Neighbour fed my cat and took him to the vet

[Tigeresslearns]

I know I'm talking to the sensible here.
I've recently had to have my lovely boy pts. He was a roaming rascal that had to have his tail removed previously. He was also a lazy groomer so needed me to bath him on occasion too - not fun for him or me! But he was ours and was loved.

Anyway, I got a text a couple of weeks ago from a neighbour, who even after repeated telling by me to NOT feed him, had done so for a couple of years. He spent some time sat in her garden enjoying the sun. She knew I was his owner. She had my contact number and knows where I live.

She'd decided to take him to a vet as he had been unwell in her garden for 24 hours. She hadn't contacted me before this at all to tell me as I would of gone straight there to get him.

I called the vets, they'd done bloods and he was in kidney failure so I made the sad decision to pts. I couldn't get there before they would close for the day so I wasn't even there to give him strokes and love.

Adding to this, at the weekend I came across a fb post from the vets that they'd posted at the time, stating they had him and to call them as he was unwell. Comments underneath included some very strange or hurtful comments, including someone sharing my address and that I had 'abandoned' him. Thankfully the vets removed the post straight away when I called them.

Who the hell does this?

Things I've learnt:

Check your cat's chip is registered - my boy had been chipped years ago but for some reason the vet I'd used hadn't completed the registration or told me I had to complete the registration. It's been a pain but I've now got my other cats registered to me so it doesn't happen again.

Do not feed cats that don't belong to you. There are so many other means to care for a cat who you think it lost/abandoned/unwell. Posting on local fb groups get cats reunited really quickly usually. Or if you know the owner, tell them their cat is at yours. Any responsible cat owner would appreciate that.

I absolutely don't agree. Of course I would of taken him to the vets!

His chip wasn't registered properly. As I said in my OP, Check your cat's chip is registered - my boy had been chipped years ago but for some reason the vet I'd used hadn't completed the registration or told me I had to complete the registration. It's been a pain but I've now got my other cats registered to me so it doesn't happen again.

The vets had posted on FB because the chip wasn't registered properly.

Presumably the neighbour failed to tell the vets who the owner was, which is an odd thing to do, and as the OP says the chip details were not up to date so the vet didn't know who the owner was. The OP contacted the vets as soon as the neighbour decided to contact her to tell her what happened.

Vet nurse here and kidney failure is a long process unless poisoned. You failed to notice clear signs your cats health was deteriorating. You seem more upset with your neighbour who hasn't behaved well in this at all I may add.

Where did you think your cat was during those 24 hours that he was missing?

Not registering the microchip was remiss or could be considered neglectful.

Sorry your cat has gone, at least he's not suffering any more.

Thank you, this is what I mean. She texted me at 10.24. I called her, then after we'd spoken I called the vets at 11.52.

Op easy to say don’t feed a cat until it sits continuously at your door miaowing at you. Our cat wanders and different neighbours feed her even though she’s fed here, we feed a neighbour’s cat that comes to our porch and miaows or sometimes takes our cat’s food if we have her eating outside. It’s like people say - nobody actually owns a cat as they choose where they want to be!!

Your neighbour should have contacted you but maybe she honestly thought your cat was left to it, we know our neighbour’s cat isn’t and she knows ours aren’t because we’re close and laugh about them dropping around. They also see my cat following me about and have seen her in and about the house. I am sorry for your loss though

How long before all this happened had you last taken your cat for a check-up?

It's sad that you couldn’t get to the vet until after they'd closed and your cat had been pts?

Something just seems odd here.

Cat goes into neighbours garden regularly
Cat isnt in the best of shape in general
Cats owner has history of telling neighbour how it is
Cat comes into neighbours garden and is unwell
24 hours later cat is still in neighbours garden and unwell
Neighbour rushes cat to vets and call neighbour when she gets back
Cat dies
Cat owner concentrates on everyone elses failings other than her own

Is that the jist of it?

Personally i would be thankful the neighbour gave your cat a chance of survival. Isnt it instinct for cats to drag themselves off somewhere quiet and die?

He comes in in the evening usually, sometimes later after I've gone to bed. So sometimes I don't see him. It wasn't unusual.

I'm not neglectful if I'm not aware of the chip not being registered properly by the vet!

And thank you for your sympathy.

why did you take over a hour to contact the vets? You obviously weren’t that concerned.

I was 2 hours away on a day out. The vet closes at 12. I couldn't make it back in time and I didn't want to make him wait to be pts.

sorry mistyped! 11:48 was the call

So sorry for your loss and you didn't get to say goodbye. Unbelievable she didn't call you.

I too have a neighbour like this. Tries to give my cat treats (my cat actively avoids her and doesn't take them). She doesn't have pets herself. My cat runs away if she approaches us. (Big shared garden in a block of flats.)

When I was away for the first time recently, and had a cat sitter, she took the cat from our shared garden and into her flat claiming it was 'upset' apparently. Kept her for hours. She didn't tell me or the cat sitter who believed she had gone missing.

But messaged several other neighbours, and word passed to me. I was furious. My cat refused to leave the flat for days after that, only with me by her side after her 'cat napping'. I didn't blame her.

I didn't know that. The vets did say they can't rule out poison but who knows.

I wish I had known he was unwell - I really really do. I'm not saying things wouldn't of been different. I just wish I'd known he was poorly. I'm upset at myself too.

The neighbour did call her. She has said that repeatedly. After she took the cat to the vet, she call the OP to tell her.

I am truly sorry for your loss.

None of your cats were registered to you? Perhaps you need a new vet if you were unaware you needed to register your contact details with microchip company.

My experience with my dogs at least, is that the owner completes the registration, not the vet. They just give you the details. That's with 3 different chip companies. Perhaps it's different for cats?

I'm so sorry that happened to you. And I'm glad you have them back. She sounds nuts.