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.

You have done the right thing by engaging the vet to provide treatment while they are on holiday. When they return and are made aware of the treatment required by the vet and the cat, it is their decision whether to pay for the cat's clinical needs or whether they wish to have the cat put down. It is their decision.

This has just happened to me. Local vet recommended to me, but I was a cash cow. I’m now angry at how inhumane the vet was and 100% saw £££. I was on my way with my cat to have 24hr bp monitoring and she was so unhappy. Hated the fluids I was giving her In her neck(!) hated the food and kept hiding. I had several vet visits. She had lost her spark, got to the vets and decided no, enough is enough. I had her PTS vet kept saying you sure? you sure? It was horrendous and he made me feel awful like I was an awful cat owner.

Thank you for your considered post.

The cat wasn’t previously registered at a vet so I registered her with my local vet, so she is under my name.

They never do

Tell your sister how much the bill is so far, and ask how much more she is willing to cough up. Then she knows you’re not paying.

If it turns out to be hyperthyroidism then the medicine should work wonders. One of ours (17) was just as your sisters was ill, listless, dying, ate like a horse but was a bag of bones.

Thyroxin whilst expensive isn't as much as some have said and is cheaper than printer ink!

He lived happily for another couple of years. Not as a kitten but as a senior cat. He was active, put on weight and was his normal self.

The thyroxin was given via a needless syringe squirted into his mouth once a day.

My vet categorically does not suggest putting animals to sleep until the owner raises it, I suspect many vets follow the same rule.

You could test out the meds and follow up bloods but if limited result adopt a very low threshold to have him euthanised. That way you'll feel you've given him a chance while adopting the kindest most sensible option if no benefit found to cat.

You don't give thyroxine for hyperthyroidism.

(and yes, I got my hypo- and hyper- confused in my earlier post)

I think at 19 and with a distressing illness that will require constant medication I would be thinking of all the unconditional love that the cat has given over the years and paying it back by saying enough is enough, her quality of life is below acceptable and it is time to say goodbye.

You're a very kind person OP.

My older cat passed age 21, and it was definitely their time to go.

At this point I wouldn't treat anything. I'd personally offer a platter or salmon, tuna and cheese and let the old cat have a nice few dinners.

Would a cat with hyperthyroidism be given thyroxin? I have hyperthyroidism and that would kill me! I took carbimazole, an anti-thyroid drug.

I'm 60, so elderly according to some of MN, and hyperthyroid. Perhaps I should just die?? OP I would treat that cat and see how she responds.

The medication is thiamazole.

Your sister clearly doesn't care about the poor cat (shown by the fact she replaced it with a younger model) - agree that PTS is the kindest option here. Well done for caring OP.

I disagree with some posters who say pts. I have had over active thyroid (hyperthyroidism) and felt absolutely awful. Fast heart rate and losing weight despite constantly eating, but with medication (carbimazole) I started feeling much better very quickly. If it was my cat I would give it a go. Not to be confused with underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) which is treated with thyroxine.

Sorry but I agree vets take advantage of situations like this sorry

Forgot to say that if you google hyperthyroidism in cats, the prognosis is generally good.

My cat was 18 with hyperthyroidism and renal degeneration the pills will work fine. You need to buy the renal food as well. This is very costly. My boy was still bouncing around at 23 and had to be put to sleep for a completely unrelated illness which to be fair was probably old age, the vet said he should be they don’t just keep animals hanging on for money. Some weight will go back on once the pills slow down his metabolism. His drinking will slow down also. His kidneys will never regenerate so he’ll need the food for the rest of his life.
Your family will not pay for any of this the people that put animals to sleep as soon as they encounter an issue never do. Sorry OP it’s going to come down to you.

Update: she has eaten up all the food in her bowl including the pill which is very small.

To counteract any posters that will be dismayed that I’ve given her a pill rather than PTS - just to remind you that I wasn’t even aware of the PTS option till I posted here and I’d already agreed with the vet to try her on the medication.

It also sounds like I wouldn’t have authority to make that decision as I am only temporarily caring for her (although I’m still considering keeping her as she was being neglected at my mums).

It’s very kind of you to take this on, your mother has been quite cruel and negligent.

My 16 yo cat is currently undergoing this treatment. We took her in early in the process so she’s not in bad shape and is responding well to medicine. She just has a liquid added to her feed twice a day, no struggles with pills. It’s absolutely not a pts scenario here, just an old age illness to be managed and monitored.

Don’t touch the pills with your bare hands. I ignored the instructions and got I’ll.

ill

@InWithPeaceOutWithStress my experience last October when my elderly cat (17) became ill at the cattery. Cattery owner contacted me and she agreed to take cat to my vet. My vet called me and we talked about treatment. I paid over the phone. Another visit to vet later in week and more treatment. I paid over the phone. Thankfully, cat been fine since. I am under no illusions though, he is old, has lost weight but stable at the moment. If that changes, putting down is probably the best option. I will not prolong his suffering (but will miss him terribly). Your sister should have arranged to pay bills with vet, not you. Hope you get the money off her.

re BatshitCrazyWoman and DogInATent

I forget what thyroid problem he had but it, whatever it was, fixed him.

As someone else has said - he went onto a special diet too.

It was like a miracle cure.