To take someone else's cat to the vets because I doubt they will....

[Writerwannabe83]

There is a 9 month history to this tale but I will extremely brief it.

9 months ago a very neglected looking cat appeared in my garden: I'm talking underweight, discharge from her eyes, some cuts on her face and lots of fur missing off the backs of her legs.

Because of how awful she looked me and my husband fed her thinking she to be a stray. She continued to visit so a few days later I took her to the vet for a general check over and to see if she had a micro-chip but she didn't. She is a very gorgeous tabby, about 3 years old. After about a month of her still coming to ours every day it came out that she wasn't a stray at all but had owners who lived on the street next to ours. It upset me actually as I realised that the poor state she was in when she first arrived at ours was just the state her owners were happy for her to be in.

Skip to now - the cat has never stopped coming to our house and spends a lot of time here. She also sleeps here every night. Her owners have said they throw her out every night regardless of how bad the winter weather is

Her owners know how much time their cat spends here, they know which house I live at and they have my mobile number but they have never contacted me to ask how their cat is - sometimes she is here nearly all day for weeks on end and I don't hear anything from them. I have made contact with them 2 or 3 times to let them know that their cat is here and that she is ok (just in case they were worried about not having seen her for a while) but the responses I get back indicate they don't really care.

This cat's health has deteriorated over the last few weeks - if it was one of my cats I'd have had her down the Vets a long time ago. It's really worrying me. I know she has been back to her own home a few times over the last week so they must see what state she is in but I doubt they care enough to do anything about it.

It upsets me to see the cat in this way and I want to take her to the Vet but at the same time, treatment is not cheap and why should I when it isn't my cat? AIBU to just take her and then knock on the owners door and hand them the bill?

Could you ask them if they mind you keeping her? They obviously want this anyway and you're clearly keen to have her. You could have her microchipped, make sure she's spayed and get this issue seen to, the cat would get a decent home and they would probably be relieved of the responsibility they obviously can't handle.

I would just assume that she is now your cat. This is how I ended up with my first cat, who actually belonged to the people three doors down. They didn't look after her so I did. I fed her, treated her for fleas and ended up spending £1000 on her at the vet. I didn't bother trying to get them to pay as I knew it would be pointless. They knew I was looking after her and they didn't seem to care, so that was that.

This sounds like a very similar situation. You could speak to them to tell them you are going to take her to the vet and ask if they would like to contribute but, if they say no, you need to take her anyway. And if they say no then I would just get her chipped while you're there so she becomes yours. If they are not willing to look after her or to take care of her medical needs then they shouldn't have her.

She's looking she's got you to look out for her.

Oh yes, and definitely make sure she's spayed.

She's lucky, not looking ...

I'd take her. Could your conscience handle it if you didn't and she ended in pain/dying? NOT your fault that she's been treated like this, but it's not her fault either. You could always take her to the PDSA/animal shelter as a stray/welfare case, but my local vet wouldn't charge for a welfare case anyway - you could always ask?

If you are going to assume responsibility for the cat then I think you should assume the financial burden too.

They are not going to pay.
They clearly dont care about the poor thing. Thats how i have my three. All neglected things.
Now three very fat things!

Do you have any animal charities near you that might treat her for free or for a small donation? Can you explain to the vet and ask if they could give you a discount seeing as she's not your cat yet.

YANBU but the owners obviously don't care much about her otherwise she wouldn't be in this dreadful state. She's chosen you. I hope she gets well soon.

[Says JamN with a v large velvety stray cat in her lap that turned up in a snow storm 2 years ago; at death's door weighing about 2 pounds]

We had a similar situation a few years ago, my dad marched himself and abused cat round to the owners house and told them he was taking possession of the animal due to its neglected state and their lack of concern for its welfare. Took the poor thing to the vet to find out it had a huge flea and worm load, completely rotten teeth and a tumor in its nasal passage. The poor thing only lived another 3 months but she had a warm house, good food and all the cuddles she could want. Whilst i would usually always tell someone to err on the side of caution and not steal another family's pet I am convinced we did the right thing for that cat and that you'd be doing the right thing by taking in the cat you've found.

No, you shouldn't have to pay to treat someone elses cat but it would be wonderful if you could take her on so she could have the home she deserves. I do get very cross about people who 'own' cats and clearly couldn't give a toss .
If cost is a major issue, perhaps you could try somewhere like the PDSA or cat charities? Don't forget to mention her current owners name in case they try to acquire a new (unbroken) cat.

You can't possibly get her veterinary treatment without telling the owners because if they take her too she could be in danger from an overdose etc.

we had exactly this happen to us, every time DH took the poor little thing home they said ta then threw it in the hallway and before they got the door shut she had run out and was waiting on our doorstep for him when he got back. She too was in a scabby state so we asked if they didn't want her we would take her on. got her treated at the vets, drops for runny eyes etc started to feed her well and within a few weeks she looked a different cat. sadly she only lasted about a year before cancer claimed her but we like to think the care and love we gave her made her a happier cat than before.