When is it time to put a pet down

[janz 0]

I have a 14 year old cat who was diagnosed with digestive tract cancer. As a kid I always preferred dogs and never thought I'd become attached to a cat but he turned out to be the most loyal pet ever. The vet said I will know when it's time. But this is confusing me. He doesn't seem to be in pain and is still eating but sleeps mostly the rest of the time. When he is awake and aware he wants my attention. Do you think I'm prolonging his misery? He does seem content just not his vibrant self. Any guidelines especially from veterinary professionals is appreciated.

[oldwomanc6 38]

It is never an easy decision to have to make that choice.

Your vet is correct in a way when he said that you will know. Right now, it sounds like your cat is not in a significant amount of pain (not currently in "misery"), and is just slowing down as all cats do as they get older.

You will know when he is no longer just slow, but he is in pain. He will let you know. He will probably no longer be able to control his bodily functions, will "complain", and eating won't seem so important to him. There will probably be other signs that you as his long-time friend will see.

I'm not a pro, just a pet owner/friend who has had to make this very difficult choice before. It was very hard at the time, but I don't regret it, I just mourned her.

lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

[janz 0]

Thanks Lisa. I just want to do the right thing. Not hold onto him for my selfishness but not put him down if he isn't ready. It really is a harder decision as you get older. When I was a teen and had German Shepard with leukemia my parents who were both working asked me to have him put down after school. I had no problem being with him when given the shot. But as an adult it is so different. Guess kids are more resiliant than we give them credit for.

[Squeak 17]

My 18 year old guy is at the same point. he has either diabetes or thyroid problems and we will make him as comfy as we can for the rest of his short life. not expecting him to last to many more weeks.

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[BillyVance 34]

Been through it before. Cat lived to 19 years. The weight loss was noticeable. What got us was his wheezing and dry heaving. It sounded horrible (yeah I may be fucking deaf but I sure as hell could hear him). He was not even able to jump the last few months. Ultimately, he was my wife's cat so it was her call.

Got a couple young cats not long after that one was put down. Now they're 12-ish. Maybe a couple good years left before we go through it again. After that, no more pets for a good while.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[JohnMitchell 14]

Melissa's rabbit Thumper, over 10 years old, is on her last legs, almost blind and paraplegic. Our poor daughter is giving her pain meds and grappling with that very decision herself. I'm very sad for her.

[NWFlyer 2]

I had to think about that question a few years back when my cat Daisy was diagnoised with kidney disease, presumably congenital since she was diagnosed at a little over a year old (and ultimately died at about two years old) and she'd always been a tiny cat (probably her failure to grow normally was due to her kidney function). She was her "normal" for a few months after the diagnosis, then hit a patch where she was really declining. I brought her back into the vet and while the techs were running tests I said I didn't think it was anywhere near time to put her down, but with this decline, I knew I wanted to be aware, so I asked my vet "What do I look for? How do I know?" She said that she could see how Daisy was declining, but she agreed it wasn't time. She said to look out for a cat that stops grooming, or when a normally cuddly, friendly cat no longer wants to be touched or held and no longer seeks affection. And of course, other signs like not eating/drinking, or not using the litter box anymore.

Interesting thing with Daisy was that she bounced back from that decline and was her normal self for a few more months. Of course she was still sick (the disease wasn't going to reverse itself) but she wasn't getting any worse, not that I could see, anyway. Then I went away for the weekend and came back and she had died sometime over the weekend. I've no idea if I might have seen something specific had I been around those two days, but there were absolutely no signs before I left that she was somehow closer to death.

All that is to say, I guess sometimes it's obvious, and sometimes not, and sometimes the animals just decide for themselves that it's time. Sounds like your cat may be okay with some more time with you, even if he's exhausted.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[Squeak 17]

Quote

Melissa's rabbit Thumper, over 10 years old, is on her last legs, almost blind and paraplegic. Our poor daughter is giving her pain meds and grappling with that very decision herself. I'm very sad for her.

yeah she told me, after i joking said to call it dinner. i felt like such an arse..
Sad as it is, it's also part of the "growing up" process.

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[skydivellama 0]

I'm a vet and I help (or try to help) people with this decision on at least a weekly basis, sometimes daily (or several in one day - that can get rough). Sometimes it's easy - if the pet is in obvious pain (either crying, or with a bad injury that is clearly painful), can't eat, can't move, or has serious trouble breathing, I recommend we put them to sleep as soon as possible. Situations like yours, where the pet doesn't seem to be in actual pain, are by far the hardest.
I ask my clients to think about whether their pet has "a reason to get up in the morning" - even if it's not really the morning since the pet is spending most of his or her time sleeping - but when they're not sleeping, do they have something to take pleasure in? The arrival home of a family member each day, enjoying a meal, sharing a cuddle? If the answer is yes, then I advise them that I think their pet still has some quality of life. On the other hand, if they spend their time awake just staring into space, not seeking out or responding to things or people they once loved, then it is time to let them go.
Sorry to hear what you are going through with your cat, and I hope this is helpful.

