Lot of hard hearted people on here. $700 is not going to make or break a college tuition. And if I had it, I would pay it. No, it's not your cat. You don't want it. Etc. But sometimes we do things we don't want to do.

The test is prob an an endoscopy and I had a cat in a similar position a few years back. Ulcers and required some meds and has been (fingers crossed) fine for a number of years now. However, it could be cancer or something not treatable.

Anonymous wrote:Don't tell her that you need to save for college and retirement (which is precisely how I would think and feel about it, BTW). Just tell her that you can't afford it. Period.

Tell her you don't have $700 to pay for a vet bill. Don't explain your finances.

I'd find a lower cost clinic to go to like helping hands in richmond va.

Anonymous wrote:Having an adult child with mental illness I’d make my decision based on how I expected it to affect his mental health. If not doing it would destabilize him I’d do it. It costs me way more in time and money to deal with crises. If it wouldn’t matter one way or another I wouldn’t do it.

If I did it, I’d be clear about my future contributions.

It sounds like OP can't afford it. 3 cats is too many for someone on disability.

Anonymous wrote:Contact the vet and ask if the cat likely has a terminal diagnosis or what exactly they are looking for and go from there. I spend $1500 on diagnostics only to be told my dog had cancer and I euthanized her the same day. Looking back just the ultrasound showing a mass should have been enough for them to give me options but the vet kept pushing for more diagnostics to be certain.

My dog has a mass too, but it's not cancer so that does happen.

Drop the cat back off at the shelter, they'll take care if it and no more pets for her. Certainly not 3

Contact the vet and ask if the cat likely has a terminal diagnosis or what exactly they are looking for and go from there. I spend $1500 on diagnostics only to be told my dog had cancer and I euthanized her the same day. Looking back just the ultrasound showing a mass should have been enough for them to give me options but the vet kept pushing for more diagnostics to be certain.

Say you can’t afford it

I’m sorry you are in this situation

$700 sounds about right, but it also sounds like this cat might have a problem that will either cost thousands in remedy or be terminal. But it's also possible that the cat ate something it shouldn't have and has an easy fix.

Is there a human society or similar organization near her that can offer low cost veterinary care? I'd 100% check into that. Maybe try calling the county animal shelter for that type of advice if you don't find anything online.

That's a terrible situation for all of you and I'm sorry you're in it. Can you be pretty blunt with your sister that the cat probably has an incurable illness and she needs to be prepared for that?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you speak directly to the vet and get a sense of what they are testing for, and what the range of possible outcomes are as well?

+1

And maybe explain the situation to the vet about your sister’s lack of resources and mental capacity to really deal with this. I may even beg the vet to say after further exam the cat is too ill, there are no treatment options so that she cannot hold this over you.

Also why are you financially responsible for this anyway?

I like this suggestion. Thank you. I will try this.

About my financial responsibility, I will help her with money if I think it benefits her, e.g., I pay for her cell phone, having her apartment cleaned every so often, and I buy food for her. I try to take care of her because I love her and she is really disabled. Her mental illness is quite severe and I want her to be safe, clean, and well fed.

Anonymous wrote:Can you speak directly to the vet and get a sense of what they are testing for, and what the range of possible outcomes are as well?

+1

And maybe explain the situation to the vet about your sister’s lack of resources and mental capacity to really deal with this. I may even beg the vet to say after further exam the cat is too ill, there are no treatment options so that she cannot hold this over you.

Also why are you financially responsible for this anyway?

Don't tell her that you need to save for college and retirement (which is precisely how I would think and feel about it, BTW). Just tell her that you can't afford it. Period.

Absolutely not. Don’t get sucked into Paul g for pet medical care. She had 2 other cars and hadn’t even had this cat very long. Can she even have 3 cats where she lives? You will be very very resentful if you pay $700 then calls you crying that she needs thousands more for the actual treatment.

The cat almost certainly has cancer. The extensive testing is to figure out where and to double check for infection. The cat should be euthanized sadly.

Can you speak directly to the vet and get a sense of what they are testing for, and what the range of possible outcomes are as well?