by Martin Jacobs

Created on: April 06, 2009

WOULD YOU PAY $22,000 FOR A CAT?

Twenty-two thousand dollars for a cat? My CAR didn't cost twenty-two thousand dollars! Reminds me of the gold plated toilet seats that Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker had, not to mention the air-conditioned doghouse!

I know that this will offend somebody and I apologize in advance if it does (not for my thoughts but for offending their "delicate sensibilities"). Anyone that would pay twenty-two thousand dollars for a cat, no matter the breed, has sawdust for brains! Why on Earth would a normal, sane human being pay that kind of money for ONE cat when they could use the twenty-two thousand dollars to save hundreds of them? National statistics show that about seventy-one percent of cats that are taken into animal shelters annually are euthanized. That is a deplorable figure. It costs around a hundred and fifty dollars (on average) to adopt a homeless cat. Wouldn't the twenty-two thousand dollars for one of these insanely expensive animals be better spent to spay or neuter other animals to help control the population than being used to gratify someone's "status symbol" egotistical need?

I am an animal lover. I suppose most people are when you get right down to it. I mean, how many people really take any kind of joy in seeing an animal hurt or killed? It has be an infinitesimal percentage of the population.

Taking an animal from a shelter and having it "fixed" is a way to not only save an animal from death but also helps control the possible overpopulation. Why couldn't the person take the twenty-two thousand dollars they were going to pay for the Ashera and use that money to save a hundred and forty-six animals from a shelter? Now I know not many people would WANT a hundred and forty-six cats running around but they COULD donate the money to an animal shelter or the Humane Society and help them with costs of feeding and sheltering animals. Or they could use the money to purchase the lives of a hundred and forty-six animals by giving them to deserving homes that can't necessarily afford the adoption fees. If that isn't a viable option to them then they could donate the money to one of the many programs that use animals for therapy with all kinds of patients, both children and adults.

My point is this; there are a lot better ways to spend twenty-two thousand dollars on animals than on ONE cat! In closing let me quote Bob Barker "Help control the animal population, have your pet spayed or neutered."

Just something to think about.

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