Does this strike anyone else as wrong?

[BabyRaptor]

Got a story for you guys. I want to know if anyone else thinks this is whack.

My best friend just called me in tears. She's had a pretty rough couple weeks...Her mother had a heart attack, and she's been staying at the hospital with her.

Missy has a cat. I have no idea what kind of cat, but it's one of the ones with really long fur. Since she's been staying in the hospital with Mom, her boyfriend and I have been dropping in daily to let the cat out and check food/water. When the boyfriend went over there tonight, the cat was acting weird, like it was in pain. So Boyfriend goes to the hospital to sit with Mom and Missy takes Kitty to an emergency vet in the area.

Diagnosis: Busted abscess. The Vet gave her this long speech about how Kitty was going to be OK, it wasn't anything fatal...Then informs her that the cat had been "left hurting" for over 4 hours, and thus he had to report her for animal abuse.

So let me see if I have this straight. The current US health care policy is "If you can't afford insurance, or the company denies you for some BS reason, just die quickly" and any attempt to change that is regarded as evil and an attack on our very foundation. But an animal left in a bit of pain for a few hours is abuse and worthy of jail time? (I know it wasn't long, because I was over there around noon to give Kitty lunch, and he was perfectly fine.)

 

[zfactor]

Wait, what? You notice something was wrong with the cat, so you take it to a vet. Then they diagnose and fix the problem. Not noticing for 4 hours isn't abuse, that's probably how long it took to notice. If an animal starts acting funny you don't think "Gee, he must be in pain, lets take him to the vet as soon as possible" you think "Gee, he's acting funny, maybe he'll stop in an hour." If he doesn't then you do something.

 

[loc978]

very, very wrong.
...that never should have held up in court. Many people leave cats alone at home for upwards of 12 hours a day while they're at work. Four hours alone does not constitute abuse.

 

[XxCOMPLICATEDxX]

Wtf? I agree with all of you. That's just not right. Where the hell are our tax dollars going if this is happening? Genetic mutation for farting flys with x-ray vision?

 

[Dragon_of_red]

Heh, whack.

But yeah, that's kidna stupid. Unless it was like pissing blood or something or doing something very noticeable, then it shouldn't be bad.
Your friend should be fine, I can't see how they could really do anything, she will get off with nothing, maybe a small warning.

 

[Neverhoodian]

I'm calling bullshit on this one.

People have jobs, social lives, emergencies, etc. They can't be expected to watch their pets every waking moment on the off chance something happens to the animal.

The folks at the vet sound like they're on a major power trip here. If I were her, I'd tell them they don't have a legal leg to stand on (because I don't think they do), threaten to sue if he does file, and never take a pet to that clinic again.

 

[Radeonx]

Well, that sucks. That clearly wasn't abuse, and with her mother's situation, that's just pouring salt into the wounds.

 

[vxicepickxv]

It's not going to hold up in court. I do feel more than a bit sorry for your friend though.

 

[MASTACHIEFPWN]

That vet is high on something that defies the very fabric of order. I bet it cost a fourtune.

 

[Mikodite]

Guys! You sure this would hold up in court? I mean, the friend can argue that she didn't notice that the animal was in pain until at or near the four hour mark and that she made efforts to get the animal treated, and said friend would be let off. I mean, animal control groups likely don't want people to get the message that if an animal's ailment is left undiagnosed (and most pet owners are not vets) that taking the animal to the vet could get them jail time. The animal control group would sooner you took the animal to the vet as soon as you noticed something.

The vet? She either jumped the gun or was following some sort of policy or precedure regarding what to do in these situations. There are some who think "you left this animal in pain for four hours, what kind of monster are you?" not thinking that a cat or dog isn't going to walk up to a human and say "I'm in pain!" While any pet owner should have some understanding of animal body language as it partains to their choosen pet, they are not vets and may not know a bad day from a ruptured absess.

 

[EllEzDee]

So he sees the cat's in pain and just leaves it? He should be the one being charged, but i don't understand how the fuck the vet knows all this. Did you/he/she say "we left the cat after we noticed it was in pain for a couple of hours" to the vet? I imagine that's why she's being charged with abuse then.

 

[DatCracker]

Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

That's stupid.
Crazy ass PETA activists think that animals are better than people.
I broke my foot the other day and I can't drive so I had to wait for my mom to finish work and the drive me, and my mom didn't get sued for abuse.
Stupid vet lady :<

 

[twistedmic]

That's bullshit. First off all, it's hard to tell if a cat is really sick since they tend to keep quiet, so to speak, about that (I've had cats for as long as I can remember and by the time they're showing signs of being sick they're extremely sick) and secondly, if someone's working, they can be out of the house for eight hours or more. If the cat had been left alone, in that amount of pain, for four days or weeks then it can be considered abuse or neglect.

