Paws for Thought

Well, sad to say my neighbour's Bengal cat Tamba wasn't found yesterday despite (even though I say it myself)my brilliant idea of calling in a specialist 'sniffer' dog.

We found our man by calling around the local police and even at one point got through to the Ministry of Defence!! "We don't think our dogs are suited" they politely advised, "They are typically used to find people...and bite them!"

So, here we have a case of not examining of "Total Cost of Ownership" prior to purchase. We've all been way down the experience curve on that one! Remember your first car only $200 / £150...2 gallons of petrol...oh! and I have to get it insured and taxed!...can't you help with that Dad.

Total Cost of Ownership = both hard and soft 'costs'


Bengal Cat - £1500
Cat Food - £10 per week (less if cat visits neighbours and eats their cat food)
Vets Fees - £150 p.a.
Cat Insurance £300 p.a.
Sniffer Dog - £500 for 4 hours

Emotional Distress cumulatively 5 days to date
Calling in favours from neighbours - priceless
Intellectual Energy spent speculating on possible reasons for dissapearance and where Tamba is now...1,000,000 kilo joules an hour
Social Credibility Loss - modest, although more evidence of future 'paws for thought' would enhance image

Naturally this all has to weighed against 'benefit' and we arrive at some sort of Value, and so the 'benefits' of owning a special breed cat are?

Furry Friend
Animal welfare
Status symbol
Whim satisfier
Talking Point
Interest generator

the cat-alouge could be quite extensive...