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

[InWithPeaceOutWithStress]

My sister has a 19 year old cat.
Cat has lived at our mums house for a couple of years because my sister has a younger cat and a child and felt the older cat would be happier at my mums house.

Cat has come to stay at my house as my mum has gone on holiday.
Cat is clearly not well - skin and bones, ravenous and thirsty but not putting on weight. I weighed her and she is just over 2kgs. Breathing heavily at times and unsteady on her feet.

I messaged my mum to say I think cat needs to go to vet, I’ve had no response for 3 days. she’s in the U.K., not abroad.

Phoned my sister who agreed I could take her to the vet.
Vet wanted to do blood panel due to suspected hyperthyroidism so I got the ok from sister by text (she is owner so needs to agree). Sisters response to the possible diagnosis was - ‘that sounds expensive’.

Results came back and cat has severe hyperthyroidism. Too weak for surgery so treatment is special diet and pills. I explained this to sister by text and response is “ok”.

I am on the way to pick up pills now. Sister hasn’t asked me how much any of this costs (£300 so far) so is possibly expecting me to pay for it? Not sure how to approach this?

My mothers response when I’ve previously suggested cat is ill and should go to the vets is “she’s just old”.

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”.

its like they both just think oh she’s old, just let her die.

But she is really suffering with the hyperthyroidism as she eats and eats but doesn’t get nutrition. With treatment she could have quality of life so to me it’s a no brainer to give her that.

I have two cats and I love them ti pieces, can’t imagine letting them come to this. I also have pet insurance for them, she doesn’t. I’m picking up the cost possibly. Should I have stayed out of this? It felt negligent to not take her to the vets whilst under my care and clearly ill.

feel really put off my mum and sister as they seem so heartless. Or am I being a martyr?

not sure how to convince my mum to buy / give cat the special food and pills once the lot I’ve got runs out.

vet needs to do more bloods in 2 weeks to check treatment is working so it may be easier to keep cat with me till then. Treatment will be for life.

I’m considering keeping cat but my partner is not keen because there is an impact on our existing two cats. They’re scared of older cat and have retreated upstairs and have been vomiting so I think they are stressed by her.

AIBU = I should have stayed out of this. Now I’ve got involved I need to suck it up in terms of vet bills and ongoing care.

IANBU = I was right to take cat to vets and sister is the owner and responsible for care, including paying me back.

Not all cats are difficult to get pills into.

Broken up into food usually works.

Or, if you crush it and wet it and pop it on their leg they tend to lick it off because they don't like to be dirty.

Oh that makes sense now thanks! I am Not keeping up with the comments.

Also there's the not very small matter of the cat's owners not giving a fig.
Do they really sound like the kind of people to give the cats all these pills and special food?

Potentially a year or 2. Only old cats get hyperthyroidism. These cats are often easy to medicate as they are so hungry they will eat anything. Hidden in some wet cat food may be entirely stress free. I don't see a change of diet as an issue if the cat eats it. The cat has had one blood test, it probably only needs one every 3-6 months now so hardly that bad

Please, for the love of god, put the poor thing out of its misery and give it a peaceful ending.

Quite - there's also no guarantee that it's even going to work, especially at that age.

At some point you have to realise that it's not kind to put a cat through endless tests and vet visits - they deserve to be let go while they still have some quality of life IMO.

I would seriously consider having a 19 year old cat and weighing 2kg PTS under these circumstances.
Just because something can (possibly) be treated doesn't actually mean that's in the best interest of the animal.

Quite! I gave my cat a pill this morning, I picked her up, opened mouth pill went in, gave her a treat after. No problem. I then gave eye drops for an eye issue, didn't even flinch.

A previous cat of mine, I'd have been dismembered unless I'd worn a suit of armour!

Did you volunteer the information? Did you ask the vet for costs? I’d be shocked at that - but then last time I had to pay for pills for my dog it was £20. Suddenly having a £300 bill when I was expecting under £100 is not ok.

you can’t decide to spend £300 of someone else’s money when they only agreed to £50. It wasn’t an emergency, you should have got a quote and it could have waiting until your mum was back or your sister could take over.

A PP said up-thread it took her a year to get her cats' hyperthryoidism under control - and that's not uncommon. "One test and some medication" is very, very much the best case scenario here, especially as the cat clearly has other health issues on top.

You are very kind. Please PTS Sounds very sad for the cat and also distressing for your cats. The vet just sees ££££. Hate vets that act like this.

Poor cat.

I've been in your situation where we dog sat for someone for 3 months (ended up being much much longer) while they relocated as he wanted to keep the dog as she belonged to his late wife. The 3 year old dog ended up with pyometra. Needed emergency surgery costs (£250 - early 90s so it was a lot back then). Owner said it was a bit much and just tell them to PTS. Lets say the air was a bit blue when they said that, we told him we would pay for it and if he wanted to PTS he could get his arse back up to Scotland and do it himself! He showed up a couple of months later with the money (we didn't ask for it) and took the dog home.

But you have taken it upon yourself to take the cat to the vets and have not been direct with your sister if the expectation is for her to reimburse you and also pay for ongoing treatment. tbh the ownership of the cat is also wooly, if it has been staying with your mum for 2 years and I assume your sister doesn't pay for its food, it is really your mums cat now. She and your sister knew the cats condition and chose not to take it for treatment. Cost is on you I'm afraid.

I agree with what a lot are saying - sadly , the cat needs to be put down. It sounds like a lot for it to go through and it sounds like the vet is just trying to get money.

I think you should have told her the costs before agreeing to anything . A lot of people can’t just pull £300 from nowhere .

You should have refused to have the cat in the first place if it’s in such bad condition.

it needs to be pts and not treated in my experience. Your sister doesn’t even want the cat and your mum probably doesn’t either.

Anyone who owns an animal knows that they will be responsible for paying to have it euthanised when the time comes. Trust me your sister knows this too. Please do the right thing for the poor baby and let it go peacefully with no more pain or discomfort.

No, because they can make so much more money not suggesting that. Some not so good vets will wait until you are 1Ks into treatment that doesn't work or help enough, before they say, "There is nothing else we can do. It would be best if the pet gets PTS." Of course, you'll still owe the vet bills and the PTS meds.

Put the poor thing down, it doesn't need blood tests, vet visits and tablets. For shame.

Rubbish, my beloved cat did brilliantly on Thyroid meds and lived to be 23.

You’ve done the right think to get the cat to the Vet @InWithPeaceOutWithStress

I'm not even a cat person but even I think this is too cruel

I can promise you that is categorically not how my vet operates having known them for 25 years

Did I say it was ALL vets? No? That's what I thought.

Glad you have a good one.

At 19 years old this cat needs to be PTS.

We can be humane for animals in a way we can’t be for humans…you should take that option.

And you can risk overdosing this way. Some tablets are designed to break down gradually in the gut.

At 19 I would absolutely not be dragging my cat back to the vet for blood tests and ongoing medication.

Please just put her to sleep. She's lived a long life. She's suffering. I know you care and it was kind of you to do what you did but please I hope she gets put out of her misery. I say this as someone whose in pain everyday and wished there was that option for me.