garnished from the income of people on low incomes, and he was astounded by people who were on long-term benefits who had owned animals for years etc. Some others absolutely had to figure in a tenner on the lottery every week, and they included it as an expense...

Rapscallion

[Slytovhand]

We don't have foodstamps - just straight cash. This has been an issue, particularly in certain areas of the country, where large amounts of it would be spent on alcohol and other intoxicants (petrol, glue etc) - to the point that they've been banned (alc) or restricted purchase (latest fad has been listerine - it has a high alcohol content).

I'm also of the same outrage opinion of the OP... it may not be true of everyone on benefits (naturally), but it does happen...

But for me - not only is it pets, but also the lottery (I once shared with a guy who went to bingo every fortnight the cash came in - and then had to catch the taxi's back home, while dropping into the take-away to spend up $30-$40... so by the end of the fortnight, he's flat broke and borrowing again...*)... and I also have a pet peeve about smoking.. with the price of cigarettes these days (about $10-$15 a pack here), a pack a day person is throwing out $150 a fortnight.... sheesh!! (though I presume you can't get smokes on stamps??)


Slyt

*not good when you're the one he's borrowing from and sharing the place with...:(

[Boozy]

He wasn't able to mention details of any specific cases, but he did talk about the number of cases where he had to decide how much was going to be garnished from the income of people on low incomes, and he was astounded by people who were on long-term benefits who had owned animals for years etc.

No question, there are people out there who do things like that. Hell, they might even comprise the majority of those who receive assistance, for all I know.

I just don't think it's right to jump to conclusions about people based on a conversation that was overheard in a store.

Edited to add: I can completely understand why GothicSmurf was upset about them feeding their cats milk. Responsible pet owners should educate themselves about their pet's dietary needs and restrictions. That kind of information can be found free at the local library, so they really have no excuse.

[protege]

Some others absolutely had to figure in a tenner on the lottery every week, and they included it as an expense...

Sounds like *every* welfare recipient in rural SW Pennsylvania. There are lottery machines at every gas station, cheap restaurant and grocery store. They're a guaranteed money-maker in rural areas. Seriously--when I worked at one of the banks, we'd occasionally see where the money was coming from when local businesses would make their deposits. Quite a bit came from lottery sales...in some cases, more than groceries or gasoline!

[Zyanya]

My neighbor had a cat for 7 years. She got into some financial trouble, and had to go on foodstamps for a while.

Should she have tossed out her beloved pet, or dropped it at the animal shelter to be killed, or offered it on craigslist knowing that dog-fighting rings are common around those parts?

What solution do you offer?


Pets aren't as expensive as you think they are. I don't begrudge someone a companion just because they are poor.

[GothicSmurf]

I don't care if people are poor, and if pets aren't that expensive then why are they using food stamps to feed them?

I just think it's BS that people use money that I helped provide to feed their pets.

Also, they had enough money to buy what ever intoxicant this guy was on, but not enough to buy pet food. Priorities anyone?


Boozy-

People pass judgement on me daily, weekly, monthly and because of the life style I chose, I have to change my phyiscal apperance just to go into work.

Everyone is judged daily no matter what.

And you passed judgement on me because of an opinion/frustration that I had. ;)

[JuniorMintz]

WTF? Are you kidding me?

Out of all the stories I've seen/read/heard about welfare abusers and their fancy cars/junk food/lotto tickets/booze/smokes/whatever, you're complaining about their *cats*?!?

Sure, they shouldn't be giving their cat milk, I'll give you that much. But to be pissed because they're poor and they have pets, period? That's kind of awful.

(Frankly I'm glad to hear they were trying to take care of their cats, period. I've read so many horror stories where people have been kicked out of their homes and they just plain DITCH the animals. Locked up in homes or yards, dumped in boxes in the middle of nowhere... that's just plain sick.)

[JuniorMintz]

Also...

My neighbor had a cat for 7 years. She got into some financial trouble, and had to go on foodstamps for a while.

Should she have tossed out her beloved pet, or dropped it at the animal shelter to be killed, or offered it on craigslist knowing that dog-fighting rings are common around those parts?

What solution do you offer?


Pets aren't as expensive as you think they are. I don't begrudge someone a companion just because they are poor.


Quoted for emphasis.

[BlaqueKatt]

Pets aren't as expensive as you think they are. I don't begrudge someone a companion just because they are poor.


what happens if the animal gets sick-if they can't afford to feed it they can't afford to take it to the vet. Animals deserve the same treatment a child would receive, you are the guardian and sole caretaker of a child just as you are the guardian and sole caretaker of an animal.

An animal should get a vet check at least every year-If you cannot afford that you should not have an animal. When my hedgehog got sick many years ago it cost me over $700 to get him emergency treatment. I have had vet bills that ran over $1000 due to an animal getting sick. I guess if I was poor I should have just let the animal suffer and die due to my selfishness in taking on a responsibility I couldn't afford to care for properly.

My Mother desperately wants a cat-however she will not get one because she knows she cannot afford to take it to the vet if it would get sick(or for basic checkups)-and she won't be that irresponsible with a living breathing creature. She has a fish instead, and if the fish gets sick she will take it to the vet.

[blas87]

I'd be more upset about them buying junk on foodstamps, when working middle class folk like me struggle to afford food in general, yet make too much money to be on any kind of assistance. For Christ Sakes, I was so poor last winter/spring and up until about a year ago from my ex roomate's irresponsibility that all I ate for months was Ramen Noodles and Animal Crackers EVERY FUCKING DAY!

