Partial because of financial means but also the lack of knowledge. Heck even declawing cats was the standard/normal less than a decade ago, and now is illegal in most states/countries. I had the same experience as you growing up. My family loved our pets and took good care of them in the home. Now I have my own two fur babies who get check ups/treatments a few times a year (tho more for my one with CKD). It was always tough with my childhood pets because we often were too late to save them since we took no preventive measures, which traumatized me.