Should I pay neighbours vet bill in this situation?

[Sheandhercat]

My neighbour has gone away for 4 days and she asked me to pop in to feed her cat while she’s away, which I agreed to. Today is the first day, the cat was out all last night so I let him inside this morning, gave him some food and then left him in the house to sleep. I have gone in this evening and as I opened the door to enter, he was waiting by the door to go outside so I let him. When I walked into the kitchen I saw that he has eaten through his Felix pouches. The box of Felix was on the kitchen side, unopened. This morning I opened it to give him a packet but I just left the box where it was, I didn’t put it away in a cupboard. So he has eaten through the pouches to get to the food. A LOT of the actual packets are missing. It looks like he has eaten big chunks of the plastic because there’s nothing on the floor. 5 packets have been chewed through and there’s hardly anything even left of the packets it looks like he’s swallowed so much.

I contacted my neighbour straight away and she is a bit worried but said he will probably be fine because he has done this before but only with one or two packets, not five.

I am really worrying because he is outside now, I have been out shouting him to get him to come back so I can keep him in and keep my eye on him but he’s already gone. Ideally I think he should be taken to the vets to be checked out. If he ends up being ill from this, is it only fair that I pay the vet bill as he was in my care when it happened? Or does the owner still pay the bill? I am worrying not only for his welfare, but also because I don’t have that kind of money to cover vet fees if he ends up with a blockage or even for a check up.
its my fault for not putting the food away but I just left it where it already was and I didn’t even imagine he would do this! Is this on me to take him to be checked and pay the bill?

Not your bill to pay.

I’m not really that sure there’s much a vet could check possibly a feel of the stomach to see if anything distended and swollen
if he’s chewed enough would of thought he’d just pass it

Did your neighbour warn you this might happen and ask you to put the food away? If she did, and you didn’t do that, then yes I think you are responsible. If she didn’t mention it then it’s not your responsibility.

If the cat has form for doing this, I'd say the owner should have told you and shown you where to store the food and it's not on you to pay the bill. I suspect the cat will be fine, bloated but fine!

They should have insurance so would only be looking at the excess however unless they warned you to put it away I don’t think this is on you.

Mate - the cat does not need a vet.

It will possibly throw up in the garden.

Taking him to the vet seems sensible but if he has form for this she should have warned you. If that’s where she left it the cost is her issue

If the owner had told you not to leave the pouches out and you did then you should cover the bill. If they didn’t say anything and they knew that their cat has a history of doing this then the bill is on them!
If any problem comes of it I wouldn’t be offering to help them again!

It's not your cat, so not your bill to pay.
Even if the cat has done something it shouldn't have due to you helping, it still their responsibility as it's their cat

My cat is an absolute gannet and has done this a lot. My elderly neighbour used to have a cat of his own and leave boxes out and his door wide open and my cat would go to town! The first time I took her to the vets and she was absolutely fine. Subsequent times I just kept an eye on her and she continued to be fine. I think your next door cat will also be fine.

You wouldn't be responsible for any bills. If you had been specifically told not to leave them out and then did it then it would be the nice thing to do to offer but you haven't done anything wrong!

You are saving them a fortune in cattery or pet sitter fees. This is not your bill to pay, but I uni k cat will be fine.

My cat once swallowed some ribbon and the vet said to take her straight away. It was a Sunday so had to take her to the emergency vets where they kept her in overnight because if there’s a blockage it can be fatal. They tried to induce vomiting when she first got there but it didn’t work. She did end up passing it in the end but usually you should take them straight to the vets if they’ve eaten something like that

No she didn’t mention in. When I text her she said “sorry I should’ve warned you he had form for doing this” she doesn’t sound angry or blame me at all but when I asked if I should take him to the vets she said “if you want to and you can afford it, sure” so that tells me she may expect me to pay if he does become ill??

Your neighbour probably has pet insurance so it is worth asking her who her vet is and has she insurance. Just ask the question so it doesn't become "a thing" between you

Sounds like the cat has form. She also may allay your fears! Just ask, don't worry yourself

She doesn’t have insurance unfortunately

The cat doesn't need a vet. It will sleep off the enormous meal and will be none the worse. You don't go to the Dr after going on a massive christmas-celebration blow-out meal do you? You just deal with the indigestion and make a New Years Resolution to not do that again. The cat doesn't have the cognitive skill to resolve for the future so you and your neighbour need to do the resolving to be more careful in future.

The cat will either vomit or poop the plastic foil out. I would wait until it returns, see if it's acting as normal or if it looks poorly. If the later, find out from your neighbour if they have insurance and offer to go halves on the excess

Reply to that and ask if she has pet insurance

She genuinely doesn't sound concerned and the cat has probably eaten worse

Separately she should have warned you to put the food away properly.

Nope you shouldn’t pay.

When people feed our cats they are massively helping us. If the cats needed a vet for any reason that’s our responsibility. Especially as she gave no warnings about not leaving it out.

I’ve never heard of a cat doing that with sachets!! Ours are absolute gannets but have never eaten through actual packaging!

Meh dcats eat bones amd feathers. A bit of foil ime passes through fine...my dcat does this few times a year if he gets the chance.

More stressful taking it to the vet.

Edit as meant to quote @Sheandhercat She doesn’t have insurance unfortunately

Well that's stupid and irresponsible. Any expense incurred because she doesn't pay for insurance for her pet is 100% her problem not yours

Same! I have a cat and she has never done this before so I just didn’t even consider it

No, she’s saying she doesn’t believe her cat needs to go to the vet, but if you really want to take him then it’s on you.

So unless the cat becomes ill then I wouldn’t take it. If it does, then I’d explain to the vet and they can discuss with the owner over the phone about payment. If she won’t pay, and the cat’s in major distress, then they’ll put her to sleep, but that’s not your responsibility.

No way should you do this!

Why should the OP go halves on the excess? The responsibility is clearly with the owner! Do you think a cattery would offer to go halves if the cat became ill on their watch?… Of course not!

She’s a CFer. Cat has form of doing this yet she left the box accessible and didn’t warn you to move it. Any vet costs are hers to bear but it sounds like she wouldn’t pay you back if you did take the cat to the vet. Just keep an eye on the cat and fingers crossed it’ll be ok.