CBC News interviews me about Khan!
So tonight CBC featured a story about Khan and I on the news! You can watch the story here:
Back in December a producer from CBC TV and Radio emailed me out of the blue to let me know that they were doing a piece of the cost of pet medication.
“I saw that you blogged about your diabetic cat’s medication and I was wondering if you and your beautiful cat would be interested in talking to us about your situation,” wrote Abby Wiseman
who is an associate producer at CBC Radio 1.
Thank you for getting this discussion started!
I’ll talk about Khan to anyone who will listen, so naturally I agreed to the CBC’s interview request.
You can also listen to the radio interview here. Natalie refers to me as a “young man”. I love her!
Abby, an adept cameraman named Chris, and CBC Investigative Reporter and Anchor Natalie Clancy drove up to my place in Burnaby to interview the great Khan. But before the interview got underway I thought it’d be fun to turn the tables and interview the interviewers! It’s not every day that a news team comes to your living room. Here’s the short video I made:
Natalie struck me as a natural reporter as she scanned all the pictures and ornaments in my house and asked about their origin. I was especially touched when she inquired about a framed photo of my late friend Galina Pemrboke who devoted much of her live to improving the lives of animals. I know she would have been deeply touched by Natalie’s story and it meant a lot to me to share Galina’s story with her.
It was a pleasure to have them in my home especially since Natalie is terribly allergic to cats and most dogs. After about 20 minutes she started to break out a bit and I think she deserves some kind of hazard pay.
I believe that pets promote good mental health and an overall sense of well-being for their owners – they are not a luxury. They are our friends and I believe that it’s a pet owner’s responsibility to love them and take care of them. But when your cat or dog has a chronic health condition, such as diabetes, that can be a huge challenge. I pay approximately $225 a month to ensure that Khan has the proper food, insulin, needles, and so forth. After rent it’s my largest expense and some months it’s a huge challenge to make ends meet.
Apparently I’m not alone. There are plenty of pet owners in British Columbia who struggle to cover vet bills and so forth and I am grateful that CBC has taken the time to highlight what I think is a very important issue.
Hi Nathaniel,
Thank you for your post regarding high cost of Vet bills. Since my kitty ‘Samantha’ was diagnosed with chronic renal failure the end of October it feels like we are drowning in Vet bill. Honestly I am being forced to look at how much longer we can go on. Anyway I found support in reading your blog today.
Joanne
Hi, I was made aware of your situation with your kitty by a friend in Ontario who has a cat that was diabetic but is now in remission (no more need for insulin!) after working our program. If you are interested in communicating and getting some info on how you can achieve remission please contact me and I’ll be happy to help. I have 13 years worth of diabetic cat remissions and work for a vet clinic in the states.
When I require any advice with respect to my cat’s health I generally speak with his veterinarian who has seen him on a regular basis for two years. I doubt that some random vet staff person in the United States could possibly know more about what’s best for my cat than my neighbourhood vet office which has invested a great deal of time and energy to ensure that Khan receives the best care possible. Can your friend match that commitment? Is she going to come up here to Burnaby and check up on his teeth/blood/urine etc. Probably not.
Deez peeps from da CBc All be like Who yo cat be eatin sum spensive medz. And you be like Str8 dope dem folks at KOSKO be a ]ight…..
PEACE!!!!
WU TANG CLAN AINT NUTHIN 2 FUCK WIT
What a great news story to be a part of! Khan is once again adding to his fame. Vets are a rip off when it comes to meds. I remember when Cherri was ill and had to be on meds. It was SO expensive and the medication itself was always evaporating. When I questioned the vet about this they claimed they didn’t carry the correct containers to keep it from doing so. What a crock!