"Perhaps she saw before her a lifetime of walking on the ruined earth and chose instead a single moment in the air." -Carolyn Parkhurst

[janz 0]

Thank you for the responses. I do feel now that keeping him alive now is right for the time being after hearing what everyone has to so. I truly appreciate all your input.

[MrCat 0]

I get cats from the rescue shelter - they are invariably older as everyone loves the kittens but the older cats need as much love so unfortunately I've had to have a few put down.

The first rescue was Jaffa cat who I had for 18 months - to this day I'm still not sure if I kept him around longer than I should have done but if so it was only maybe a day :(

Jay cat died after an op so he doesn't count.

Jack and Sadie lasted 4 and 5 years respectively. Jack was about 14 years old when he went, he'd been getting thinner for a few months, seemed happy enough, lively and his normal self but the vet couldn't find what it was. I had him at the vet one morning for a check up, took him home expecting him to be ok and by the time I got in from work he had to be rushed back to the vet, they kept him in overnight and the next morning we put him down. He went so fast.

Sadie died at home in her sleep but Tommy cat got weaker and weaker, then went blind and eventually his quality of life had deteriorated so much that it was only fair to him.

You will just know when it's time.

My girlfriend persuaded me to rescue two kittens from a vet last year so here we go again !!

Jump more, post less.

[lowapproach 0]

You will just know. If you haven't been through it before that may sound unlikely, but it is true. It will still suck, but it is the loss that sucks, not the decision.

[eeneR 1]

Quote

You will just know. If you haven't been through it before that may sound unlikely, but it is true. It will still suck, but it is the loss that sucks, not the decision.

^ This is 100% correct. Clearly you care about your animal, when it is time it will be clear.

I had to put down my first dog in Oct of 2009. I cried my eyes out, but I knew it was just time. I am approaching the same thing with my current furbaby. He is 13 and has started to slow down. Though he is a husky, so a slow husky is just a touch slower then an average dog LOL. But with in the next 2 years I will face that decision again. Though it will be tough I know it will be the right thing to do as it was with Nikki.

She is not a "Dumb Blonde" - She is a "Light-Haired Detour Off The Information Superhighway."
eeneR
TF#72, FB#4130, Incauto

[murrays 0]

Our two cats are 17 and 18. I know the day is coming closer when we will be taking them for their last vet visits and this thread has helped me know how to decide it is time.

--
Murray

"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

[skydiver30960 0]

Check and see if any of the vets in your area do housecalls for when the time comes. Although it's never been an issue during the time we've been together, she's put down pets this way in the past.

She says it's more expensive, but that it was so much easier saying goodbye in an environment comfortable for her and the pet than in the vet's office. For most pets the vet's office is an unhappy (albeit necessary) place to be, and she didn't want that to be her doggie's last experience.

Elvisio "just a thought" Rodriguez

[format 0]

I am many people's pet.
If I'm to go dark, I really would like to go off by some that's instructed to do so to me as a favour.
Not by those thinking so.

Go think elsewhere

What goes around, comes later.

[angryelf 0]

It's easy: When said pet is unhealable due to trauma, the negativity of their quality of life grossly overshadows your personal emotional attachment or they start to eat little kids.

"Sometimes you eat the bar,
and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

[format 0]

Quote

or they start to eat little kids.

I've seen some fat menaces. I like your thinking, at least.
Preference aside, this is serious subject and I'm on mission to protect deep pain of dying pets
from miss_thinkers.

What goes around, comes later.

[Shell666 0]

I lost my sweet boxer 2-1/2 years ago to cancer.

It was a week from diagnosis to me deciding I had to say goodbye. He declined very quickly.

You'll know when it's time. As others have said. You'll just know that your furkid isn't happy.

Enjoy the time you have left. Cuddle lots. And pile on the treats.

As hard as the decision is, it's the most selfless thing you can give to your kitty.

Hugs to you and your furkid.

'Shell

[wmw999 2,123]

And when it's time, be with your kitty -- don't ever let it happen in the back room without you. It hurts you more, and the pet far less. Not a difficult trade off in the long run.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[janz 0]

Thanks Wendy. Good advice. Right now he still has some quality of life. And it is well worth in my opinion to be with him on the weekends rather than go to the dz. I love the sport but BG is more important right now. I hope he lasts comfortably more than 6 months! After he dies the opportunity for recurrency isn't going away so no big deal!