At home euthanasia vs. vet's office

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wasabipea

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My vet said it could take a couple of months for a cat to get used to a companion cat being gone.
I wish I'd been able to let her see his body, but since he was going for cremation and got PTS at the vets office - it would have been too heartbreaking to bring him home only to bring him back. Leaving him on the table all alone was hard enough.

I just ordered a cat condo from amazon, I think it would be a good idea to get something in the house as a distraction that she she doesn't associate with him.

I'll admit, I really never saw this kind of grief coming from her, I would have expected it from him though. Poor girl (and now she's all mad at me from all the subQs and pills to help her get thru this *sigh*).

I tried having a chat with her last night to explain, but alas... she ignored me. Lol.

Oh and betsygee - How are your kitties handling their loss of beautiful Molly? Doing better? At least they have each other :)
 
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ritz

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My friend who rescued Ritz and is an acupuncturist said acupuncture helps cats with the grieving process. Medication and consulting with an animal communicator might also help you and the cat with a grieving process. Not saying your cat is at that point, but just FYI for other lurkers/readers.
 

whisperer

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My cat's vein collapsed during the euthanasia at the vet's office. I don't really want to go into detail about it, but it wasn't something pretty. However, after they gave the shot in the other leg she was gone instantly, with no other pain. So, if it is done right, as I've heard and as it usually is done, it is painless...

I've never had at-home euthanasia, but I'd imagine its similar.

Hoped his helped!
 

goholistic

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I remember reading a post here on TCS about someone who did at-home euthanasia and there was an issue. The vet came, administered the shots, and left. The body stayed so that the owner could bury it. Unfortunately, the owner noticed the cat was still breathing. 
  She had to call the vet back and give another round. Reading about that person's experience kind of haunted me. What if she hadn't noticed the cat was still breathing. 
 

catwoman707

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I remember reading a post here on TCS about someone who did at-home euthanasia and there was an issue. The vet came, administered the shots, and left. The body stayed so that the owner could bury it. Unfortunately, the owner noticed the cat was still breathing. 
  She had to call the vet back and give another round. Reading about that person's experience kind of haunted me. What if she hadn't noticed the cat was still breathing. 
Egads, that's unthinkable..............
 

feralvr

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I have a rescue group, and have had to put many cats down, and have never seen anything go wrong, so it makes me wonder just how often it does happen and what actually goes wrong.
:yeah: I have seen many, unfortunately. Never seen anyone of them go bad. I can't even imagine WHY that would happen if the strong sedative is given first and foremost.
 

denice

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I don't do rescue so I haven't seen a huge number but at 58 I have had several pets PTS.  I haven't seen one go badly yet.  I have had vets that were more sensitive to my feelings and made it an easier thing for me to go through but making things right for the pet is the important thing.  All of the ones that I have witnessed have gone well.
 
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wasabipea

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:yeah: I have seen many, unfortunately. Never seen anyone of them go bad. I can't even imagine WHY that would happen if the strong sedative is given first and foremost.
That's why, when my coworker told me that he had his dog, and maybe a cat, done with the one shot method - the vet wouldn't let them go in. I guess it wasn't pleasant, why he would go that route again knowing it was unpleasant, I don't understand. Len was the first cat I have had PTS, and I wasn't really paying attention to what the vet was doing, but I know she gave him a sedative first.

Hearing the "one shot" story got me researching, and I guess got me curious as to how often euthanasia does go awry. Sounds like its a rare occurrence, so I will stick with my intended plan of having Roni done at home - when the time comes, if time allows.
 

furbabyvet

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I'm hoping when Roni's time comes, and at 18, in her condition - there are good days and bad days. I hope she will let me know and I can get someone in the house to do it. At 7.5 lbs, being a vet, do you see finding a vein to be difficult - does it depend on the animal's size? I guess every cat is different, and there would be no way for you to know.
More than size, the general state of health has an influence on how well veins stand out. Elderly, sickly pets are often more difficult to find/get the needle into a vein. That's why even without an IV catheter in place, it's nice to have them heavily sedated. By giving the sedative injection either in the muscle or under the skin, they are not moving or aware when the vet starts to do the injection of the euthanasia solution in the vein.

I sure hope you figure out something that works well for you. My heart goes out to you!

Tabitha 
 

Willowy

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My first cats both lived to be 21. Niji went first, and they couldn't find a vein so they sedated her sub-q (Tramadol?) and then injected the euth solution right into her heart after she was unconscious. When her sister went a few months later, the vet was having trouble locating a vein so my mom told the vet to do it the same way. Certainly better than poking the poor cat a zillion times trying to find a vein :(.
 
