Worried Owner in Disbelief at Diagnosis for Cat After $525 Vet Bill

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A 17-year-old cat left his owners scratching their heads and emptying their wallets after he began urinating on their bed at night. But nobody was expecting the hilariously simple explanation.

Steezy's owner, Desirae, initially grew concerned when her elderly feline companion began peeing on their bed just before Thanksgiving. Worried about his health, especially considering his age, the family sought advice at the local vet.

After paying $525 for consultations and tests, Desirae was dumbfounded to learn the true cause of Steezy's new habit.

"We took him to the vet and got all the pee tests and X-rays done, but everything came back normal," Desirae told Newsweek.

Steezy the cat
Screengrabs of Steezy the cat from the video, which has over 1.5 million views. @desiraeofsunshinee/TikTok

"So the vet asked us what we might have changed in our day-to-day life, and my husband admitted he stopped giving Steezy his bedtime treats. She suggested he's mad about the treats and to try to give them to him again, so that's what we did, and he hasn't peed on the bed since," she explained.

Despite Steezy's problem simply being a lack of treats, it's always a good idea to check out changes in behavior like this, particularly in older cats. When older cats start to relieve their bladder out of the litter tray, it can signal health issues like urinary tract infections, kidney disease, diabetes or arthritis.

After spending money to discover that her pet was simply protesting the lack of treats, Desirae shared the comical situation on TikTok, where her post has been viewed more than 1.4 million times.

The text overlay read: "How my 17-year-old cat acts like nothing happened... But in reality, we spent $$$ on a vet bill because he started to pee on our bed randomly, only to find out he was mad because we stopped giving him nightly bedtime treats."

The post sparked hundreds of responses from amused pet owners who shared similar tales and experiences.

User bec&bas said: "Mine pretended to be deaf at the vets. Wouldn't move his ears, no matter what the vet did. Had to prove that he's a liar by getting Dreamies out."

While cat owner Morgan recalled: "Spent $500 to find out my cat just doesn't like the lavender scented litter."

"Spent $300 cause she was peeing nonstop on my bed, just needed a bigger litter box," said Eric Carroll.

Other commenters pointed out that this was, in some ways, a classic cat behavior.

Rick Gualtieri said: "Cats - 3 percent fur, 97 percent spite."

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.

About the writer

Alice Gibbs is a Newsweek Senior Internet Trends & Culture Reporter based in the U.K. For the last two years she has specialized in viral trends and internet news, with a particular focus on animals, human interest stories, health, and lifestyle. Alice joined Newsweek in 2022 and previously wrote for The Observer, Independent, Dazed Digital and Gizmodo. Languages: English. You can get in touch with Alice by emailing alice.gibbs@newsweek.com.


Alice Gibbs is a Newsweek Senior Internet Trends & Culture Reporter based in the U.K. For the last two years ... Read more