Should they be expected to only buy food from the food pyramid because they are on food stamps? No, but it used to irritate the hell out of me when people had carts overflowing with soda pop, chips, chocolate, candy, etc and handed me a foodstamp card.

[Dreamstalker]

When I was in college, you could tell when the welfare checks/foodstamps went out...the local grocery store would see families (most fitting the trailer-trash definition) with carts overflowing with more junk food than I could eat in a year. I think that program needs to be overhauled. Give classes on cooking proper, healthy meals (healthy stuff can taste good, I promise!).

McGriff developed a severe allergy to milk out of the blue one day (we're not entirely sure if the frequency of his having milk over his lifetime contributed to or caused the allergy). He seems to do fine with rice milk though (strange cat).

[Zyanya]

what happens if the animal gets sick-if they can't afford to feed it they can't afford to take it to the vet. Animals deserve the same treatment a child would receive, you are the guardian and sole caretaker of a child just as you are the guardian and sole caretaker of an animal.

What happens in the kid of someone on food stamps gets sick?


In the case cited earlier, the woman worked out a deal with the vet to make payments.

[blas87]

I don't know about where you live Z (Ima call you that cuz it's cool and you're cool!) but in Wisconsin, most people already on welfare or foodstamps are also on Badger Care which is low income health care, and everything is free....so no worries there. BTW, you can only get on Badger Care if you are a single parent (especially teens or young adults) or are over 65 or are low income......which unfortunately I'm not, but I sure feel like it! I can barely afford to keep my own apartment!

[Zyanya]

And where I live, there are vets who will work with you on making payments to take care of emergency pet care.

Thus pets are not the massive expense they are made out to be. Kids are vastly more expensive, even if their food and medical is taken care of already.

[Dreamstalker]

In the case cited earlier, the woman worked out a deal with the vet to make payments.
Most vets do have payment plans and will work with you (I know the big animal hospital near me does).

[Lace Neil Singer]

Link for information on feeding cats milk: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/341530/feeding_cats_milk_the_myths.html

My main beef is with the teenage mothers like the one featured on the news recently, who gets all her council tax paid for her and two thirds of her rent; plus she gets over a hundred quid more housing benefit than I do; just cuz she popped out a baby. She apparently spends £50 a week on smokes and beer, before she even buys anything for this baby. Whereas I, a single person with employment, even if it's just 28 hours, with no kids, gets hardly anything compared to people like her; cuz I work. Yes, I understand that a kid's hard to take care of, but honestly; she should have thought of that before she had one. And why isn't the baby's dad being chased up to pay for his mistake?

[Amethyst Hunter]

I'd be way more annoyed by the fact that they're giving their cats milk - bad stuff for kitties: it gives them diarrhea.

Like Blas said, I'd be pissed off if they were buying a ton of shit junk food and/or lottery tickets/booze/smokes on foodstamps. (Which I have seen done before when I had my last job) But milk for the cats, as inappropriate nutrition for the animals as it is, is not worth freaking out over, IMO.

Though I do hope those cats are sterilized. (PSA: Spay/neuter your pets! It's good for everybody!)

[DesignFox]

:shrug: I don't know how I feel about people having pets who "can't afford" them.

As long as the animal is receiving proper care, I can't really begrudge people the companionship.

For me, there's a reason I lease a horse instead of trying to own one...but then, plenty of horse people I've known who "can't afford it" end up giving up their own comforts in order to feed their animals. My instructor once told me that if I waited to be able to afford a horse, I'd never own one...

So, I think with pets, as with kids, it's a matter of what you are willing to sacrifice to be able to keep them. There are some things I don't want to do without, so I do without the ownership of animals, and settle for visiting or sharing them. :D

[Norton]

I was in a rough situation a couple of years ago. I was sharing an apartment with a roommate, and working full time (and usually overtime). Between paying bills and buying gas, I had very little spending money. I also had a cat and rat to take care of. I had the cat since I was 8 years old. The rat was a more recent aquirement.

There were times when I literally had to scrounge for spare change to be able to afford enough gas to get to work.

Often, I would buy nothing but Ramen Noodles for food. If not for the kindness of my co-workers (some brought me home-cooked food, others had second jobs in fast food places), I would have eaten nothing but Ramen and sweets from my job day in and day out.

Despite my financial situation, my cat always had cat food and clean water and litter, and the rat always had rat food and clean water and bedding. Those pets were dependant on my care, and I fulfilled my responsibilties to them before taking care of myself. They were relatively expensive to take care of, considering just how little money I had, but it wasn't their fault that I was poor, and so I made sure they didn't feel the effects of it.

[protege]

So, I think with pets, as with kids, it's a matter of what you are willing to sacrifice to be able to keep them.

I hear ya on that one. I'm living from paycheck to paycheck right now. It's my own fault though. After paying to have the MG finished, my A/C unit blew up. I tried to tolerate not having it, but several days of 95+ (F) degree heat changed my mind. Not only was I on the verge of passing out, but so were the kitties. Not even the fans going full blast would help, nor was their a cooler place in the house. Even the basement was 90 degrees!

It wasn't going to be cheap, but oh well--I had to replace the A/C unit...not so much for my sake (I get migraines if it's too hot and stuffy), but for theirs. I wasn't about to lose my companions over the heat.

Even though I struggle at times, the kitties are always taken care of. I don't skimp on their food, litter, or care...even if it means I have to either cut back or delay getting hobby supplies (not *kits*, but paint, glue...that sort of thing)