 

[Lybs]

this is wrong, it sort of reminds me of a bloke I spoke to a year ago on a forum, he had taken a picture of a handful of maybe 20-25 different medication he used daily all from anti-depressive to heart medicine, he said that he couldn't take half of them and got amnesia from some.
I asked him if he lived in the states, after he question me why I asked I said "I'd bet half of those medication are just for the side effects you got from the first most vital meds" and it started a wild discussion about medicine politics.
I really hope the US can fix their monopoly on medicine and actually save lives rather than leaving someone behind because he/she didn't have the right insurance

 

[AssassinJoe]

So let me see if I have this straight. The current US health care policy is "If you can't afford insurance, or the company denies you for some BS reason, just die quickly" and any attempt to change that is regarded as evil and an attack on our very foundation. But an animal left in a bit of pain for a few hours is abuse and worthy of jail time? (I know it wasn't long, because I was over there around noon to give Kitty lunch, and he was perfectly fine.)

That's America for ya! Where the dumbshits gather to reproduce and run for government.

Seriously though, that's messed up. I hope everything works out for your friend.

 

[BrassButtons]

So he sees the cat's in pain and just leaves it? He should be the one being charged, but i don't understand how the fuck the vet knows all this. Did you/he/she say "we left the cat after we noticed it was in pain for a couple of hours" to the vet? I imagine that's why she's being charged with abuse then.

I think you're misunderstanding what happened. They came home, cat appeared fine. Then they went back 4 hours later and the cat was no longer fine, so it was taken to the vet. The vet is complaining that the cat was in pain during the time when nobody was home and nobody knew that it was suffering.

OT: I'm pretty sure the vet's claim here is ridiculous, but it couldn't hurt to check local laws just to verify that.

 

[Beliyal]

Well, that's ridiculous. People are not home 24/7, looking at their pets. I mean, I have a cat and I would probably start panicking if he was in pain, but I'm not able to watch over him all the time. And neither are my parents. They are at work 8-9 hours a day; if the cat started "hurting" 2 hours after they left for work, and they notice only when they come home, it's abuse? Because they weren't home and the cat didn't call them at work to tell them their tummy hurts? I mean, I love animals and I don't want my pet to be in pain, but it is not always possible to be near it. Especially if you have a cat, as they are pretty self-sufficient and you can leave them for two days and with a few filled bowls of food. I haven't heard something more ridiculous in a while. I wonder what would the vet say if he/she knew that it took my family 5 hours to notice that our cat fell from the window :/ It's not like we threw it; the cat was doing his cat things and tripped, but we didn't notice immediately, sadly. I mean, the cat goes away all the time, to sleep in some secluded place or something, I don't go around looking for him every 10 minutes. And in a situation like that (the friend being in a hospital with her mother), how did the vet even had enough strength to even say such a stupid thing? Yes, it's wrong and ridiculous.

 

[GodofCider]

The vet can shove a porcupine up his ass. I hate these fucked-up animal rights douchebags who take their useless opinions so goddamn seriously.

O_O

Think of the porcupines!

And yes, that is most certainly defective. As is the current American health care model.

 

[nin_ninja]

Got a story for you guys. I want to know if anyone else thinks this is whack.

My best friend just called me in tears. She's had a pretty rough couple weeks...Her mother had a heart attack, and she's been staying at the hospital with her.

Missy has a cat. I have no idea what kind of cat, but it's one of the ones with really long fur. Since she's been staying in the hospital with Mom, her boyfriend and I have been dropping in daily to let the cat out and check food/water. When the boyfriend went over there tonight, the cat was acting weird, like it was in pain. So Boyfriend goes to the hospital to sit with Mom and Missy takes Kitty to an emergency vet in the area.

Diagnosis: Busted abscess. The Vet gave her this long speech about how Kitty was going to be OK, it wasn't anything fatal...Then informs her that the cat had been "left hurting" for over 4 hours, and thus he had to report her for animal abuse.

So let me see if I have this straight. The current US health care policy is "If you can't afford insurance, or the company denies you for some BS reason, just die quickly" and any attempt to change that is regarded as evil and an attack on our very foundation. But an animal left in a bit of pain for a few hours is abuse and worthy of jail time? (I know it wasn't long, because I was over there around noon to give Kitty lunch, and he was perfectly fine.)

If intentional yes. But in this case, and most, its something you only just noticed because a)pets have a hard time showing their pain, and/or b)you just noticed cause YOU JUST GOT HOME!

If you guys did this intentionally I would side with the vet, but this can't even be classified as intentional. You didn't know, nobody did, therefore there is no guilt.

 

[Ultraman950]

Ah, yes. Animal rights activists. I fucking hate every last one of 'em, the hypocritical misanthropic jackasses.

I mean, I'm not saying take a lead pipe to every animal you see. I have no problem with pets like cats and dogs, and I'm rather fond of dogs in particular myself (until they crap on my property).

But I am so fucking sick and tired of these bleeding-heart assholes trying to keep me away from my hard-earned and well-deserved bacon double cheeseburger, and bullshit laws like this.

I know that has nothing to do with your story. Just know that I feel a bit better now.

OT: But yes, that is a load of bullshit topped with "screw them to Hell", with a side order of "seriously, what the fuck is wrong with these people". You say she was at the hospital anyway, right? Then how the fuck was she supposed to know her cat was hurting IF SHE WASN'T AT HOME TO SEE IT HURTING?!

Ugh. All I can say is I'm sorry about this crap, I'm sorry for your friend, and I hope it blows over soon. And I hope PETA gets shot in its collective eye with a dart coated in black widow venom.