I don't have kids. The closest thing I have is my cat... and I guess I do console her well. I guess it's because she can't really react to it.
When I first got her, she wasn't fixed. She was barely old enough so I had to take her back to get it done. (the shelter I got her from pretty much requires it, which is fine because I don't want to deal w/ them being 'in heat')
Well, after she got it done, her stitches were bothering her and it became infected. They started pussing and I was flipping out. A blubbering mess. She my first and only legit pet (where I bought it, raised it, etc) and I had no clue what was happening. It almost looked like the stitches were coming undone and I was just insane with worry. Turns out that usually (I heard) that when they fix your cat, they'll usually give you an oral anti-biotic to give them in case this happens (or topical)... well they didn't. So she did there and everything was fine. Since then, there's been no issues with her...
But the second cat I got, as a play mate for her (which I ended up giving to my grandma) was very ill when I got her. Of course this place didn't tell me that she was infested with fleas, underfed/malnourished, ear infection, eye infection or any of that. I should have stuck with the shelter that I knew (because I volunteered there). I assumed that because they were a shelter that nonsense like this didn't happen. Basically $1000 later, she was ok but since she had an ear infection which was left untreated so long that it turned into a middle ear infection, she actually had some neurological damage. (oh, and she had strep too... which is very rare in cats) I contacted the local "authorities" regarding this shelter to apprise them of the situation and basically was told that though they sympathize and have heard similar stories about this place, they can't really do anything about shelter. Nice, huh?
