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

I still haven't forgiven the vet who persuaded Mrs G (against my better judgement) not to put one of our cats to sleep. He used the old 'well if it was my cat I'd give her another chance' routine. The cat died alone in the vets on a drip that night.
Then the bastards gave me the bill including a fictitious charge for euthanising her. My guess is they thought I wouldn't examine the bill closely so they could get away with it. Some vets are great - I'm afraid in my experience some are utter shits.

Vet took 1k off my pensioner dm for an old dcat... Tests..
Then another 200 quid to pts anyway. They saw you coming op.

Having been down a similar path with an elderly cat before, I’m not sure I would have agreed to testing and treatment either. We put one of our cats through quite a bit at the end and it only delayed the inevitable. I really wish I had been a bit more strategic from the beginning and just made a firm decision to PTS when she started to decline.

should you have taken the cat to the vet? Probably. You saw an animal in distress and responded.

should you expect your family to continue the treatment indefinitely? Possibly not. They should talk to the vet and get a realistic prognosis.

I agree that vets don’t tend to suggest PTS.

I had to almost beg the vet to tell me whether I should PTS or not and she admitted that she’s not supposed to say and diplomatically said that it would likely be best to PTS within the next few weeks.

I don’t think it’s from a money grabbing POV but it is your pet and your responsibility and if you felt you were pushed into that decision then you’d never get over it.

Is the cat really 19 or is that just what they are telling you?

Oh love. I know how hard it is but honestly it sounds like the DCat is miserable.

Our DBoycat was put on renal food and steroids at 18 and it wasn't good. He was in so much pain (he had cancer) and I was paralysed with the idea of letting him go. But we had to as he wasn't going to get better.

I'm surprised the vet hasn't mentioned letting the cat go. I'm so sorry.

I disagree with most on here, cat is a good age but I don't think it's necessarily cruel to try and treat them just because they're old. Cats can live into their 20s so it's not ancient. I wouldn't be waiting very long though to make the decision on if meds were helping.

If you're willing to take on all responsibility for the cat, I'd try the initial treatment then if no improvement after the next set of blood tests or if the cat gets stressed taking the pills PTS.

If cat is going back to your mum/sister then it's going to be better off PTS now, they let it get into this state with no treatment, they aren't going to keep up with any meds so better off letting the cat go quietly rather than carry on suffering.

The op says the cat has renal failure, not just hyperthyroidism. Even if the thyroid responds to treatment quickly, the cat will still have renal failure and be elderly. If breathless it may have heart failure too. Life expectancy will be limited.

Your mother should have absolutely taken the cat to the vet sooner to avoid it suffering, even if she would have put to sleep. Letting it get into this state was neglectful and cruel.

The chance of your mother or sister paying ongoing vet bills and giving the medicine and expensive special food is zero. No chance that they will do this. They will either put it to sleep when they get home, or let it get back into the same state again.

Unless you plan to take the cat on yourself I'd put it to sleep now. No point in it having a few weeks of treatment if it won't continue.

Personally I wouldn't take on the cat in your position. Your husband doesn't want to, it will upset your other pets, you are taking on a new pet just for the end of it's life (expensive and difficult). Whilst the cat could have treatment to extend its life for a short time, I also think it's ok to put it to sleep now

It's not the vets decision. If they pts without the owners consent then they could be in legal trouble.

The owner should be taking responsibility.

If you had taken the cat to the vet without notifying your sister I would saying paying is on you. Since she knew she is on the hook for her animal.

Agree I'm surprised vets didn't agree to PTS. When I've took old pets to the vets they won't put them through the treatment. They say it's kinder to let them go.

let the vet decide whether to treat or not, not mumsnet

Am I the only one who thinks it's worth treating this poor little cat? I've had cats that age and while I would never prolong their life for my sake, if it's something that can be treated I'd give it a go (and have done on several occasions). I couldn't imagine not at least trying.

I currently have one cat on lifelong expensive meds and a horse on even more expensive drugs, but the difference the meds make to their quality of life is worth it.

Then you need to make that decision, for the cat's sake. A decent vet would have suggested it, instead of making money, at the cat's expense.

They won't in my experience. With all three of nine. I had to make that call. Which is really really hard, but it was the right thing and the vets agreed that it was, after I'd made the decision.

I’m sorry your cat is coming to the end of her life.
You sound like a great owner and she’s obviously had a very lovely life 💐

I think that's what I'd do. 19 is an amazing age.

A couple of other things that might be useful -
Thyronorm is giving in liquid form so needs to be syringed into their mouth. Our cat actively loves it though and so comes and shouts at you if you are late with the dose.

Our vet said it was a slow and unpleasant deterioration so it was better to put to sleep before they really look miserable as they will be suffering a lot without you realising.

sisters response when I said cat may also have renal failure, just to warn her that outlook may not be good was “she’s super old I wouldn’t be surprised if she needs to be put down”.

I said the exact same thing when my own cat was unwell.

You are choosing to try and extend her life, which is good intentions but this will only extend it for a few weeks/months at most.

I personally would have rang my sister and told them what the vet said and asked what she’d like to do.

If she said PTS but you wanted to try the medication, then I would have asked if she minded but not expected her to pay for the medication herself.

My cat is 19 and has hyperthyroidism. She is still pretty happy in herself and is trotting about and loving a fuss. But despite the treatment she is on (thyronorm) she is still losing weight. Our vet has said that whilst she is still happy in herself then if we want to continue treatment then that's up to us but any time from now is reasonable to PTS. We are giving her the summer as she is enjoying lying in the sun in the garden but will take her to be PTS by summers end. She is 2.75kg and I cannot imagine how much thinner she would be at 2kg. In all honesty, it sounds like your sister's cat might be better off PTS. She has effectively wiped her hands of her anyway by passing her on to your mum and it doesn't sound like your mum cares too much. If she's not going to get much out of the next few months there is probably very little point in dragging it out. I think thyronorm never helped our cat to gain weight, only slowed the rate at which she has been losing it.

I'm a huge cat lover, honestly I'm obsessed with cats. However, even I think it would probably be best to put the cat down in this case. Sometimes, because you love them, you have to do what's best for them, rather than cling on to keeping them alive.
The cat is very old - 97 in human years! And I think it's time to say goodbye. Frequent vet visits, blood tests and medication will stress the cat out. It won't have a good quality of life.

Someone needs to ask the vet why he has not advised PTS. Shocking, Poor cat

That poor cat . It's not going to improve . The vet will get a decent amount then probably suggest putting her down.
Go to another vet .