Hi members,
For the last bunch of years our policy on Emergency questions in threads has been to shut them down real fast and tell the Op to get to a vet ASAP. Basically in an emergency we don't want people on the Net we want them to go see a doctor. But, sad to say some people will never spend a dime on their pet's health and that gets members, mods and me riled up.
That said - perhaps we are taking the wrong approach.
Recently, a regular member has felt that we are closing these types of threads too soon in many cases.
The member wrote the mods and me the following:
Quote:
I've read a couple of short "SOS" posts on the cat health forum lately, where a newcomer arrives in some degree of desperation, looking for information/assistance to deal with an urgent health concern for their pet.
Now, I know full well the dangers of getting too far into "medical" issues with other members (I'm probably on the "guilty list" myself!)...
That acknowledged, there are many people who, I believe, need a firm. supportive, motivating "push" to spur them on towards seeking a Veterinary intervention. Let's face it, some people simply do not understand the urgency of their situation.
Without providing them at least that much, I feel there is a real danger of facilitating, almost enabling a "wait-and-see" stance - something that inadvertently would be tantamount to allowing cruelty to occur.
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There's a lot of good sense here imo, and maybe we should let these threads stay open longer for exactly for this reason - to explain just how serious it is to wait when a pet is showing certain symptoms. Mods and I are discussing this change lately.
But we really would like to hear the feedback from members on this issue.
What's your opinion on this?
Many thanks in advance!
Marko
ADMIN