The Last Meow Summary

Over $60 billion. We all know the figure. It’s the amount of money Americans are projected to spend on their pets this year. Food, toys, veterinary care, grooming supplies. The list of what owners buy for their best friends goes on.

“In the early nineteen-seventies, for instance, the biologist Erika Friedmann, of Brooklyn College, studied how heart-attack patients respond to social support. Patients who had a dog or cat, she found, were more than four times as likely to survive a year after a heart attack than those who didn’t have a pet” (Bilger, part 3, paragraph 21). If the research is done, it is easy to see that humans generally live longer if they own a pet. Caring for a pet can be emotional also. Sharing a living space with another living being will allow you to get attached to them and build relationships you probably had never thought you’d have before. In the article, The Last Meow, it explains how Karen had suffered injuries in an accident and found later that she could not get pregnant. Knowing that she could not start a family and living in pain everyday was taking a toll on her mentally and emotionally. However, when they had started caring for their cats, she found a way to fill her depression. “Karen had studied enough psychology to suspect that her feelings for Lady were party misplaced mothering instincts, but she also knew that relationships like theirs could have a particular intensity” (Bilger, part 3, paragraph 21). Owning the cats made her happy. It is obvious why she would go through debt just to save the

Lady was ready to take over Manhattan, but she wasn’t there to have fun, she was there to receive a transplant. Lady was old, had no teeth, was losing her vision, and she needed a kidney transplant. A kidney transplant that her owners payed for. Yes you read right, her owners, Lady is a cat. Burkhard Bilger, the author of this article tells us the story of lady and other animals that have had owners who were either willing or did pay an outrageous amount of money for them at the vets. Throughout the article, Bilger gives us his point of view and reasons why he thinks this way. He believes that America has gone out of control with all the vet care is unnecessary. This article has led me to agree with Bilger.

In the story “The Last Meow” it talks about a cat that is very ill and could barely live in it’s own. It gets prepared for surgery to cure her illness in her kidney. The author Burkhard Bilger, includes some hints and examples on how the average American will pay whatever it costs for their beloved pet. He explains how Americans now spend nineteen-billion dollars a year in veterinary care plus the cost of pet food makes it forty seven-billion dollars. He states out “clearly, our love affair with our pets has gotten out of control”. I disagree with his position.

Bilger claims people spend too much money on pets. I can agree and disagree with his position because people do tend to spend money on pointless things for pets such as getting them collars or toys and other things that people spoil pets with. I can understand that people would spend lots of money on surgeries and procedures that’s different than spending money on pointless things.

Taking care of your pet properly is not a cheap proposition. People think sometimes that all you have to do is feed and water them and they will pretty much take care of themselves. That is not the case. Every animal needs care above and beyond just daily care. This needs to be taken into consideration if you are going to be a first time pet owner of if you are thinking about getting an exotic pet.

People always realize when they are neglecting others because those people can speak out for themselves; however, they hardly ever acknowledge when they are neglecting pets because people cannot understand pets. Why is it that people fail to realize the boredom and pain they put on pets? Most people answer and explain that it is because pet owners are far more concerned with their lives and their problems, so they cannot recognize their pet’s pain. In “Is Your Pet Lonely and Bored?” by Jessica Pierce, when Pierce revealed troubling aspects of an unhealthy relationship between pets and pet owners. Pets are lonely and bored, and most pet owners do not seem to care, so they ignore it. Pierce became sympathetic for pets because of their conditions and came to a conclusion that pet owners should what it is like to be a pet from their perspective.

We need pets in many ways, and they need us. And this is why we bond with them: they get to know us at our worst and we get to know them at their worst. If you can't handle your pet’s worst, then you don't deserve their best. Pets are worth the time, because that time soon turns into memories and quality time that you both enjoy. And of course, this doesn't mean you have to spend every second of the day with them, just be there for them, as they were always there for you. Whether it be a dog, cat, horse, or fish, give your pets your attention, and (s)he’ll give you

In the United States, about 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters every year. The overpopulation of these animals and the fact that they have no homes leads to about 40% of them being euthanized (ASPCA). This is a global issue, but the root of it can be found within the local community at The Humane Society of the Ohio Valley.

For most pet owner we know that it is easy to get attached to your beloved animal, however spending an extreme amount of money on your

An animal that would take care of your house when nobody was home and protect the owners from burglars from breaking in. This movement or trend started forming in recent years. As Cesar Chavez once quoted, “We need in a special way , to work twice as hard to help people understand that the animals are fellow creatures , that we must protect and love them as we love ourselves” Animals today have as much equal rights as family members today. As many more pet parents are adopting and falling in love with these animals and being able to connect with them on an emotional level, Pet parents are able to relate and equate animals to human children. Many more couples are finding themselves with fewer children or not wanting to have the burden of raising actual children. As a result this trend keeps growing. Another reason that people are starting to see the increasing number in this trend is some adults are finding themselves with the loneliness, where the children they once had are moving away. These animals are feeling a void of loneliness. According to a recent survey done by Stanley Cohen about eighty-one percent of people do not consider themselves to be just a pet owner, but a pet parent and treating their pets equal to their children.

Pets. Loving, furry, fun. A furry companion in about 37- 47% of all households have dogs and 30- 37% households hold felines in the United States alone. But at what costs comes with owning one of these adorable animals as pets and is it worth the trouble? “In The Last Meow”, Bilgers shares his opinion about whether or not we’re spending too much money and effort owning a pet. The answer to the question is, “yes” Americans spend an abundance of hard earned income a year even if the pets can still die within a year. I own two pets, so I can see where and why people would try to save their pets and prolong how much they live. On the other hand, why try to extend their life when our beloved furry family member is in agonizing pain and suffering more than half of the time?

Countless lives locked away in cages and forgotten about have overwhelmed our society, it has left blood stains on our history as a species and if history has taught us anything, it’s that we have a choice to change our ways of adjusting to situations. A war which was fought in pursuit of ending such criminal means, yet we as human beings do little to nothing to end the horrific crimes of animal deaths in shelters. It is no secret that this world has become infused with problems that have extended from one side of the globe to the other. Amongst these problems lies a terrible truth: nearly every year, sums of almost eight million cats and dogs have been placed in shelters around the world. Out of these vast numbers, half will be

Over the centuries, animals have suffered from cruelty from humans. In the United States, animals are beaten, neglected, or forced to struggle for survival. Animals have been inflicted with pain from humans for reasons other than self-defense. They have been slaughtered for their food and fur for personal gain in profit. In a majority of cases they have even been abused for someone’s own personal amusement or out of rage filled impulses. In some cases animals are found and rescued. They are given the second chance in life to experience what life should be like compared to what they once had.

pets can make you happy when you are sad or be with you in the worst times.