Tenant spends $300 taking roommate’s visibly sick cat to the emergency vet while owner is out of town, owner refuses repayment because she “didn’t ask first”: ‘He was yowling in pain’

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• I took my roommate's obviously sick cat to the vet when I couldn't reach her and she refuses to contribute to the bill because I did it without her consent.

  My roommate was out of town visiting her boyfriend when I noticed her cat acting strange. He kept on frequenting his litter box and would strain when he peed. I don't really know much about cats (we have only been roommates for two months) but I was really worried. I tried calling my roommate but her phone was off. When the cat tried peeing on the floor while yowling in pain, I panicked and took him to the vet.

  I still couldn't reach my roommate so I ended up paying $300 for the vet visit myself. He got diagnosed with a UTI and got prescribed antibiotics. The following day I eventually got through to her on the phone and I filled her up on everything going on with her cat and that i had to take him to the vet. She didn't seem too concerned and told me that we'll talk about it when she gets home. 

• When she came back a few days later, cat's doing much better. I showed her everything receipts, medication etc. and asked her if she minded going halves on the amount because the $300 was a bit too much for me and wrecked my budget. 

  I told her I'd be okay with her only paying me back $150 given the weird circumstances but she made it clear that while she appreciates what I did, it was my own decision to do what I did and I can't expect her to pay me back anything when she didn't even consent. 

  I get where she's coming from and that's why I didn't expect her to pay me the whole amount, but I mean should I have just watched her cat suffer then? What if it had gotten worse? I was just trying to help but now I regret it.

  -Solid_Kiwi7481

• Once the story hit the internet, people immediately split into two very passionate camps: those who thought the roommate absolutely did the right thing by helping the cat immediately, and those who believed you should never make expensive decisions involving somebody else’s pet without direct permission first, no matter how urgent the situation looked at the time.

• NovelAtmosphere5617

  She’s not a good roommate. She’s being an irresponsible pet owner. She sounds selfish.

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• Yeetaylor

  Male cats are especially notorious to urinary issues, which can become full blockages. An untreated urinary blockage is a cat that will suffer to death.

  You did the right thing. What do you do now?

  I don’t have any advice…. But if it were me, I would be getting out of that living arrangement ASAP — and I would be very vocal to others about her animal neglect. A little bit of public shaming builds character.

• Plastic-Audience3180

  yea no, ur roomate is terrible and the cat would be mine after that.

• Free_Eye_5327

  Your roommate is a complete loser and should happily pay you back plus extra for helping her pet. You could take her to small claims court but it's a lot of hassle for that amount of money. I would definitely move out at the first opportunity.

• Zealousideal_Yak_703

  Urinary Blockages (The Real Danger): While a bacterial infection itself rarely kills a cat, the symptoms—such as urethral blockages caused by crystals, stones, or inflammation—are fatal if not treated within 24–48 hours.

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• IntrepidAspect3447

  Sounds like that’s your cat now actually. She has an outstanding bill, ownership can be transferred to you if you so wish. You can take her to small claims court.

• Cute-Cookie-582

  How well do you know this person? I guess you might need to just eat this one because what else can you do...but I'd get really clear direction from her about what she would want you to do in the future if her cat gets sick and she's away AND I'd also probably tell her she needs to get a cat sitter to make these decisions in the future. This is super unfortunate.

• Ready-slice1709

  The cat wouldn’t have recovered on his own, so thank goodness you took him to the vet. I’m not sure of small claims court would side with you but you might look into that. I would definitely not be renewing my lease when the time is up. She sounds awful. I’m glad the cat had you when he needed help.

• The whole situation stopped feeling like a simple money dispute and started sounding more like a question of basic responsibility. Because while vet bills are expensive and awkward conversations are unavoidable, most people would probably struggle to just stand there doing absolutely nothing while an animal in their apartment was clearly not okay.

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