when to euthanize

This is a difficult topic, but I believe it may be time for me to think about putting my 14 year old cat down.

I've had her for 13 of her 14 years, adopted her from a shelter when I was 13 years old. (Thanks mom! Best b-day present ever!)

She's always been a clingy cat, always sitting on my, sleeping on the bed, etc. She developed bone spurs several years ago, and now has arthritis that has progressed to the point she doesn't walk well. She basically just limps everywhere.

She's stopped grooming herself and I spend a lot of time cutting huge mats out of her and brushing her. She also has greasy hair and dandruff. (I feed Nutro and supplement fish oil)

For her arthritis we've gone from cosequin to tramadol, to metacam. She doesn't tolerate the metacam well, but it's been somewhat helpful.

She's packing on the pounds because all she does is go from the food dish to under the kitchen table. She doesn't hang out with us anymore.

Now I think she has a UTI. She's crying and going back and forth from the litter box to the kitchen floor to pee on the floor. We'll be back at the vet tomorrow for antibiotics.

I really hate this, but I feel like it may be her time to go. What kills me is that I can't ask her if she finds life fun anymore. I just want to ASK her.

My vet has never initiated the topic of euthanasia. When I kind of hinted at it when she prescribed the metacam, she just agreed with me that quality of life was important, but that was it.

When do I know it's time? How do I talk to the vet about this?

First, my sympathy - this is an ordeal for both of you.

Second, I know it's expensive, but I'd take her to the e-vet, right now - if she does have a UTI she's in pain. Then go from there - but it's important to relieve her pain now. She doesn't know about tomorrow - she only knows her discomfort now. If there's no e-vet in your area, track down your own vet if humanly possible. Just this time last year I took my boy in for a UTI - the e-vet was able to give him a pain killer and some antibiotics so he was much more comfortable.

And, just tell your vet you want some guidance in determining quality of life - sometimes the hardest thing for us is to be kind to our cats.

My prayers for all of you - this is something I dread looking toward with my own.

That is the 64,000 dollar question. We all ask ourselves that one at some point.

About the only thing that I can say is, IMO, you will know. I have always come to the realization that the time has come. The indicision is brutal and I usually am somewhat relieved, although in great pain, once it's made.

Try asking the question "if I make the decision to have her pts, will I want her back in this condition?" Your answer should give you some guidance.

Your vet should be more help to you. Tell them you are really struggling with this. They should have plenty of experience to guide you.

I am so sorry you and your kitty are going through this. It's the price we all pay for loving them and it's a big price.

When I have asked myself the above question, my answer has always been, without exception, "no".

Quality of life is so important to this situation. Make the decision for her, not for you. I know you love her very, very much. It is the untimate kindness.

God Bless you and your little friend.

I'm facing that decision right now with my boy Bob who has bone cancer.

When faced with this decision many years ago with my first cat, a very good vet asked me the question: "Are you keeping him alive for you or keeping him alive for himself?" Facing the pain that Bob is having with bone cancer, I'm now asking the question - Am I euthanizing him for myself or euthanizing him for him? I see his discomfort and it is terribly distressing to see him this way. But he comes to me for loving, still eats and still enjoys his time in the sun. He's not yet told me it's his time to go.

Look at your motives for raising this question and be very honest with yourself. Who's interests do you have in mind? And as much as I don't like putting cats in human terms, if this was a close human family member, what would you do for them?

I don't envy your choice. A UTI is very treatable and treating it will bring relief. Don't use that as an excuse to euthanize.

