To have taken my sisters cat to the vet and hope she will pay

The cat is 19.. a very old age.
My Cat had this age 16 and vet advised being PTS.. because she had no quality of life.
I think some vets will always try and treat/ offer medication.. for money purpose.
A cat can't tell you it's suffering.. but it is..

Then don‘t put her to sleep. I took in a 16 year old cat last November who had been homeless for 2 years after her owner died. She occasionally got scraps from the neighbors but otherwise had to find food on her own - she has no teeth.

She eventually settled on the farm next door when her previous owner‘s son took over the house and very brutally chased her away. At the farm it was considered to shoot her but luckily, they didn‘t do that. Then I saw her there (the farm is famous locally for its ice cream) and asked to take her.

i spent over 1000€ at the vet - she is skinny, had horrific diarrhea for months and didn‘t put on any weight even though she ate 1.5 pounds of wet food per day. For a couple of weeks, the first thing in the morning I had to do was clean the bath room because she shat multiple times everywhere in the bathroom. Plus she had a yeast infection in her ears that needed multiple treatment at the vet. Oh, and my other cat hates her so I have to keep them separately.

Bonnie’s weight is now stable, the diarrhea under control, she eats less and is enjoying live. It never occurred to me to put her to sleep since the vet never suggested it. The vet actually said that Bonnie most likely has a couple of years ahead of her.

This happened to my cat at the grand old age of 23 we decided it was best to PTS

Decent vet should have been reporting owners for neglect. 2kgs is neglect. Your sister and mother are both responsible and shouldn't have animals at all.

Poor cat. The treatment may not be effective as they have let it get to this stage. Has the vet said how likely it will be to make a difference in a couple of weeks? How bad are the blood results? Kidney function? Liver function?

But the question is - did you get told by the vet before they ran the £200 tests that it would be £200 and when you got your sister to agree to tests did the words “it’s going to cost another £200” leave your mouth?

You agreed to run expensive tests, that’s a lot of money to most people. I would always check with the person who I was expecting to pay that they understand the costs and would pay.

The cat is 19 years old and suffering. How long, even with tabs/special food, do you think he’s going to live? The vet should have suggested PTS but there seems to be an increasing number who will just carry on until the owners suggest the kind and sensible thing to do.

A lot of pills can be crushed in food. My very fussy cat was diagnosed with heart failure and arthritis when he was 17 and ended up with about 6 different medications in his food.

Obviously each case is different and I'm not for one minute saying it's right to prolong am animal's life for the sake of it. My cat had a good quality of life for the 5 months he was on the medication and most definitely wasn't skin and bone.

I'm not sure why you can't discuss the cost and who is paying? Just call her and ask? It's perfectly reasonable to do that, it's not your cat. That said I do agree with pp that it should probably be put to sleep sadly

This.

My cat did too. We would wave the syringe and she would come running!

I think you did the right thing taking the poor thing to the vets. Given you have the medication now, I think I'd see how well they respond over the next couple of weeks. My cat was diagnosed with the same at 11 (so obvs a fair bit younger) and the difference in her after this time was astonishing. If they don't seem much better and do actually have renal failure as well, it's certainly time to PTS. Heartbreaking, but necessary. Sending hugs - it's not nice and I agree that your mum and sis don't seem bothered at all.

YANBU we have a duty of care for our animals.

i personally would have done the same and I would consider giving the thyroid medicine for a month - assuming the cat is easy to handle and happy to take pills/it’s only one pill.

its a hormone imbalance so once you have the meds it’s sorted. What your mum and sister did is neglect and the cat suffered.

if the cat isn’t easy to handle and isn’t made comfortable on for table I’d PTS.

Totally agree. As a cat owner myself I feel it's unfair to keep an elderly cat like this. Her quality of life may not improve with a different diet at her age.

My parent’s DDog was PTS at 17. He had dementia and poor eyesight, would get lost in the house and stand and bark at things that weren’t there. But he was still eating and drinking, fully continent, enjoyed short walks and didn’t seem to be in physical pain.

When asked about how to make the decision to PTS, the vet said that more owners regret waiting too long than worry that it was too soon.

