My sister is killing her cat. Should I interfere or mind my own business?

[Mowgles]

My older sister has an 11 year old grey tabby that has been morbidly obese since it was young. I've tried many times during the cat's life to convince my sister of changing foods to help the cat lose weight, but to no avail. Now this cat should have 7 or 8 more years, and it looks like it's about to keel over. Its breathing is labored (it takes the entire chest convulsing to breathe), and I suspect it has a very enlarged heart. I told my sister to take the cat to a vet and she makes excuses with "They won't be able to do anything for her". Upon seeing the cat today, I had to go outside with my fiance and just cry. I can't watch animals in suffering and owners that simply don't care.

This isn't the first time this has happened. My sister lost another cat (only 8 years old) 2 years ago to a horrible heart problem that caused the last hour or the cat's life to be agonizing, screaming pain. 3 months before the incident, the cat stopped eating regularly, and my sister did nothing. I spent my own money between 10+ different kinds of wet cat food and then tuna fish, lunch meat, cooked meat, raw meat... EVERYTHING trying to get the cat to eat enough to keep going on. Losing this cat was as hard on me as it was on my sister.

Now I don't expect the grey tabby to live much longer, MAYBE a month if my sister decides to ride it out and either let the cat die at home or put it down when it's begging for death. My sister normally shrugs off my information, which is insulting since I was a vet tech for a while, but I'm at a point where I just want to attack her with all I've got. My mother is telling me to leave her be as if the entire ordeal is the business of her family.. but if you saw neglect going on, could you just walk away because it wasn't YOUR business? What would you do in this situation?

Worth mentioning that she just had a baby last November, and this is seeming like the typical situation where a couple has a baby and neglects to care for the "babies" that were living there first.

[Deleted]

RSPCA. Call. Tell tale on your sister.

[Soluger]

Intervene. People like your sister should not be allowed to have pets ever.

[Kurkon]

She obviously doesn't care about the cat. I would just come over and take the cat and give it a real home. I did that with a friends dog when I was younger and while it strained the friendship, the puppy ended up recovering from the malnutrition and lived 13 years before cancer took him.

It sounds like you already have a strained relationship with your sister, so at this point put the well being of an animal that can't ask for help ahead of her stupidity.

[Axxon]

Yes, you should interfere. I've been a long time cat owner/breeder, some obese, some skinny. I had an obese cat live tell it was 21 years old, seriously. A change in it's diet will ABSOLUTELY help it. There is ABSOLUTELY no need to kill the cat because your sister is a terrible owner. Change the cat's diet, change when the cat eats, change it's portions, it will loose weight. I know this. DO NOT KILL THE CAT.

[Deleted]

Interfere ... what she is doing is horrendously cruel, and tantamount to abuse.

Just pick the cat up, walk out, and tell her if she dares to create, you will report her to Animal Cruelty ... because she has already murdered one innocent animal, and if she is not careful, report her to Child Abuse too, because if that is how she treats an animal ... how will she treat the child.

[Delte]

I'm not sure what you can do to help, but it seems obvious to me that the woman shouldn't have pets. It appears she's terrible about them. If she really won't change her ways, take the cat and care for it yourself, if possible. I'm fairly sure you couldn't get in trouble for helping stop neglect. Well, ok, you could, but ask yourself if you could live with yourself if you did nothing.

[Lora]

My older sister has an 11 year old grey tabby that has been morbidly obese since it was young. I've tried many times during the cat's life to convince my sister of changing foods to help the cat lose weight, but to no avail. Now this cat should have 7 or 8 more years, and it looks like it's about to keel over. Its breathing is labored (it takes the entire chest convulsing to breathe), and I suspect it has a very enlarged heart. I told my sister to take the cat to a vet and she makes excuses with "They won't be able to do anything for her". Upon seeing the cat today, I had to go outside with my fiance and just cry. I can't watch animals in suffering and owners that simply don't care.

This isn't the first time this has happened. My sister lost another cat (only 8 years old) 2 years ago to a horrible heart problem that caused the last hour or the cat's life to be agonizing, screaming pain. 3 months before the incident, the cat stopped eating regularly, and my sister did nothing. I spent my own money between 10+ different kinds of wet cat food and then tuna fish, lunch meat, cooked meat, raw meat... EVERYTHING trying to get the cat to eat enough to keep going on. Losing this cat was as hard on me as it was on my sister.

Now I don't expect the grey tabby to live much longer, MAYBE a month if my sister decides to ride it out and either let the cat die at home or put it down when it's begging for death. My sister normally shrugs off my information, which is insulting since I was a vet tech for a while, but I'm at a point where I just want to attack her with all I've got. My mother is telling me to leave her be as if the entire ordeal is the business of her family.. but if you saw neglect going on, could you just walk away because it wasn't YOUR business? What would you do in this situation?

Worth mentioning that she just had a baby last November, and this is seeming like the typical situation where a couple has a baby and neglects to care for the "babies" that were living there first.

Euthanize the cat. Tell your sister that she has to be more responsible.

[pharaum]

oh look its another stupid question thread where the answer is obvious to anyone thats not a retard

Infracted: If you have nothing to add, leave it be

[dragon171]

Not even a question to think about! Intervene at once! Nothing worse than having death on your hands for not doing something, be it human or an animal.

[chunkycarl]

she shouldn't be alowed to have a pet if she cant look after it.
end of the day, as you mentioned, it reflects on her badly. if she cant look after an animal (which is quite self sufficient in most ways) then how is she going to cope with any sort of dependent?
Phone the RSCPA as was mentioned above, with any luck she'll be banned from owning pets before she can fuck up anymore of them.

[Nemah]

Intervene. Animal cruelty (which doesn't always take the form of beatings, obviously) is a crime in most states of the union, with the exception of some small, isolated backwards municipalities.

ASPCA officials or the local Animal Control office can direct you how to best proceed in your state. Having / keeping a pet is a wonderful thing, but it also a tremendous responsibility. If a person cannot properly manage that responsibility, he or she should not own a pet.

[anveena]

Well I would put it out of it's misery.

[Noomz]

My older sister has an 11 year old grey tabby that has been morbidly obese since it was young. I've tried many times during the cat's life to convince my sister of changing foods to help the cat lose weight, but to no avail. Now this cat should have 7 or 8 more years, and it looks like it's about to keel over. Its breathing is labored (it takes the entire chest convulsing to breathe), and I suspect it has a very enlarged heart. I told my sister to take the cat to a vet and she makes excuses with "They won't be able to do anything for her". Upon seeing the cat today, I had to go outside with my fiance and just cry. I can't watch animals in suffering and owners that simply don't care.

This isn't the first time this has happened. My sister lost another cat (only 8 years old) 2 years ago to a horrible heart problem that caused the last hour or the cat's life to be agonizing, screaming pain. 3 months before the incident, the cat stopped eating regularly, and my sister did nothing. I spent my own money between 10+ different kinds of wet cat food and then tuna fish, lunch meat, cooked meat, raw meat... EVERYTHING trying to get the cat to eat enough to keep going on. Losing this cat was as hard on me as it was on my sister.

Now I don't expect the grey tabby to live much longer, MAYBE a month if my sister decides to ride it out and either let the cat die at home or put it down when it's begging for death. My sister normally shrugs off my information, which is insulting since I was a vet tech for a while, but I'm at a point where I just want to attack her with all I've got. My mother is telling me to leave her be as if the entire ordeal is the business of her family.. but if you saw neglect going on, could you just walk away because it wasn't YOUR business? What would you do in this situation?

Worth mentioning that she just had a baby last November, and this is seeming like the typical situation where a couple has a baby and neglects to care for the "babies" that were living there first.

Sounds to me like you need to stop being nice and get angry. Or if there is one, call the RSPCA. I fucking hate people like your sister. No offense man, but neglect and cruelty towards animals gets my blood boiling like few other things can.

[digger66]

oh look its another stupid question thread where the answer is obvious to anyone thats not a retard

Agreed, and having to justify this decision through a gaming website? I weep for the future.

[Herecius]

oh look its another stupid question thread where the answer is obvious to anyone thats not a retard

Intervening when a family member is doing something stupid is never very easy, not for most people. But the OP should indeed intervene, by adopting a cat that his sister obviously has no desire to care for.

[Theodon]

If this is the second time she's failed to take care of an animal and she is leading this second one to a slow and painful death then report her to the RSPCA anonymously. If not for the sake of this cat, then do it for the other one she will get once that one is dead.

[Ihsatakar]

What's the best way to manage cat food proportions when you have multiple cats?

[BatteredRose]

If this is the second time she's failed to take care of an animal and she is leading this second one to a slow and painful death then report her to the RSPCA anonymously. If not for the sake of this cat, then do it for the other one she will get once that one is dead.

So much this. I hate when people neglect their pets and act as though they're just toys or something. They're not neopets or tamogachis(sp), there are real consequences when dealing with living things, peoples. :\

[Scaleeth]

Yes, intervene! It's a life that's at stake, of course you should do something about it.