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wasabipea

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Such a sad topic. Roni isn't looking good, she slept all day.
Going to have some blood work done after 4 days with no subQs to get an idea of how her kidney function is.
also check her white cell count, see if it's changed after 3 weeks of antibiotics. If not, we could be looking at cancer. I will do an X-ray, but don't want to put her thru an ultrasound.

I'll ask the vet's opinion on how challenging finding her vein could be, she knows I really want this done at home - but if the potential for it going awry is substantial, I guessi'll take her in.
 

peaches08

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Sorry about Roni.  Does your vet ask you to stop subQ's for a while to check kidney function? 
 
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wasabipea

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No, but she never got subQs on a regular basis until her recent decline, since her early stage CRF was pretty much stabilized until this recent crash. She got daily doses for about 10 days, then I went to every other day for a week or so, then went to every three days.

Neither one of us could manage the trip in today, so tomorrow before she gets her fluids - I want to do a bloodwork comparison. I have to start doing these daily from home and was just practicing inserting the needle into a towel (the way they said is a similar feel to her skin)

Anyway the vet didn't suggest that, but I see it as a good opportunity/baseline.

All the vet trips for fluids are taking their toll on both of us (I work full time with an hour each way commute). If I have to do daily fluids, I have to get the hang of this. I think my vet is so over both of us.

Sorry, a much longer answer than you asked for.
 

feralvr

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I think my vet is so over both of us.

.
I think you would be surprised how many vets will go the extra mile and the long haul with many of us no matter what. I am on the phone almost daily with updates on my Henry (dog), my vet wants it this way even though I feel like I am bothering her. I feel the same sometimes, that she must be tired of me. They know my voice now and I don't even have to announce myself on the phone when I call. :lol3: I just say "hi, it's me" :lol2:

Mega, mega vibes for Roni. :cross: :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:
 
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feralvr

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My first cats both lived to be 21. Niji went first, and they couldn't find a vein so they sedated her sub-q (Tramadol?) and then injected the euth solution right into her heart after she was unconscious. When her sister went a few months later, the vet was having trouble locating a vein so my mom told the vet to do it the same way. Certainly better than poking the poor cat a zillion times trying to find a vein :(.
Yes, have heard of the second injection into the heart if the vein is not viable. It is just awful to hear these stories of euthanasia gone bad. I can't even imagine seeing that when releasing a beloved pet to the bridge. I would lose it - and probably have a nervous breakdown after the fact. :shame: My Wilbur :rbheart: was injected in the hip muscle with an extremely high dose of sedation. He went out very fast. Then the vet gave the final injection into the vein on his front leg. I honestly think he was just about gone even before the second injection into the vein. My boy was ready to go....... :sniffle:

Good to bring all of this up, though. Hard to talk about but important for people to ask up front and know what to expect.
 

peaches08

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No, don't apologize, it gave me a better feel for what's going on.  OK, in a nutshell, consider the kidneys as part of the cardiovascular system.  We need blood volume in order to perfuse the kidneys, right?  Well, with CRF-caused polyuria (too much urine), she's concentrating her urine and losing fluid fast (dehydrating).  This concentrating of her blood is causing her to lose blood volume, like cooking down stock when making gravy...does that make sense?  This decreased blood volume is now not perfusing the kidneys as well, there's just not enough fluid in her blood to keep the pressure up.  Kidneys suffer damage from a lack of perfusion.  I'm not trying to scare you, I'm trying to help you understand what's going on.

I totally agree with getting baseline bloodwork for comparisons.  Good on you!  I know it seems like the worst thing on the planet to have to "stick" your cat.  Believe me, I get it.  I could grab my horse's nose and yell at him to quit being such a baby, but something was different about sticking my cat.  Thankfully I had a lot of support and my vet let me do it in office so I felt more confident at home.  Warming the fluids in the sink helped too.  Grey (RIP) actually ENJOYED her fluids.  She'd roll over onto her side when I was administering them because she liked the warmth they provided.  It became our little routine every other day and it helped her greatly until her time came.  We will help you get fluids into your cat.  First, hard as it is, you got to take a deep breath and say, "I'm going to do this."
 
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peaches08

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No, don't apologize, it gave me a better feel for what's going on.  OK, in a nutshell, consider the kidneys as part of the cardiovascular system.  We need blood volume in order to perfuse the kidneys, right?  Well, with CRF-caused polyuria (too much urine), she's concentrating her urine and losing fluid fast (dehydrating).  This concentrating of her blood is causing her to lose blood volume, like cooking down stock when making gravy...does that make sense?  This decreased blood volume is now not perfusing the kidneys as well, there's just not enough fluid in her blood to keep the pressure up.  Kidneys suffer damage from a lack of perfusion.  I'm not trying to scare you, I'm trying to help you understand what's going on.

