Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/roommate-vet-bills/

Caring for a pet is the main owner’s responsibility, especially in a shared house. Not everyone you live with will have the time to inform themselves about the do’s and don’ts of having an animal at home. You have to inform them about the importance of pet-proofing to avoid potential accidents. They can help you take care of your pet with detailed instructions, but you are ultimately in charge. Communication is vital between roommates — lay down everything that they need to know. Everyone can easily avoid fights, arguments, and kicking the other one out in the future. Create a safe space for you, your roommate, and your pet.

For instance, not all people are aware of poisonous plants for cats and dogs. It would be helpful to ask your roommate if they are informed about those plants. Everything would be clear after that — talk to them to gain assurance. However, a Redditor quickly blamed her roommate for what happened to her cat. She shared the story on Reddit, and it wasn’t the reaction she expected. Key_Deer4632 lives with a friend in her home named Rose, and she pays $250 for rent. They were living in harmony until an issue arose involving OP’s cat and Rose’s plants on the back porch.

“Rose had multiple plants and had them up on our back porch. My cat goes out to the back porch, as it is screened in, and consumed some of these flowers and had gotten very sick. Turns out one of the plants were lillies, which are toxic to cats. I took her to the vet immediately, and they told me if I hadn’t, she probably would’ve died,” OP explained. As her cat recovers, Key_Deer4632 immediately asked Rose to pay the vet bills. She blamed her even though they both knew it was truly an accident. Rose took a stand and refused to pay the vet bills because she believed the cat was OP’s responsibility.

The roommate won’t budge, even if OP offers to split the payment. Her reaction frustrated Key_Deer4632, who warned that if she refused to split the bills, she might have to kick her out. “This caused a huge argument, and she said that is completely unfair because she has nowhere to go and that it was an accident. I don’t think it’s unreasonable, I even agreed to split it,” OP wrote. But her defense has loopholes that Redditors couldn’t help but point out. The lack of awareness of what grows in her home contributed to the issue. She could’ve talked to Rose the first time she saw the plants being nurtured outside.

“OP, she’s a paying tenant and deserves to use some of the space she pays for. It’s not her job to make sure every plant she gets is cat-safe; that’s your responsibility as the pet owner. Going forward, you need to figure out which plants are toxic to your cat and work with your tenant to make them inaccessible to your cat,” Baileythenerd commented. The majority of the opinions were along the same lines, but others defended OP. TheRalphExpress pointed out, “We don’t know if that’s the case, most people don’t ask permission before moving a plant, even if they’re the tenant. It seems unreasonable to expect OP to do a routine check on if any new plants have entered a cat-accessible space.”

The Reddit post has started an engaging debate about who was the irresponsible one between the two. However, kicking someone out might be too much when you can talk about the issue and find solutions together. She’s friends with Rose, and maybe they can meet in the middle to find a solution that will save some heartache in the future. You might want to share your thoughts about the issue that others haven’t pointed out yet. The comment section is filled with lengthy, interesting opinions, and you won’t be able to stop yourself from posting a response.

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog