File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
http://www.adn.com/wildlife/story/294582.html

Even after losing two paws, several inches of tail, both ears and part of her nose to frostbite, Popsicle the cat still has at least one of her nine lives left.

The plucky feline was barely moving when a civilian worker at Fort Wainwright found her under his truck Dec. 12.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
That's gross.
>> Anonymous
That is an AWESOME cat.
>> Anonymous
Is it even humane for that cat to still be living? How well is she going to be able to adapt without her front paws?
>> Anonymous
dunno about you guys but i'd be really fucking pissed if i had to live without my hands all of a sudden.
>> Anonymous
Obviously she wouldn't survive outdoors like that, but she'd be fine as a house cat.
>> Anonymous
She'd need stump-pads, other than that, house cat all the way.
>> le/x/bian
>Popsicle the cat

that's TERRIBLE.
>> Anonymous
Cat's got no idea what the fuck is going on, at this point she's just confused and suffering. Personally, I think it'd be more humane to put her down.
>> Anonymous
At first I was like :[ but as soon as I read her name I lol'd forever. I am a bad person.
>> Anonymous
Popsicle.

POPSICLE.

Also, as long as she can still get around painlessly, I don't see how it's inhumane to let her live. People always seem to say "KILL IT" any time an animal's life might not be the same as all of those around it. Wtf?
>> Anonymous
>>205603
I just...just don't see the point. Animals have no real concept of human kindness, she doesn't know she's going through all of this because she might be better off for it in the future. I worked at a shelter and our rescued amputee had an abysmal time learning to get around on 3 legs. For months he'd constantly bash open his stump faster than we could keep it bandaged. It was just so horrible to watch him struggle!!!

p.s. if the amputation in question was declawing, ya'll would be singin' a different tune.
>> Anonymous
>>205607
Wow, you're a retard. I too have worked at a shelter. I too have seen many three-legged animals. Yes, there is an adjustment period to it. But once they're used to it, they run around and move like any other animal.

The cat right now probably hurts and needs to adjust to its new shape. It will get used to it, and its life will go on. Animals, provided it causes them no pain, are not aware if they're missing something-- whether it's a tail or ears or what. My cat was declawed by her previous owners when I adopted her, but she still scratches at everything.

so basically, your only reasoning here is you think animals who could live perfectly full lives should die just because you don't like seeing them temporarily struggle. What kind of bubble life do you expect them to live?
>> Anonymous
>>205607
>Animals have no real concept of human kindness

Also, you're two times the failure now that I've caught that. Animals can tell kind people from bad people, will hate some people for being mean to them and love others for being kind to them, may develop a grudge against humanity, etc etc. Yeah, she doesn't realize that she's footless because of human compassion, but she probably realizes she's out of the cold and this might be linked to the nice humans feeding her and petting her since they seemed to happen at the same time. Once she's used to walking around this way, she'll go on to be a normal cat.
>> Anonymous
If that happened to me, I'll become an hero.
>> Anonymous
i sure hope popsicle can make a recovery.

feline prostehtics may be available
>> Anonymous
I'm totally against keeping mangled creatures alive if the sole benefactor is human emotion.
>> Anonymous
I BAWWWW'd outloud
>> Anonymous
>>205626

Seconded. The amount of resources that went into saving Popsicle may well have kept an entire shelter's cats alive for another day.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
To all of you who want to kill that cat: Severly injured animals survive in the wild all the time! For example there was a sighting of a well-fed raccoon missing his two front paws (or even the whole legs, I don't remember) ten meters up in a tree.

> Animals have no real concept of human kindness

God, you are an idiot. GTFO /an/!
>> Anonymous
>>205659

There's no doubt that seriously injured animals CAN survive. But that doesn't mean this is the best decision. And it also doesn't mean it is pleasant or not.

There are literally *millions* of cats and dogs that get put down in shelters every year. And most of those animals are perfectly healthy.

I agree that popsicle's story is sad, but let's face it, we already have a huge excess of cats that are going to be put down. So long as we are putting down animals, as sad as that is, let's start with the unhealthy ones.

I would rather that no animals would be killed in shelters. But, the reality is that it does happen. And since it's happening, we can at least choose the least healthy to go first.

Popsicle can take the place of an otherwise-healthy cat that would have been put down instead. At the very least we would have saved a few months of suffering on Popsicle's part, not to mention an awkward remaining years.
>> Anonymous
>>205659
i hate to break it to you, but >Animals have no real concept of human kindness
except maybe dolphins...
the rest of them lack the brain structures.
>> Anonymous
god that poor thing :<
>> Anonymous
>>205670

I agree.

I think 205659 misunderstood the original comment though.

Animals certainly enjoy it when humans play with them or give them food (for example). But there's a huge difference between "yay food!" and really understanding human compassion.

205645 is exactly right. We have a limited amount of resources to help animals. Let's do some triage and make the decision that does the largest amount of good.

Taking care of a cat like this is going to cost a lot of time and money, and suffering on the cat's part (temporary perhaps, but still there). That could better be better applied to caring for and finding homes for healthy kitties.
>> Anonymous
>>205645
>>205680

Yes, indeed. You said it better than I did :P
>> Anonymous
>>205670

Hah, dolphins. Porpoise-murdering babykilling bastard dolphins.