Should I consider Euthanasia?

blossom30

Hi, I was looking for advice. My wee cat who is 17 has been diagnosed with kidney failure and has been through the wars recently with being in hospital and tested for all sorts of ailments, basically , the wee cat is very poorly but the vet has not discussed euthanasia with us and has instead prescribed fortekor tablets and baytril antibiotics which she has to be on for the rest of her life The thing is the wee soul only wants to go to her wee bed and sleep all the time. I hear her groaning during the night and wonder if that is her way of expressing pain as she can't tell us. I really don't know what to do for the best as the vet wants to do another blood test to test for billie rubin(I think this has something to do with the liver). The thing is I don't want to prolong this wee cats life if she is suffering but at the same time the vet has not discussed termination of her life.What would you do.? sometimes she does appear to be herself and brightens up but I don't know if that is the medication kicking in but eventually this will not work. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks shrewdal

bekkki1

I had my cat 13 years and she went down hill very quickly and the vet (new at the practice) just wanted to keep trying different medicine - which she wouldnt take. So we felt it was worse for her trying to shove tablets down her throat and having to fight her to hold her still. And so when we next went the vets we saw a different one who knew all her probs and he said it was probably for the best to put her down aswell. We felt better knowing she wasnt suffering

whatamess_2

(((hugs))) to you. Its a hard decision but at 17 she has had a long life. In whos interest is it to keep doing the tests, not the cats, and you sound like you know what is best for her.

Speak to the vet and explain you think enough is enough, dont know if your cat is like mine but getting the tablets in is traumatic enough.

Fleago

Shrewdal,

I'm sorry you're facing this. I know just how you feel, because we recently had our elderly cat put to sleep. My suggestion is that you broach the subject of euthanasia with your vet yourself. Sometimes I think vets find it difficult to open up this line of conversation themselves for fear of upsetting the owner, who appears to want to continue trying treatments. You can describe what you are observing and talk through your feelings with the vet.

In our case we had talked about it previously with the vet, but he would not commit one way or the other and said it had to be up to us, but that he would support that decision if we made it. Whilst our cat seemed to be doing ok, we let him carry on. However, the day came when we knew it was time. It wasn't anything particularly obvious, we just knew the old boy needed to be at peace.

The vet was wonderful in supporting me through it and despite the heartbreak, I know we did the right thing.

I hope you are able to decide what you feel is right, and my thoughts are with you.

Fleago

love_lifer

my cats got kidney failure and fortekor, and special food (which she hates). shes really well now, and the noises she makes are snoring- i imagine when im 80-90 i'll be a noisy sleeper too. old cats love to sleep but as long as yours has some quality of life and eats and purrs, keep going. you have to use your judgement... its tough. ask an animal loving friend what they think, they might be more objective. hope it works out well

love_lifer

another quickie- in my experience if youre confident with the tablets, the cat accpets it much better and it becomes part of a routine rather than an ordeal.

cookiesncream

I think you need to go with your gut instinct. Do you feel this is her time? 2 years ago, the dog that I had grown up with all of a sudden fell ill. She'd always had a heart murmur (it was her breed) but nothing serious. The vets tried her on all different medication and she was on quite a bit. In the end, she could hardly move she was so weak. It was her time to go and three weeks after she fell ill (11 years later to the day we got her) it was her time, and we let her go.

I still to this day cry for her (I am while writing this) but she was so ill that it was the right thing to do. You will know if it is for your lovely babe. I hope this helps in some way.

Always_Marvellous

What a miserable situation. I have had a similar thing happen a couple of times including my dog who was euthanised a few years ago after being diagnosed with kidney failure.

The vet who treated with my dog didn't bring the subject up either, they had been through so many bad experiences with owners getting very upset for even mentioning the idea that they preferred the approach of letting the owner bring the subject up and then going from there. It might be the case for you and you might get a better idea of what to do if you are brave and talk about it.

Just remember you know your cat better than your vet and discussing this just makes you a responsible loving owner looking out for the best interests of your cat.

My thoughts are with you both.

Becles

Sorry to hear that you have to make this decision.

My dog had leukemia and I had to decide if I should keep alive (knowing he was suffering) or have him put to sleep. I was scared of putting him to sleep, as I thought it would be awful.

On the day, I took him to the surgery and just cuddled him in. The vet gave him the injection and he just fell asleep on my shoulder. It was lovely and peaceful, and his last memory will have been cuddling into me.

I'm pleased I took this choice, as I felt happier giving him a peaceful send off, rather than keeping him alive and watching his illness get worse.

Just thought I'd post this so you know that putting an animal to sleep isn't a terrible thing, and it can be kinder if there is no cure for the animal.

I still miss my dog and I'm in tears writing this

purplepurple

My 21 yr old cat was a handsome, huge, panther like beast, until his kidneys started to fail. I couldn't believe how quickly he deteriorated. I was offered a course of injections and tablets, but at the end, one evening when we were in the vets, he just lay on the table and I knew he'd had enough. It was done beautifully, it's very quick and it felt right to do it there and then. I didn't want to watch him suffer any longer and as Becles experienced, I held him in my arms whilst he died. The vet wrote me a lovely letter a few days afterwards, saying how painless it would have been for him etc and how it was almost certainly the right decision.
Good luck with your decision - it's a hard one to make.

seven-day-weekend

We took our 17-year-old dog (suffering from kidney failure) to the vets to be euthanased (he'd had a good life, had had some medication and special food, but one day we knew he'd had enough).

My husband held him and stroked him and Butch died in mid-wag.

He would have known nothing except his beloved master stroking him.

We also knew when enough was enough with my little cat Scampi, who had been receiving medication for a long time.

You know what is best for your cat - wishing you well, whatever your decision.