I totally agree with getting baseline bloodwork for comparisons.  Good on you!  I know it seems like the worst thing on the planet to have to "stick" your cat.  Believe me, I get it.  I could grab my horse's nose and yell at him to quit being such a baby, but something was different about sticking my cat.  Thankfully I had a lot of support and my vet let me do it in office so I felt more confident at home.  Warming the fluids in the sink helped too.  Grey (RIP) actually ENJOYED her fluids.  She'd roll over onto her side when I was administering them because she liked the warmth they provided.  It became our little routine every other day and it helped her greatly until her time came.  We will help you get fluids into your cat.  First, hard as it is, you got to take a deep breath and say, "I'm going to do this."
Gah...the part in bold, I meant "blood" not urine.  Brain went faster than fingers.
 

betsygee

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Such a sad topic. Roni isn't looking good, she slept all day.
Going to have some blood work done after 4 days with no subQs to get an idea of how her kidney function is.
also check her white cell count, see if it's changed after 3 weeks of antibiotics. If not, we could be looking at cancer. I will do an X-ray, but don't want to put her thru an ultrasound.

I'll ask the vet's opinion on how challenging finding her vein could be, she knows I really want this done at home - but if the potential for it going awry is substantial, I guessi'll take her in.
I'm so sorry to hear that Roni didn't have a good day.  I have found that with my kidney kitty, once we got him going on the subq's, I can't skip treatments.  Every third day like clockwork.  Once I skipped a day for some reason and the next day, he was wobbly, almost disoriented--I thought I was losing him.  

I'm with @peaches08  we'll help you learn to do the subq.  I never thought in a thousand years I'd be able to do it--but I've done it for three different cats now. 

Keeping my fingers crossed for good results on the blood work tomorrow!!  
 
 

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We had the vet come to our house to put our 13 year old darling Sophie to sleep in 2002. The vet administered the first injection but her heart was still beating and the vet then had to inject into her heart. She was actually brain dead after the first one but the vet didn't want to take any chances. I did find it very upsetting at the time but realised there wasn't much choice in the matter. If I had loads of spare money I would prefer the vet to come to my house as taking my fur babies to that final vet visit is traumatic for both me and my animals. It's not always possible though.
 
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wasabipea

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Thanks everyone!

When she was first diagnosed, since she was so borderline early stage, we let it go and kept and eye on it. She deteriorated at such a slow rate and never got subQs for the CRF, we figured that once she was at the treatable stage, she'd be maybe 30. She has gotten a major round of subQs once when she had such a bad UTI that antibiotics alone werent helping and we needed the extra flush.

I was hoping to get Roni stabilized again and then we could just go on with our subQ-free life, but I'm not sure that's going to be the case this time. Believe it or not, while her creatinine has never gone above 3.0... it was approaching it, maybe 2.8 or so a couple of years ago. The last bloodwork she got before this crisis... while her BUN was elevated, her creatine was back down range. WHAT??? I'm also getting the bloodwork to monitor her white cell count, which was also elevated, my vet said another infection or possible cancer. Se had two consecutive convenia shots (I know, not my preferred method of threatment) but she is still going outside her box, so something is still up - unless it's become habit by now.

I've heard mayny folks tell me that their kitties acually like the warmth of the subQs, and since she's had them so many times the past few weeks she knows what to expect, so she would probably be a good girl at home... but since I live alone, I don't want it to be a disaster. Help! I need cheerleaders! I'm going to try to do it myself tonight at the vets, with the tech there, to gain some confidence - but sticking the towel last night, I can see how easy it would be to go straight thru her skin. We are both sick of going to the office all the time, she used to greet m at the door all happy, now she cowers - knowing she'lll probably have to go to the vet.

I made that remark about my vet being over both of us because one time we were having a general conversation about euthanasia and she made an off the cuff remark something like "there are some clients I wish would just put those pets down" - she immediately corrected herself and said she was kidding, but now it's in the back of my head that me and Roni probably fall under that category if she was serious. It made me think twice about her level of compassion, while she still provides good care.

Oh well, I guess that's one more reason I want to start doing this at home. Less stress on everyone.

Peaches thanks for the info on the inner workings of the CRF, and betsygee too for cheerleading me on! I can do this!

Any tips for subQ newbies would so SO appreciated. I think she is at that point of needing them, maybe every other day - I can see a marked difference in her behavior post-fluids. Sould I put her in a low-sided box with a towel? Did you guys relocate injection sites so that one area didn't get too sore? what are the easiest areas (besides the shoulder blade "tent"?)

Thanks so much!
 
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