What would you do if you rescued a cat that was sick and required expensive emergency care in order to survive? Would you pay the vet bill even if you couldn’t really afford it, or would you let the vet euthanize the cat?

That’s the question in today’s story, and the man who rescued the cat isn’t sure if he made the right decision.

Let’s see how the story unfolds.

I Can’t Afford The Rescue Cat Bills

I rescue cats as I live on a remote property and people dump them all the time.

They are fed, sheltered, given their shots/spay/neuter and then I work with a rescue to have them adopted.

I cover theses costs but the rescue has helped with occasional emergency vet bills.

OP found a scared little cat.

I found a little cat (about 6 months old) who was very timid (outside in -20c).

The rescue didn’t have capacity to help so I got the cat spayed and vaccinated.

It was very timid so I was working on socialization.

The cat needed emergency care.

Anyway, I found the cat in a state of respiratory distress today. I called the vet and was told to bring it in.

I also reach out to the rescue but was told they had no space and couldn’t assist.

I got blood tests for the cat and it didn’t look good.

The vet said either the cat needs emergency care starting at $700 (my girlfriend just spent $6500 on her cat for emergency care) or the cat needed to be euthanized as it was struggling.

The rescue thinks OP made the wrong decision.

I decide to put her down.

It was a hard decision.

The rescue then reached out to ask how it was going and I told them.

They are very angry that I didn’t get further care and say that I shouldn’t take cats in if I cannot afford emergency vet bills. They said I am a heartless human being for putting the cat down.

This is the first time this has ever happened.

In my opinion, the cat would have died outside in the cold and I was just doing the best I could.

I have saved many more and they have all gone on to good homes (except for a few who live with me).

I have never had to make this decision before.

AITA?

This is such a sad story! OP already felt bad about the decision. The rescue only made it worse.

Let’s see how Reddit responded.

This reader makes a good point.

This person suggests visiting the rescue.

This is another good point.

This person calls the rescue entitled hypocrites.

This person thanks OP for helping the cat.

Just because you’re not rich doesn’t mean you can’t help.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.