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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / February 2008an odd question but...
I know we have discussed in the past what happens to your cats and other animals if you go to the bridge, but how about this one... what happens if you are to soon be homeless, especially for lack of funds to maintain your current living accommodations? other questions that occurred to me on this topic. What would you sell to keep the house/apartment? what would you move to to keep them? would you be homeless with them? Lee > I know we have discussed in the past what happens to your cats and other > animals if you go to the bridge, but how about this one... what happens if [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Lee Of course, I'd move to keep the cats, if it were just a question of moving to a different house. What would I sell to keep the house? Anything less important to me than shelter and transportation. Being homeless is kind of a moot question, since I'm fairly sure I won't ever be on the street--unless the entire extended family was suddenly put out on the street too. :-) . But if I were, no, I would not keep the cats. It wouldn't be fair to them. Cats tend to be just as attached to their "places" as their people. I'd re-home them. It would be selfish, IMO, to keep them in that situation. What if the weather were frigid, and I had to take shelter in a homeless shelter for the night? They wouldn't allow pets. How on earth would you keep a *cat* on the streets? In a carrier? A leash? Sherry what occurred to me is that in our current situation we have a van, so except for bathroom facilities for the two of us, the cats could stay in the van with us, I would harness them, and when we were in the van let them out and when we weren't I would put them in a carrier. but I would sell everything short of myself to keep a roof over our heads, and DH is a hard worker who finds no work too menial when circumstances require it, so I don't anticipate homelessness either, it is something that occurred to me because of another conversation... it was along the lines of what is important to a person... I was hearing I am so poor, ... but at that same moment cable TV is on and the net is downloading news groups... things I would do without in no particular order; -we already don't have cable because we aren't home enough to justify it. -net/home phone service -getting my nails and hair done. -selling books/movies/music -sell what few items of furniture we have that is fit to sell. -selling one vehicle and only having one instead of two. -selling the variety of electronic gadgets we have. -selling china and other dishes I have collected. -selling the few nice dolls and jewelry I have. -selling my Griswold collection. These are the things off the top of my head. Lee On Feb 12, 11:08 am, "Stormmee" <rgr...@consolidated.net> wrote: > I know we have discussed in the past what happens to your cats and other > animals if you go to the bridge, but how about this one... what happens if [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Lee Of course, I'd move to keep the cats, if it were just a question of moving to a different house. What would I sell to keep the house? Anything less important to me than shelter and transportation. Being homeless is kind of a moot question, since I'm fairly sure I won't ever be on the street--unless the entire extended family was suddenly put out on the street too. :-) . But if I were, no, I would not keep the cats. It wouldn't be fair to them. Cats tend to be just as attached to their "places" as their people. I'd re-home them. It would be selfish, IMO, to keep them in that situation. What if the weather were frigid, and I had to take shelter in a homeless shelter for the night? They wouldn't allow pets. How on earth would you keep a *cat* on the streets? In a carrier? A leash? Sherry > what occurred to me is that in our current situation we have a van, so > except for bathroom facilities for the two of us, the cats could stay in the [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > These are the things off the top of my head. Well, a lot of people who think they are poor really have a lot of leeway between their current situation and living on the street! I came close to that once, but managed through luck and effort to keep the roof over our heads, and I know people who can make my efforts at economy look like wild extravagance! You know, the kind who simply don't waste anything - so they don't buy a lot of clothes, or convenience foods or eat out much etc etc and therefore manage to sometimes live better (more comfortably and more peacefully) than some who have much more income but also much, much higher expenses - some of which are clearly for wants and not needs. Although of course people end up homeless or nearly that for many reasons - job loss, illness, etc etc - a lot of people really don't know where their money goes and if they tracked it, would probably find out that enough sort of disappeared on little luxuries like snacks and unnecessary clothing and such things to pay to keep the roof over their heads when a crisis hits. I know where the fat like that lies in my budget! The challenge is to do something about it. If I were desperate again, that's where I'd cut my expenses, and I'd probably look at moonlighting to bring in more money. Moving house would be low on my list - I do spend a lot on housing, but I'd spend even more for someplace as convenient, and there's the question of moving expenses and of course the cats. Cheryl moving expenses are something that has to be considered, most people don't know how much it costs, I guess what got me started on this is the "fat" in the budget, how can you tell me you are poor and might be homeless and might have to give up your animals when you are watching cable TV, whilst surfing the net eating a gourmet TV dinner drinking a starbucks? I just don't get it, Lee > > what occurred to me is that in our current situation we have a van, so > > except for bathroom facilities for the two of us, the cats could stay in the [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] > > Cheryl > I know we have discussed in the past what happens to your cats and > other animals if you go to the bridge, but how about this one... what [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Lee I've been homeless with a d*g before, so I'm sure I'd do the same with my cats. It can be done. I currently don't have a car, don't have anything to sell, I have no bank account or credit cards, but I have two large kennels that would help "house" my critters in such an