We recently (August 14) lost our 14 year old kitty, so I know how hard it is to lose a much loved companion. I still burst into tears sometimes when I see something that reminds me of him.
Our situation was different from yours in that George never seemed to be in pain, he had a series of strokes and just kind of faded away. But he never seemed uncomfortable or unhappy - we could pet him and pick him up and he never complained or hissed at us. Up until very near the end he still purred when we walked in the room and lifted his head to greet us. Finally he made it clear that it was his time to go by walking away from us to be by himself in another room - like animals do in the wild when it's their time. He died the next morning.
In the few weeks before he died, my husband and I knew he was dying, and we decided that unless he seemed to be in pain, we would allow nature to take its course - no traumatic vet visit, no prolonging his time here unnecessarily. It was hard to watch him dwindle away, but we made the right decision for us and for him.
My advice to you is that you already know what's best for your cat and for you. You've known her for 13 years, I bet you know whether she 's still having a fun life or not. Make the decision based on her best interests. If it were me, I'd let her go - it sounds like she's been in pain for some time know with the arthritis and now she's in even more pain. She's lost interest in life - she's not grooming herself and she's already separated herself from you by not hanging out with you anymore - maybe she knows it's time.
Whatever decision you make, you'll cry a lot. Make your decision with love and don't second guess yourself. My heart is with you.

I am sorry you are facing this. We all have to, at some stage. It seems to me that you have reached a vicious circle stage where the meds you are giving her are relieving some symptoms while causing their own side effects. Metacam is an effective pain relief but can cause kidney damage, and it could be contributing to the UTI. You need to talk again to the vet about the whole picture, with the aim of deciding if you can simply improve her quality of life sufficiently to let her be comfortable. If the answer to that question is no, then the decision is obvious. And look at her eyes - she will tell you if she has had enough.

So sorry you are at the point of thinking about that ... May I ask if senior blood work has been done? I would also suggest the er vet as yes utis are treatable... How long on the food? please look at this and talk with the vet... www.trixsyn.com

It's a tough decision, but I think it depends on if she is capable of getting better or not.

I almost had my CRF kitty Dusty PTS a few months ago. She developed an ear infection that wasn't clearing up, and she had lost a huge amount of weight. I kept giving her medication, and felt like I was torturing her every time I had to pill her or put medicine in her ears. Gradually she got better, and while she will never be cured of the CRF, she has regained some weight and still cuddles and seems to enjoy life. So for now, she's spared.

My belief is that quality is better than quantity. So if her quality gets to the point that she is miserable, I know it will be time.

I'm sorry you have to face that decision.

It is a very extremely difficult question. My vet told me she couldn't tell me what to do one way or the other, but agreed that sooner or later the time would come. Another vet told me to make a list of all the things I think a cat should be able to do and enjoy doing, and mark off what my Boo couldn't do anymore. What was left would give me an idea of the quality of life and it should help my decision. Mine wasn't a terribly hard decision though, he weighed 4 pounds and if anything I may have waited too long to let him go.

I'm so sorry you're having to make this decision and that it's come to that. All I can say is I'm sure everyone here will be here for you to help regardless.

Fiona and I are facing same sort of challenges- she has cancer in one ear and it is spreading. They have already removed one of the tumors, but it grew back and it is angry. I hesitate only for one reason to ending her life. In her beginning, she was kept by a bird hoarder in a small birdcage in the back yard. She was thrown kibble whenever the woman thought of it, and when she arrived here at 7 months old, she was near death. She is a beautiful if opinionated calico kitty and is now 6 years old. She is eating, still using the litter pan, but she has to wear a soft e-collar 24/7 or she tears at her ears. I don't think she wants to go just yet- I will know when I look in her eyes and ask her- then she will tell me. I am keeping a sharp eye on her ears to be sure the cancer isn't spreading- but it is simply a matter of time- we both know it- but she has had such a rough start to life- I want her to end on a good note and would never just let her fade from us on her own especially if she is in pain.

No advice, I just wanted to tell you that I am sorry you are facing this decision.

With Maude it was hard, she was only 10 but her liver was so far gone she most likely wouldn't have had a quality of life. Paul's dog Molly was harder she had kidney failure and was blown up with fluid, she was house soiling. The final thing was her dental disease was so severe she was in pain and there was nothing the vet could do about it(17+ year old dogs and anesthesia don't mix.) She still had a quality of life and was still loving life, but we knew that she was already starting to go downhill and it wasn't going to be long. Like I said the teeth were the final thing, she was in pain and there was nothing that could be done about it.

