Cat Owner Demands Payment For Vet Bills After Her Sibling Fed Chicken To Her Pet Without Permission

"I figured this was her taking a vegan stance and decided that enough was enough."

Chelsi

• Published in Interesting
• July 10, 2023

When you’re entrusted to take care of someone else’s pet, you have to prioritize following the owner’s orders. Whether the list is short or long, there’s a reason why each item is written down.

However, in a r/AITA post, a Redditor thought that there was an instruction that they could do their way instead. In the story, OP described her sister as someone who takes great lengths to treat her cat like her child. 

When she was supposed to go on a business trip, OP convinced her that they could be a petsitter in the meantime. When they were left with the cat, they discovered that the pet food she left didn’t have any meat in it, and although it is well-known in their family that their sister was vegan, they decided that the cat shouldn’t follow that diet.

OP fed their sister’s cat chicken slowly over the week that they were petsitting. When their sister came home, she called them and hysterically asked them what they could have possibly done to her cat that resulted in having to take her to the vet.

When they told her that they fed the cat chicken, she told them that her pet was allergic to it. Their parents, who are usually not as fond of their sister’s veganism, said to them that they should’ve consulted with her first.

OP admits that they do feel guilty about the situation. Although, they think that the problem could have been avoided if their sister let them know ahead of time about the cat’s allergy.

Here's why OP thinks they might be TA in this situation

OP assumed that their sister was doing harm to her cat by only giving her a vegan diet

The cat turned out to be allergic to chicken

OP doesn't think their sister's demand is fair

The sister had the safe assumption that OP wasn’t going to go against her instructions

It was unclear if the food OP’s sister left behind didn’t actually have ‘meat’

The chicken might have been more harmful if it was already cooked alongside toxic ingredients for cats

A lot of Redditors were on OP’s side as they think cats shouldn’t be vegan but some pointed out that his sister’s cat might have specific needs

The cat’s food might not have been vegan at all if it were like this case

There was no further proof that the cat was mistreated by OP’s sister by forcing her to become vegan as well

If they were concerned, they could’ve called to ask her or a vet

OP seeing how much the cat loved chicken doesn’t cancel her allergies

Even dogs could be allergic to the protein that comes from meat

It was also pointed out that OP's view about their sister is outdated

This Redditor thinks that OP’s sister was right to demand payment for the cat’s vet bills...

After OP disregarded her instructions based on an assumption with not much evidence...

and also making an excuse that he was making a justifiable stance

OP might have thought that just because there wasn’t a plain meat ingredient listed on the cat’s food package, their sister was forcing her pet to be vegan. This earned OP the final verdict of being TA for not thinking to follow their sister’s instructions because she knew about the cat’s specific needs.

What do you think?

Chelsi