just found a flea on our cat, do we go full nuclear?

yokonzo@lemmy.world to Asklemmy@lemmy.ml – 76 points –

Our cat Athena is a fluffy girl and we just found a flea on her, we removed it and crushed it but now my girlfriend is freaking out and her skin is squirming thinking the whole house could be infested. I'm of the opinion that we've caught it early and we should just check her usual sleeping spots as well as get a flea comb but my girl is damn near ready to buy a steam cleaner for the rug.

Idk, what do you guys think? How should we handle this?

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Fleas caused the death of my cat. A coworker generously brought a sample of her infestation in to the office and they must have hitched a ride home with me. My cats were indoor only, I didn't expect them to need flea treatment. The fleas gave him hemobartonella and almost $20,000 later, we couldn't get the anemia under control.

Nuke the fleas.

You spent 20 grand on a cat? Why? That seems like a horrible investment.

Pets are not investments. They are friends and family. Sometimes you'll do anything possible to save them, even if it's spending a ton of money.

Calling healthcare for your pet an "investment" shows the kind of person you are.

The same reason some people spend that kinda money on 30 year old cars. Or collectibles. Or PC parts.

It brings them joy. Seems that might be missing from your life currently.

Animals are not a hobby

Yeah, but my point was that people generally spend money on things that make them happy. That could also be treating a friend to lunch, but that's not usually $20k.

So I guess what I was trying to say was, why is it suddenly a problem to spend $20k, when it's a pet and not something else, that clearly does not create any financial gain but only gives joy to the person spending the cash?

That’s true but I wanted to point out that keeping a pet healthy is something you should do because it’s your obligation as a pet owner and human with empathy, not because you personally enjoy its company.

Because life is priceless, and the life of the cat you care about should be priceless to you. When you get a companion animal, that’s what you sign up for. And if you’re not willing to go the distance to take care of your pet when they are sick, you shouldn’t get a pet.