Yekaterinburg Woman Nearly Pays $2,500 to Adopt Stray Cat

A woman from Yekaterinburg wanted to take a stray cat home, but animal rescue volunteers demanded she pay 231,000 rubles (approx. $2,500 at current rates). This sum was required to cover the animal«s treatment at a veterinary clinic—only then would they be ready to hand it over to a new owner.

«I wanted to take the cat to my home, to provide him with a stable environment—he»s already suffered so much. The shelter demanded I pay off his debt to the clinic for the treatment they paid for. This is no longer kindness; it turns into using animals as a cover. First the debt was 115k, then suddenly, less than an hour later—it was 231k,« complained Victoria, the young woman who wanted to adopt the cat named Nelson.

Animal rescue volunteer Anastasia, who was rehoming this cat, clarified in a conversation with E1.RU that her organization is not a shelter but an ordinary apartment where she herself cares for and nurses cats to later find them homes. Her «cat apartment» has been maintained for two years on donations from concerned citizens. According to her, she does not earn any money from this.

«We haven»t had cats with such a large debt before, but in general, the practice is that new owners pay off the remaining debt at the clinic if they choose a pet like this. Unfortunately, a situation arose here where the cat had a debt for treatment, half of which I«ve already managed to collect and pay. Our visitors can choose another cat that wasn»t in such a condition as Nelson and didn«t require such expensive treatment,» Anastasia noted.

In the «Cat Apartment» group on VKontakte (a Russian social network), Anastasia published receipts and invoices for the cat«s treatment. She explained her reluctance to give the cat away without payment due to fear of being unable to pay off the debts herself.

«If I give the cat to a new home now, then from what funds am I supposed to pay off his debt? From what collections? The cat is rehomed, everyone is happy. How do I collect funds for a pet that is no longer under the care of our project? Especially considering we have daily needs for which we already struggle to raise the necessary funds,» added the volunteer.

Earlier, we reported how a poisonous snake attacked an astrologer«s cat from Yekaterinburg while her family was vacationing in Bali. The pet almost died from the life-threatening bite.

It is heartening that there are also kind people in the world. For example, in early June in Yekaterinburg, volunteers saved a dog that was hit by a lawnmower. The animal underwent several operations.