Abby's(my Old English sheepdog) it was easy(the decision not actually going through with it.) Her liver or spleen burst and she had massive internal bleeding. My parents could have tried to save her but they had to consider if they did save her what she would be coming back to. She was blind(had been since she was 5 so that was a non-issue), had severe arthritis, and, at 11 1/2 she was old so she didn't have much time left even if she did overcome this, which chances are she wouldn't. When we were sitting on the kitchen floor together while waiting for my parents to get to the vet to get a stretcher to get here there(80 lb dogs arthritic dogs aren't easy to lift)
I gave her permission to die and her breathing slowed down, I thought she was going to die before they even got her to the vet. I couldn't go, I had Bobby. She made it to the vet where she was put to sleep.

Quality of life over quantity. We all know someone who held on to an animal too long and it pains you every time you see the poor thing.

My aunt had a dog you couldn't even touch due to arthritis yet they refused to let her go. The dog was mean to begin with, she attacked me for no reason when I was 4(and she was still a puppy), I was putting my shoes on, and I hadn't done anything to her at all(since we got there, we were visiting them), I hadn't even petted her. She got on top of me growling and started attacking me. My cousin kicked her to get her off of me and got yelled at for that but once he explained why(he was 7 so he had the ability) they understood. She was years past when she should have been PTS'd by the time they finally did it.

They will tell you when they have had enough, but they have to actually have something serious wrong with them and a UTI doesn't qualify. Attitude told me she had enough with the vet but she was having repeated eye infections, bloody noses, and ended up with a really nasty URI, that doesn't qualify and she had seen the vet several times a month for over 3 months so I could understand what she was saying(been there, done that, didn't even get a lousy t-shirt for my efforts) but I don't think she comprehended what I thought she might be saying. I think she was saying 'not again mom' not 'let me go, I've had enough.'

Hard decision, but one that needs to be made. Listen to her, she'll tell you. If she doesn't then you have to go with your heart and decide who you are keeping her alive for and if she has any quality of life. In Abby's case she still ate, drank, pottied outside(for the most part, she had maybe 3 accidents in the house, but she was old so that was to be expected), loved going on walks(she would barely be able to move if she wasn't walked), and lived to get her daily pig's ear, so still had plenty of quality to her life, but not enough to bring her back. It was her time.

Taryn

Thank you everyone for the input. Thank you for sharing your stories. I think some of you misunderstood... I would never put an animal down over a UTI! She'll get treated for it and recover from it undoubtedly, she gets them every so often, she tends to be prone to them.

My husband and I talked about it, and he grew up in the camp that believes that you should let an animal die naturally. I grew up in the camp that believes an animal should be put down as soon as they stop enjoying life. We've decided to error on the side of caution and try to keep her comfortable for as long as possible.

She is a very grumpy cat. But as someone who loves old, grumpy people, one could argue that she has earned her right to be grumpy. If anything, she does have one pleasure in life - the food dish. Too bad she never moves, so I can't let her eat free choice, or she would pop.

eating and pooping independently is a good thing!

Originally Posted by Jeza921

She is a very grumpy cat. But as someone who loves old, grumpy people, one could argue that she has earned her right to be grumpy. If anything, she does have one pleasure in life - the food dish. Too bad she never moves, so I can't let her eat free choice, or she would pop.

Click to expand...

She sounds like Maude, cranky kitty who would eat until she exploded if you'd let her.

I think Maude lived to hiss at people(and other animals, except Paul's dog, Molly was the alpha despite the fact that Maude outweighed her) and make them afraid of her. Until the end she would still hiss at Attitude and Nuts, hiss at us and dislike Bobby and hiss at him if he so much as thought about touching her. I knew she was really sick when she was laying in the bathroom and let Nuts come in and groom her.

Taryn