Sign up to discuss Sarah Zhang’s “How Much Would You Pay to Save Your Cat’s Life?”

Happy June, loyal readers. I’m happy to announce that this month, we’ll be reading and discussing “How Much Would You Pay to Save Your Cat’s Life?” by Sarah Zhang. It was published in The Atlantic last December. I hope you’ll join us.

I’m personally more a dog person, but I know many cat people (not necessarily “Cat People”), and one benefit of being a cat person is that you can prolong your cat’s life with a $15,000 kidney transplant. But should you?

That’s the question Ms. Zhang answers in this funny-yet-serious article on the American trend of loving our pets (and investing in them) like our human children — especially among those of us who don’t have human children, an ever-growing group. Where’s the line between being a caring cat owner and doing too much? Is it maybe when you force another cat to give up their kidney without their consent?

Read the article

Here’s a paywall-safe version, just in case.

Our reading community has been resoundingly pro-pet since its inception, but this will be the first time we focus on a pet-related article. And a controversial one, at that. So let’s bring it on, shall we?

I’d love it if you read the article and joined our discussion on June 25. If you’re interested, this is how things will go:

• This week, we’ll read the article

• Next week, we’ll annotate the article as a group

• The following week, we’ll hear from Ms. Zhang in a podcast interview

• On Sunday, June 25, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT, we’ll discuss the article on Zoom.

Sign up for the discussion on June 25

If this will be your first time participating in Article Club, I’m 100% sure you’ll find that you’ll feel welcome. We’re a kind, thoughtful reading community. Feel free to reach out with all of your questions.

If you’re agnostic or perhaps even antipathetic about pets, you might need a little encouragement to dive into this 29-minute piece. Never fear, fellow Article Clubber Melinda and I are here to pump up the article and introduce you to all the ethical issues it raises. (There are many.) Here’s our mini-podcast episode, with plenty of banter interspersed with serious talk — hope you take a listen. Warning: There are minor spoilers.

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Also exciting, as with all Article Club monthly selections, the author will be participating in the festivities, recording a podcast episode for your listening pleasure. Ms. Zhang is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where she covers health and science. Before joining the magazine in 2016, she was a staff writer at WIRED, and her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, Nature, and Discover, among other publications. Ms. Zhang is the recipient of an American Association for the Advancement of Science Kavli Science Journalism Award and was a finalist for the Livingston Awards. She studied neurobiology at Harvard University.

So what do you think? Interested in reading the article and joining our discussion this month? If you’re still a maybe, here are a few questions for you. If you’re a yes to one or more of them, you‘re a great candidate.

• Do you find yourself showing pictures of your pet to your coworkers?

• Do you judge your coworkers when they show you pictures of their pet?

• Do you consider your pet part of your family?

• Does it bother you when your friend considers their pet part of their family?

• Would you find joy meeting Fizzy (below) at our discussion on June 25?

Sign up for the discussion on June 25

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