emergency. I got them at a yard sale for about $5 each and I think a d*g of 150 pounds would fit in both of them, so 3 cats, separated, would be fine with litter in a cake pan. You can get creative when you have to. :~) kili if you could get two of those rolling boards that you work under cars on, tie them together and then attach the kennels and a handle you can pull them behind you if need be, a duffle bag on top for your things, perhaps two could take you quite a ways, Lee > > I know we have discussed in the past what happens to your cats and > > other animals if you go to the bridge, but how about this one... what [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > kili Oh my gosh, I actually had a visual on that! ROFL. kili > if you could get two of those rolling boards that you work under cars > on, tie them together and then attach the kennels and a handle you [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] >> >> kili well I have been sort of obsessing on this because like Jo I think once you accept a being into your family then they are family and must be cared for...so if you are homeless then for me at least I would keep them with me as long as I could, Lee, ... must admit it would probably be one duffel for me and DH to share and one for the masters, > Oh my gosh, I actually had a visual on that! ROFL. > [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > >> > >> kili I had a friend, years ago, who was saying she was about to be homeless. Two weeks after she told me that, I went to visit her. We talked and she asked me what I would do in her situation. We did an inventory that went something like this. A stereo system that would make any geek on that sort of thing envious. Furniture that was probably worth a few hundred bucks. A small apartment size piano. Five diamond rings and other jewelry. So on and so on........ She said,"If I sell all this and things get better then I will have nothing. I told her she would have her cat and dog. To her the idea of not having a cell phone, land line, cable and net service was our of the question. I finally shook her hand, wished her luck and never bothered her again. She got rid of the animals, to cut expenses, That was about all she did except get a new boyfriend with money. > well I have been sort of obsessing on this because like Jo I think once > you [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] >> >> >> >> kili I hope you washed your hands good, Lee > I had a friend, years ago, who was saying she was about to be homeless. > [quoted text clipped - 61 lines] > >> >> > >> >> kili >well I have been sort of obsessing on this because like Jo I think once you >accept a being into your family then they are family and must be cared >for...so if you are homeless then for me at least I would keep them with me >as long as I could, Lee, ... must admit it would probably be one duffel for >me and DH to share and one for the masters, To me, our cats are our responsibility... it's our job to keep them happy, housed, healthy and fed in the style to which they were quite happy to become accustomed (ie. spoilt rotten!). If for some reason we coudln't give them a safe and secure home any more, I'd have to rehome them for their sakes, because their health and happiness matters more to me than my own. They're not street-smart and I'd hate to think of what might happen to them if they had to live rough... (if we had a van or a caravan or a trailer it would be different - a home doesn't have to be conventional, it just has to have four walls and a roof and doors that close properly... cats don't need a lot of space to be happy.) I saw a car parked in a carpark a few months ago which was packed to the gunwhales with stuff... and two dogs on the front seat and a ginger cat in a carrier in the back, all apparantly quite at home and relaxed. The owner was obviously either in the process of moving house, or living in the car (and I suspect the latter.) I don't know how you'd manage it with three animals - it doesn't seem very fair to them to me - but the dogs didn't seem to mind... I think the van/camper is the key to me, since we have a van it never occurred to me that we wouldn't have it, being totally without transportation or shelter for them might cause me to reconsider, Lee > >well I have been sort of obsessing on this because like Jo I think once you > >accept a being into your family then they are family and must be cared [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > how you'd manage it with three animals - it doesn't seem very fair to > them to me - but the dogs didn't seem to mind... > I think the van/camper is the key to me, since we have a van it never > occurred to me that we wouldn't have it, being totally without > transportation or shelter for them might cause me to reconsider, Lee Not having a car or a van reduces my options by a bit, although I never considered living in one. I've never heard of anyone doing so, really, aside from very short-term summer vacations and such things. When I was thinking 'can't afford the place much longer, what will I do????' I thought in terms of moving to a cheaper place or ending up on the sidewalk - with cats. Finding homes for (as was the case then) two ageing cats is not really easy, and often isn't possible, even if it had come to camping out on the sidewalk! Thank God it didn't! I have seen a few people who appear to be street people who have a pet, and the pet seems fine. It's usually a dog, though. I don't know how they manage in shelters, which I don't think take pets. They probably don't use them - just crash in the open in warm weather and in friend's places or the kind of rooming house where anything goes in cold weather. Cheryl > > I think the van/camper is the key to me, since we have a van it never > > occurred to me that we wouldn't have it, being totally without [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > Cheryl Anything goes in cold weather! I like that, LOL. It sure applies to MileHigh. When I lived right in downtown, 2 blocks from the gold-crested Capitol building, I learned, as an ignorant-of-cold-weather-tactics native of sunny, warm south FL, what "goes on" and it don't get much colder (apologies, Finns, etc.) than here.....true, homeless shelters here don't take pets in when its killer winter temps locally (they DO allow non-violent drunks and unarmed thugs, though) but the homeless I saw constantly from my apt. windows pretty much carried their dogs and cats, as well as some people with hoomin *babies*, in purloined shopping carts wherever they went. This was a really bad, notorious 'hood, locally known for dope- dealing right on sidewarks