To think that poor people shouldn't be able to afford pets?

Who are these poor people? Are there any among us? Why are we talking about them as if they're a homogeneous group? I don't actually know the parameters for the category. Do we include people who will shortly be declared bankrupt so are spending all they have before this happens (so currently rich). Or people who are land rich but burdened by boarding school fees? Or the elderly lady who has had her cat since she was 70 but both are now ancient and the rainy day money is gone? Or the family waiting to inherit from her who will shortly be in a bigger home but have very little disposable income due to the large mortgage? Or the family who were secure until Dad lost his job, got depressed and are struggling to keep the house now? Who is 'poor? Whose pet would you like to take and put in a shelter?

You move in strange circles then. Just about everyone I know who has pets can afford them.

In any case people's circumstances can change after they get their pets.

Poor people should sit on orange boxes and wear sacks and shouldn't have houses. They should live in hole in t road

Idk, the only person I know who is really, seriously poor to the point of food banks, completely running out of money on a regular basis, no prospect of a job etc only has her cat to live for (her words). Without the cat she'd be completely alone nearly all the time. She loves the cat so much. It's a substitute for a family. I'm sure she could do with the money for other things, yes, but I'm so glad she has the cat. She needs it.

The OP very clearly refers to people who are already in poverty and then buy pets, not to people who fall on hard times whilst already in possession of pets.

Same goes for having children.
Only the comfortably off deserve to breed, have pets and own flat screen televisions and smartphones. I think they should have suffered from full-on rickets before they are eligible for any joy in their lives.

But she could afford it couldn't she? She just didn't want to.

Poor people shouldn't have hobbies.

You mention school uniform - so you think it's OK to bring children into an impoverished existence, but not pets?

How do you go from being wealthy to being poor in a matter of minutes? I hear this sort of nonsense all the time but it's not true. Being wealthy implies you have resources to fall back on. Savings or insurance or a property you can downsize.

Because a pet is a living being, not a plaything for their joy with no concern for the pets wellbeing. If you cannot afford decent pet insurance, good quality food and whatever else the animal needs then you cannot afford an animal because that animal will suffer.

Take up a hobby for joy.

Pets bring so much to their owners and I absolutely see why people have them even though they may be a stretch financially. I'm not hard up but have had pets all my life and none have cost me much money aside from food and flea/ worming so I can see why people may risk it.

You do see a lot of threads here though when people list all their money worries and/or relationship woes and end by saying they have 2 dogs so can't leave or something. But I doubt they wait until their lives go to shit and then get pets.

People prioritise things differently, simple as that. Saw a woman on the TV recently being interviewed by a Reporter. The Woman was scrolling through her phone with beautifully manicured gel nails. She had the false lashes and the lip filler but was showing the Reporter her electricity bill and explaining how she couldn't afford it.

Won't someone think of the pets

Poor people should have no joy in their lives?

Because?

Totally agree
And I grew up poor with pets

I used to work at a vet's. I don't know how often my heart sank into my boots when a person came in with a bloody french bulldog, proudly saying, 'he's a rescue'! And then proceeded to tell me they were on UC and couldn't afford a plan, or insurance, or indeed, the cost of a consult. . . and didn't we have payment plans, or special rates for beneficiaries?

I wish so much it weren't the way, for many people, particularly the poorer who are more likely to be isolated, their animals may be the light of their life, but having animals is expensive. The food is expensive. Vet care is expensive. It all costs.

Having said that, we had clients who denied themselves, or did whatever they could, to ensure their pets didn't suffer from their lack of money. They paid back every goddamned penny, and their animals never suffered want.

It’s subjective what each household decides is in their budget. Maybe they mean they are prioritising a pet over other things.
There is also the argument that so many pets are in shelters now, even if someone on a low income takes them in it’s better to go to a loving home than being in a cage in a shelter for years or euthanised

People who can't afford "basic DIY" also can't afford nights out, hobbies, holidays, weekend trips and god knows what else. I don't blame them for wanting to have some meaning in their lives and a way to distress and disconnect from the worries. By your logic, if they can't afford school uniform, they also shouldn't have kids. But people do and, frankly, I don't see how this is anybody's business where they choose to spend their money and effort.

Obviously if someone is struggling to pay the bills then takes on a pet they are a selfish idiot.

The problem is circumstances can change. Jobs can be lost, massive unexpected bills can happen, cost of basic living/rent/fuel can skyrocket.

Then OPs post wouldn't apply, because you'd have been wealthy when you got the pet.

Well, they might not have been poor when the pets first came along. I'd starve before I'd rehome my cats.

But you wouldn’t have thought, “Well this is the ideal time to go and buy a new pet,” which is what I think the OP is talking about.

People don’t prioritise their money though- so the people who can least afford it will get pets. Feed them shitty cheap food, not insure them etc. Just like the feckless sorts you see vaping or smoking and buying endless takeaways whilst not being able to buy school clothes for their kids or have clean sheets on their beds.

But Yanbu.