It doesn't wolf down much if its 50-60% of its ideal bodyweight.

My cat (20) declined very quickly this year, dropping from 4 to 3.3 kg and the vet thought he could feel a tumour. Appetite dropped, unsteady on his feet and a real lethargy. Blood tests which would have diagnosed this were £200+ and even then not necessarily any treatment so we just gave him a nice weekend and decided it was best all round to be PTS.

Edit - YANBU to take them to the vet though. Sounds like your sister has her head in the sand a bit.

I am appalled about all the comments about the vet, the vast vast majority of vets in this country are employees (mainly of corporate practices, some independents) or increasingly locums. They are not on commission and are plenty busy enough (having massive staff shortages across the industry) without doing unnecessary treatment to make more money for distant shareholders. It is far more distressing for vets to continue treating poorly animals who are suffering but who’s owners aren’t ready to let go, than to put to sleep animals who are ready.

Increasingly, the pet owning public (or pet parents as they are now sometimes referred to) do want all the bells and whistles when their animals are sick and age is not automatically a barrier to that. I will sometimes gently drop in the concept that pts wouldnt be the wrong thing to do in cases like this and see how it lands, but some clients will look shocked at the mere suggestion, so it is very difficult for vets to read the client.

I also wonder if the vet hasn’t suggested pts at this stage as

1. it is not an acute emergency
2. you are a carer rather than owner so are not legally allowed to decide that on your own
3. hyperthyroidism is treatable in a large proportion of cases - being thin is a symptom of the disease - (which does sound advanced due to your sister/mum delaying taking the cat to the vet). Cats on treatment often regain the weight rapidly - although there can be issues with dosing, side effects and sometimes comorbidities such as kidneys.

Ultimately the choices are

1. give treatment a go being mindful of costs, potential complications and consequences. Treatment can be tablets, oral liquid or topical gel.

2. PTS

this is a decision for your sister. I would be strongly advising your sister to call the vets and have this conversation herself. I would also caution you about running up more bills on another persons behalf because I don’t know how you stand legally…. Have the bills been run up in an account in your name or on her account with her permission?

OP the choice here is simple. Your mum and sister are unlikely to continue with any expensive treatment.
Your choices are
a) Hand the cat back with no inkling of what will end up happening to it
b) Keep it, pay for everything and continue stressing your existing cats out in the process
c) PTS

You can't control what the cat's actual owners do and none of this js your call to make anyway.

Hyperthyroidism responds well to medication and if this cat has a good quality of life otherwise and is content, then I'd give it a go OP. It's heartless and cruel just to kill her because she's old and has been neglected. She could have another year or so of good quality life. I can't believe how many are just saying put her to sleep. The vet obviously feels it's worth a try and good on them. Your family are appalling for neglecting her.

If giving her the pills is not stressful for her (and for some it is, some it isn't so it's worth a try) then you may see a marked improvement over the next few days/weeks...

However if there is other organ failure present, that won't last long...

As the adult in charge of the animal at the time, you actually had a legal duty to prevent unecessary suffering, so taking the cat to the vet was the right thing to do.

As you are not the cats owner, you cannot make a decision on PTS and most vets would be reluctant except in really hopeless cases, to take a texted 'yes' on a PTS decision.

So you have done the right, and legal, thing. Whether the cats owner coughs up though... thats another matter!

2kg? That is so cruel of your sister to allow the cat to become so emaciated. I’m afraid vets will often string out treatment, they often assume everyone has pet insurance.
The cat now has a lifelong condition and at 19 I would have her gently pts.

It sounds like your mum and sister were not wanting to make a decision and hoping the cat might gradually fade and die naturally. At 19 and frail with severe hyperthyroidism and kidney failure, and the high costs of a specialist diet, medication and ongoing blood tests, maybe your mum wouldn’t choose to treat the cat. I think ignoring your phone calls for 3 days says a lot.

As a true cat lover who went through similar with one of my cats a few months ago I think the kindest and most humane thing to do is have them pts. 19 is a fantastic age for a cat. Taking them back and forth to the vet and having tests and treatment is not something I would put them through.