in full view of all, but that got very limited when weather really sucked temp and mess (snow/freezing rain)-wise. I used to go downstairs to get the paper and frequently found, either sacked out or sitting quietly with pet nearby, homeless locals in what almost every apt. building has in MileHigh....a vestibule or entryway, where the com system to call your tenant to gain entry and the massive com-system-operated front door (not mailboxes, those were inside) opened only by key or remote from tenants apts. I never gave these hoomins anything but sometimes a short greeting/tacit understanding of their need for shelter. Their shopping cart of belongings, minus pet, was usually right out on the large covered but outdoor "porch" which they had obviously hauled up about 15 icy, snow-covered concrete steps for safekeeping. No wonder there are very few old people comparatively speaking in this area. Not to mention very few stray animals. >I know we have discussed in the past what happens to your cats and other > animals if you go to the bridge, but how about this one... what happens if [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Lee In my mind, once you accept responsibility for someone else, your first priority for the rest of their life is to keep a roof over their heads. (Well maybe in the case of a dog, some sort of shelter) One reason we don't have more furkids is that adding to the household would put caring for the ones we already have at risk. Another is that we are old enough we can no longer be reasonable certain at least one of us will be around for their entire lives. With the dog and two cats, I know they will always have homes and proper care regardless of what happens to us. With the dog, that is a reason we got a purebred and make sure she is healthy and well trained. If absolute worst came to worst, it would be easy to rehome her. It helps to have a huge extended family that would always make sure everyone was OK. Jo > I know we have discussed in the past what happens to your cats and other > animals if you go to the bridge, but how about this one... what happens if > you are to soon be homeless, especially for lack of funds to maintain your > current living accommodations? Well, you see a lot of homeless people with dogs, and I encountered a few in Los Angeles with cats, also. > I know we have discussed in the past what happens to your cats and other > animals if you go to the bridge, but how about this one... what happens if [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Lee I am trying to remember the words to an old song. Does anyone remember "Accentuate the positive .........??the negative.....don't mess with Mr. Inbetween"? MLB mlbriggs kirjoitti: > I am trying to remember the words to an old song. Does anyone remember > "Accentuate the positive .........??the negative.....don't mess with Mr. > Inbetween"? MLB Here you go: http://www.lyricsdepot.com/Johnny-mercer/accentuate-the-positive.html  SignatureChristine in Laitila, Finland christal63 (at) gmail (dot) com > mlbriggs kirjoitti: >> [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Here you go: > http://www.lyricsdepot.com/Johnny-mercer/accentuate-the-positive.html Thank you so much. Good idea, don't you agree? MLB > I am trying to remember the words to an old song. Does anyone remember > "Accentuate the positive, ELIMINATE the negative, LATCH ONTO THE AFFIRMATIVE, AND don't mess with Mr. > Inbetween"? >I know we have discussed in the past what happens to your cats and other >animals if you go to the bridge, but how about this one... what happens if >you are to soon be homeless, especially for lack of funds to maintain your >current living accommodations? I would not live in a place that would not allow my babies. Odd that in buffalo, most landlords don't mind cats in their places; in ads, if they don't want animals they're well specfic and say right off "no dogs." The rodent problem is so nasty that cats are welcome in many apartments. I will pawn my jewelry with exception of my wedding band to make sure security deposit is paid and Louie will sell his colection of textbooks to the college kids, of which there are also enough to cause a problem. :-) I will also swallow my pride and take advantake of places like catholic Charities to help provide for any necessaries. Blessed be, Baha At one point in my life, about 10 years ago, I was homeless for about a year. No address, people taking me in, running from a psychotic former roommate and dealing with being newly diagnosed bipolar and unable to work. For about 6 weeks, I was unable to keep Tony, I was able to board him for a couple of weeks until I found a friend who wanted him - she loved him to death as a kitten and would do anything to get her hands on him. She was perfect. And when I found a someone would give me long-term housing with them, they let me bring along Tony. My friend was glad to give him up by that time because he was driving her nuts! Bridget > I know we have discussed in the past what happens to your cats and other > animals if you go to the bridge, but how about this one... what happens if [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Lee I currently live with my parents, and will be doing so until I've saved enough money for my own apartment -- and don't let anyone tell you that southeastern Florida is affordable (it isn't). My parents have told my sister, who's planning to move back to the Midwest with her boyfriend, and me the same thing: If you ever fall on hard times, we'll always have room to take you back. When I move out, I do plan to take Lilith with me but only to a place that allows small pets and doesn't have too much of a "pet fee." Also, the prospective leasing agent must allow cats with their claws intact, because I absolutely WILL NOT declaw Lilith. Uh, did I go off topic again? Debby >I know we have discussed in the past what happens to your cats and other > animals if you go to the bridge, but how about this one... what happens if [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Lee its good that you have a fall back position, as I think most of us do, and if it were really bad I could foster my cats with my parents, as long as my sister fed them and they stayed in the basement, My dad is ER room allergic... I just started thinking about this as a bit of obsessing, Lee, who wouldn't declaw either, not for somewhere to sleep > I currently live with my parents, and will be doing so until I've saved > enough money for my own apartment -- and don't let anyone tell you that [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > > > Lee |
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