have you ever surrendered an animal to the vet?

[Anonymous]

I have an 8.5 year old kitty with an autoimmune disease, diabetes with complications, and a need for full mouth extractions. I really can't continue to care for him financially or otherwise. My vet has offered me the option of surrendering him to their care where they would treat him and try to find him a new home with owners who can meet his needs. I think it's highly unlikely that someone would adopt an animal with so many issues, and fear that surrender means he will live out the rest of his life abandoned, scared, and in a cage. He is the sweetest cat and has been a wonderful part of our family. I really want to do right by him. I don't know what to do, and I need to decide very quickly. Any thoughts or experiences are welcome.

[Anonymous]

I did this with my kitty. It wasn't a great option; I would have rather put him down, but the vet refused. He had recurrent bladder/urinary tract blockages that were going to kill him without major surgery. I'm still sad wondering what happened to him

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have an 8.5 year old kitty with an autoimmune disease, diabetes with complications, and a need for full mouth extractions. I really can't continue to care for him financially or otherwise. My vet has offered me the option of surrendering him to their care where they would treat him and try to find him a new home with owners who can meet his needs. I think it's highly unlikely that someone would adopt an animal with so many issues, and fear that surrender means he will live out the rest of his life abandoned, scared, and in a cage. He is the sweetest cat and has been a wonderful part of our family. I really want to do right by him. I don't know what to do, and I need to decide very quickly. Any thoughts or experiences are welcome.

I haven't heard of a vet doing that. Do they do it often? Is it a vet at a rescue organization? If not, maybe someone there has a personal attachment to your kitty?

What are your options besides surrendering to the vet? If you can't afford care and don't think you'd be able to find another home yourself, what are you considering?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have an 8.5 year old kitty with an autoimmune disease, diabetes with complications, and a need for full mouth extractions. I really can't continue to care for him financially or otherwise. My vet has offered me the option of surrendering him to their care where they would treat him and try to find him a new home with owners who can meet his needs. I think it's highly unlikely that someone would adopt an animal with so many issues, and fear that surrender means he will live out the rest of his life abandoned, scared, and in a cage. He is the sweetest cat and has been a wonderful part of our family. I really want to do right by him. I don't know what to do, and I need to decide very quickly. Any thoughts or experiences are welcome.

I haven't heard of a vet doing that. Do they do it often? Is it a vet at a rescue organization? If not, maybe someone there has a personal attachment to your kitty?

What are your options besides surrendering to the vet? If you can't afford care and don't think you'd be able to find another home yourself, what are you considering?

OP here, not a rescue organization. Kitty has been seen by several vets in the practice over the years, but the particular vet who has extended this offer has only seen him once actually. I've never heard of this option before and I have no idea how common it is.

I guess my other options are to see if I can find someone to put him down, or figure out a way to pay for the treatment. It's not impossible to pay for the treatment, but it would be a significant hardship for us and I don't think our home is the best environment for a pet with his problems (that are not fixable). His diabetes complications affect his mobility and we have a toddler, so we either have to keep him away from the family in a location where he doesn't have to move around much (sad for a very friendly guy like him), or we have him with us but he has to go downstairs for the litter box.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did this with my kitty. It wasn't a great option; I would have rather put him down, but the vet refused. He had recurrent bladder/urinary tract blockages that were going to kill him without major surgery. I'm still sad wondering what happened to him

This is what I'm afraid of. And I don't know how common it is for vets to refuse to put a cat down.

I hope your kitty is happily living out his life with a new family!

[Anonymous]

I adopted a cat who was surrendered to a vet. A lovely female cat, five years old, with urinary problems who needed prescription food. She was a delight in every way. So yes, I'm sure someone will adopt your cat eventually. But I think this is extremely stressful for your poor kitty. I know my poor Lydia was very stressed when I adopted her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I adopted a cat who was surrendered to a vet. A lovely female cat, five years old, with urinary problems who needed prescription food. She was a delight in every way. So yes, I'm sure someone will adopt your cat eventually. But I think this is extremely stressful for your poor kitty. I know my poor Lydia was very stressed when I adopted her.

I certainly agree with this, but would you say it's the right thing to do notwithstanding the stress? Obviously it was the right thing for your Lydia and I'm so glad that everything worked out. My poor guy needs a lot more than prescription food (he's been on that for years) and he's a good deal older. It's harder for me to envision a scenario where he is adopted despite his wonderful temperament.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I adopted a cat who was surrendered to a vet. A lovely female cat, five years old, with urinary problems who needed prescription food. She was a delight in every way. So yes, I'm sure someone will adopt your cat eventually. But I think this is extremely stressful for your poor kitty. I know my poor Lydia was very stressed when I adopted her.

I certainly agree with this, but would you say it's the right thing to do notwithstanding the stress? Obviously it was the right thing for your Lydia and I'm so glad that everything worked out. My poor guy needs a lot more than prescription food (he's been on that for years) and he's a good deal older. It's harder for me to envision a scenario where he is adopted despite his wonderful temperament.

OP, won't your vet make an arrangement with you for payment?

[Anonymous]

I would try to set aside your worries and trust the vet. Presumably they are making this offer because they believe the cat can get the care she needs. Are you ready to part with her if you knew she would be well cared for? Otherwise I agree with others that you might want to pursue a payment plan if you really want to keep her.

Good luck, OP.

[Anonymous]

Have you checked to see if your vet is or has some arrangement with a class B dealer to research labs? This sounds very unusual to me.

[Anonymous]

Is the vet going to give the cat a home himself? Possibly he sees what a medically complex case it is and wants to help out. Maybe place her with a vet tech or a long-time client skilled in higher-level pet care? You have the right to ask these questions. Any rescue group that takes an application for an adoption certainly would. Do you want to post the name of the clinic--maybe someone could attest that it's a reputable place. I believe that my current vet's pets come from a similar situation.

[Anonymous]

Op something about this offer seems shady

[Anonymous]

Op here - I think the vet's intentions are pure and it's a reputable clinic. She hasn't suggested that she has a specific adopter in mind - I wish she did because I would feel much more comfortable knowing he was going to a good home. I asked what would happen if he wasn't adopted and she said she would keep him at the clinic unless she felt he no longer had a good quality of life at which point she would decide on next steps.

I just don't know. My head says surrender is the right decision for my family but my heart says I have to find a way to make it work and keep him. These decisions were so much easier when DH and I were only responsible for ourselves (and our pets).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you checked to see if your vet is or has some arrangement with a class B dealer to research labs? This sounds very unusual to me.

This is a crazy theory. No one could make money selling sick old cats and research labs wouldn't take hi either. it's not like cats are hard to come by.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you checked to see if your vet is or has some arrangement with a class B dealer to research labs? This sounds very unusual to me.

This is a crazy theory. No one could make money selling sick old cats and research labs wouldn't take hi either. it's not like cats are hard to come by.

I wish that were the case. A cat that has been surrendered and has already received a paid-for medical diagnosis would, unfortunately, be the perfect subject. It's a question that OP should ask.