So for some context i own a cat named Bandit (i will commonly refer to him as my cat in the story) and i take Bandit on walks and he has a phone number on his harness incase he gets out.
Now here is the story
I was on a walk with my cat and a kid and his mom walked up to us, and the kid asked if he could pet Bandit, I said no as Bandit's claws were rather long and i did not know how he would react, regardless the kid pet him and my cat scratched him, causing a rather deep cut. I apologized but also pointed out that i had earlier said no to the kid petting my cat so it was kind of on him, the kid's dad was rather understanding and said he would contact me so i could tell him what my cat was vaccinated against.
Fast forward 5 days and i get an ANGRY text from the kid's mom who likely got my number from the kid's dad saying that i need to pay the kid's hospital bill since he got an infection from the cut. I asked her to send it over and after looking at it the cause of the infection was not from my cat, but was from the cut remaining untreated/the kid was probably playing in the dirt. I refused to pay for it as the infection was not my cat's fault and the kid touched my cat without permission, then i blocked her.
I do feel lightly bad as on one hand as Bandit scratching the kid led to the infection, but on the other hand it was not Bandit's fault as he was not the root cause of the infection, them not treating it was, plus the kid touched my cat without permission and my cat felt it had to defend himself. Am i the bad guy in this situation?