What happens if you don't take a cat to a vet?

Question

We have two outdoor cats where we live. They used to live with an older couple, and they have seem to grow a liking to the male owner more than the female. The male owner did take care of them, while the female didnt, but did give them some attention from time to time. My grandmother feeds them and waters them but doesnt do anything else. One female cat likes to go out and about and explore and does talk a lot while the other one hangs out around the house, and mainly likes people. During the day, the exploring cat is a scaredy cat, but not so scared during the night. The other female is mainly a people cat. She loves to hang out around the house. Today I noticed that both the cats have lost some weight, the exploring cat doesnt eat too much food. The people cat was shaking earlier as she went over to her food bowl. I decided to give her some tuna, as I share a small ammount of leftover tuna if I have tuna for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The problem that I can see is that they don't get taken to the vet. I asked some people I knew about what happens if they don't get taken to the vet, they didn't know. My oppinion is that they could die due to sickness, or something related. I have made up my mind, and have two decisions. One: Take them to an animal shelter to put them up for adoption. The other question is if they will be fine being not taken to the vet. We do take care of them, but we do not take them to the vet. All we do is feed and give water to them, and I give them attention when I get the chance. I normally give them attention everyday. But sometimes they don't get attention to up to two to three days. Its up to you all now, once I get an answer, it will help a lot. I can assure you that. P.S They are both adult cats, and they might be under weight. Thanks for taking your time to read this

Answer 1

I think you should take them to your local non-kill shelter. So, they'll get in a better situation and get all the care they need. If they're underweight they may have worms or another disease. Without shots they're at great risk for contracting many diseases. Cats can't just simply live a completely healthy life outside. There's an outdoor cat by us and we feed her and put a collar with bells on her (so she won't catch birds) she was getting skinny recently and it turned out she had diarrhea and needed some medicine and a change of cat food. Its difficult to catch her and get her the vet care she needs but, she still needs it. Good luck with the two cats.

Answer 2

keep them i have 4 cats and one is 14 and i dont really pay enough attention her she is just fine i pet her now and again but she is fine cats really dont need that much attention i guess plus if you take them to the vet they will put them down (kill them)

Answer 3

TOO long to answer sorry

Answer 4

If a cat is not up to date on its vaccines, especially an outdoor cat, it runs the risk of developing feline diseases.  Feeding and giving them water is only half of what is needed to take care of a cat, but outdoor cats require alot more.  All cats should be vaccinated yearly, and should receive a rabies vaccination as well.  An outdoor cat is at a much higher risk of being attacked by an animal with rabies.  Adult underweight cats are at a very high risk of developing diseases.  The attention is not the issue here, it is the medical attention they need.  If you are financially equipped to do so, I suggest you do.  You also run the risk of contracting a disease should one of these cats bite or scratch you and they are unvaccinated.  This is not a good scenario.  There are places that offer low cost vaccines as well as spaying and neutering which should also be done unless you want a brood of kittens every couple of months.  Outdoor cats are extremely vulnerable.  They are exposed to other animals, disease and the elements.  While people assume that because they are self sufficient that they will be alright, that is not true at all.  Cats can be exposed to animal f***s and get sick.  Cats can get into fights with other diseased cats and just one injury is all it takes for a disease to enter the bloodstream.  If you cannot take care of these animals properly, my suggestion is to put them up for adoption.  Do not take them to a shelter or they will be destroyed.  If you have a Petco near you, take them.  Petco will house them until they are adopted and do not destroy.  But if you are going to keep them, make sure they have their feline leukemia vaccine, their 3-1 vaccine and their rabies vaccine as well as making sure they have some sort of flea repellant.  You can try to work out a payment plan with the vet, but that is what I think you should do.  

Answer 5

You could bring them to the vet and so you dont have to pay you tell them that they are strays and they may take them in and care for them and if they are okay to be put up for adoption then they will probably do that.. you could try ... hope i helped :)