I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this topic so I apologize ahead of time if it is.
I've been dealing with a difficult situation recently. The family had an older cat (17.5 years old when he passed away). He was always fat but started to lose weight about a year and a half ago. I had been on my families case to take him to the vet (I don't live in the family home anymore) but they absolutely refused to using the excuse that being thin was 'normal' for an old cat and that it would be too stressful for him to go for a vet appointment given his age. I disagreed and regularly told them to get him checked out as I witnessed him continue to deteriorate. Their position was that he was eating and drinking and using the litter box regularly and essentially acting normal....yet continued to lose weight, to the point where he was not much more than skin, bones and fur. Their lack of interest in taking him to the vet lead to a number of heated arguments. Unfortunately no matter what I said they absolutely refused to have him seen. The poor old boy passed away recently from what my family calls 'old age', but what I believe was due to his continued deterioration to the point where his body could not sustain itself anymore. I'm disgusted beyond belief and feel they neglected him. Am I overreacting considering how old he was?
I've been dealing with a difficult situation recently. The family had an older cat (17.5 years old when he passed away). He was always fat but started to lose weight about a year and a half ago. I had been on my families case to take him to the vet (I don't live in the family home anymore) but they absolutely refused to using the excuse that being thin was 'normal' for an old cat and that it would be too stressful for him to go for a vet appointment given his age. I disagreed and regularly told them to get him checked out as I witnessed him continue to deteriorate. Their position was that he was eating and drinking and using the litter box regularly and essentially acting normal....yet continued to lose weight, to the point where he was not much more than skin, bones and fur. Their lack of interest in taking him to the vet lead to a number of heated arguments. Unfortunately no matter what I said they absolutely refused to have him seen. The poor old boy passed away recently from what my family calls 'old age', but what I believe was due to his continued deterioration to the point where his body could not sustain itself anymore. I'm disgusted beyond belief and feel they neglected him. Am I overreacting considering how old he was?