I completely disagree. I’ll never get a mortgage because I can’t work. That doesn’t mean I can’t look after my cat - I take better care of her than I do myself! I wasn’t ill when I first got her - I had no idea I’d be permanently unable to work within a year of getting her. Should I have lost my pet as well as my health, my job, my future? Not if I could look after her properly, which I do. Here in the UK, the RSPCA help people like me who got a pet and then suffered an unforeseen change in circumstances. They offer heavily reduced vet care and vaccinations because being low income/disabled/elderly/not owning a freaking house doesn’t mean you can’t be a loving, responsible pet owner.

No one can see into the future or know what will befall us. Aren’t an alarming percentage of people just a couple of paycheques away from losing their homes? Should no one get a pet just in case something bad happens in the future? No. That’s ridiculous.

That’s not to say I’m not sensible about it. I really really want a dog, but I know that would stretch my finances too far. I will take in my mums cats when she passes away though - and they we be loved and cared for, despite my failure to own a house.