Nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs…
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capricorn_72-1 — 11 years ago(May 05, 2014 10:11 AM)
Totally agree with you Lily. I had a boyfriend who did the same to me.. the ultimatum of he goes or the cats go.. I told him Id help him pack. YES he was a controlling person and very jealous. Our relationship ended about 5 years ago and I couldn't be happier.
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Abbykat — 11 years ago(May 19, 2014 08:06 AM)
Unlike a romantic partner, a pet is
completely
dependent on its owner for its well-being. Adopting a pet involves making a commitment to take responsibility for their life, and in most of the cases shown on the show, there are no bones made about the chances that the cats could find another home if they were given up to a shelter. Their problem behaviors all but guarantee that they will not be adopted and will instead end up being euthanized.
It's not as simple as saying that these people value animals over people. The cat owner never agreed to take responsibility for their boyfriend or girlfriend's life, and if the boyfriend or girlfriend leaves (whether over the cat or anything else) they're not going to die. The cat probably is.
The situation could, in a sense, be compared to a person's new romantic partner presenting them with a similar 'them or me' ultimatum over their child. You would justifiably never expect a parent to give up their child for the sake of a new love, and would probably think less of any parent who did. This isn't about the intrinsic value of the child as a human being over the adult. A lot of it comes down to the fact that the parent is responsible for the child's life, and the child is dependent on their parent to care for them.
Obviously it's not exactly the same - a cat is not a child - but the principle is similar. It's not just about the value of the animal or the person, it's about taking responsibility for a living thing that has no say in the matter and doesn't deserve to be casually abandoned for the sake of a new relationship.