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Taking the old cat to the vet to be put down

It seems like some animals dying of old age and in pain will try to hasten death by starvation - or even suicide in one instance. We had a ferret I had bought for $100 to end the abuse of it being stuck alone in an empty room every day and night in a small pet carrier. Little guy. They are highly social so that was particularly cruel. We got a huge ferret cage and 2 more ferrets so they could play, him a runt.

When old, he stopped eating. Just wouldn't eat. We could force feed him and he'd perk right up, be playful, but refused to eat. He had a tumor (common to ferrets). Nothing prevented him from eating, he just wouldn't. I think he wanted to starve himself to death.

There was a manatee here that had been separated from its pod. They put a tracking buoy on him (he was called Ci Ci - a juvenile.) He stayed mostly on the canal/river behind our house. All day he's swimming back and forth - dragging the buoy - doing spirals - back and forth, back and forth.

If a pod came into the canal, he'd try to join it, but wouldn't be accepted. Maybe the buoy turned the other manatees off or they just don't adopt. One time we used a small boat to clear a path for him - as he tried to stay with a pod heading the couple mile route out to the bay. He swam as fast as he could trying to stay up - having to drag that buoy. But he gave up, unable to keep up, just before the bay. They were not accepting him.

After about a year and a half of being solitary, he tried to kill himself by climbing way up on the bank out of water. He wouldn't be able to breath for long, laying on his own weight, plus would dehydrate and starve quickly. Clearly he was totally desperate and it seemed clear he wanted to die. It was a suicidal act. Fortunately, by the tracking buoy it was detected - and he was taken to a manatee rescue center put into a very large fenced off area of a water with half a dozen other rescue manatees.

I think most animals know when they are dying. They fight for life - but also will give up at some point - just like people do who face protracted terrible disease or illness that increasingly is painful and hopeless.
 
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I hesitate to read after seeing the title, too, but I feel an obligation to be a witness to your testimony, joko. Dammit, I cry every single time, because I know the acute pain and suffering of letting go of a beloved friend is indescribable. And I too have shared with online fellow travelers who can relate to my innate love of pets as children.
KitKat got lucky the day she found you, and it was meant to be.
You're in my thoughts.

I often ponder the fact that we disagree so strongly on thing here, as a group, but set that all aside at times like this.

Good job, DP.

And good job to you too, Joko.

Compassion for the furry people is a sign of a good person.

Always.

Sorry for your loss.
 
I often ponder the fact that we disagree so strongly on thing here, as a group, but set that all aside at times like this.

Good job, DP.

And good job to you too, Joko.

Compassion for the furry people is a sign of a good person.

Always.

Sorry for your loss.

Yup, when someone is sick or in need of human comfort and support, or needs to share their experience or pain, all politics goes away for me.
 
I often ponder the fact that we disagree so strongly on thing here, as a group, but set that all aside at times like this.

Good job, DP.

And good job to you too, Joko.

Compassion for the furry people is a sign of a good person.

Always.

Sorry for your loss.

I have little doubt if us most active members on this forum got together in real life on a social occasion, regard of political perspective, age, sex or political disagreements we'd get along particularly well. Politics is politics. Life and being human is much more - and much more important.
 
I'm sorry you lost your beloved friend, KitKat today. I know it must have been torturous to come to the inevitable, making that decision...The decision you made was loving because she no longer suffers. You thought of her best interests right up into the end. Not all animals are this fortunate.

She was lucky to have had you to care for her in her senior years and I am sure she was a very grateful cat.

Take care, Joko. hugs
 
So sorry to hear about your situation joko104, my wife and I will be there soon.

We have a 22 year old cat who's always lived indoors. She's on arthritis and kidney meds and sleeps most the day (or is that normal?). When I brought up the subject of euthanasia a while ago, my wife pointed out that since we don't do that with grandma, why Rusty?

It can't go on like this for much longer and when she goes it'll leave a big hole. She's been by my side or on my lap almost everyday for a third of my entire old life...

Thanks for mentioning this, I didn't know about it. It sounds like it would be the least stressful for all concerned...

Did your wife really compare your cat Rusty to her grandma?

I think cats sleep like 16 hours a day which is weird because they don't seem to be using a lot of energy. Grooming yourself, looking out the window, pooping....eating.
 
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:(

About 4 years ago we came home to see an old, starved dead gray cat 10 feet from our front door - only turned out to not be dead. The old girl had been declawed - a death sentence to an outside cat - and clearly had been very abused for her reactions - and clearly by a woman. We fed her, she disappeared for a couple days and then came back. This went on for a couple months, as we slowly coaxed her inside to eat - but letting her out when she wanted.

We named her "KitKat" so her name sounded different from our other 3 rescue cats, but should have named her Ms. Grumpy. To merely reach for her and she'd hiss and swat - and would go nuts if one of the other cats got near her. I saw her make an amazing 10 yard open ground dash actually catching a squirrel but couldn't hold it with no front claws.

Then one day I heard a cat fight outside our door. A tomcat had her pinned against the wall, her screaming. I chased the Tom away shouting at it. When I returned, KitKat ran in the house, jumped up on the coach where I sit and stared at me - for hours. That was the end of her outdoor days. Slowly - across the next 3 years! she warmed up to me, though never could stand reaching over her head, being held, picked up or stood over - and would freak out at the word "no." She did come to tolerate my wife fairly well.

The vet couldn't figure how hold she is - just really old. A couple months ago the vet said her kidneys were shutting down. Got some prescriptions for her, including morphine.

Friday night it was clear her time had come. She stopped eating and drinking and was losing control of her back legs. In the last 2 years I've watched a dog and another cat die of old age - their body shutting down. It starts with their back legs - increasing losing body control - and then across hours or a couple days loses more body control and finally all body control. She's barely able to walk, having to half drag and half swing her back legs just to move a few feet. MOSTLY, I know she's in pain because she cries if I pick her up gently - meaning she hurts. She is so weak she's just limp if picking her up, and she's starved for not eating. When she stopped drinking we knew it over - though we have forced enough liquid into her to stay alive - plus morphine to ease her suffering.

In 45 minutes I'll be at the vet up the road to put her down. I said I would be present, but am deciding not to. This is going to be hard. I've held that old cat or her laying beside me thousands of hours - ever night. She laying beside me now. I am the one living creature - the only one - she trusted. That's almost like an honor - but it is a trust I put a great deal of time and patience into earning with her. I'll bury her beside my mini-pom I had from puppy to old age and this is reminding of that, though my pom died in my arms - peaceful. But she wasn't suffering and KitKat is.

This isn't easy to do - taking her to have her killed. But she has only a few days of pain and suffering in front her if I don't. So it has to be done. The grumpiest, least friendly pet I've ever had - but she won her way deeply into my heart and it seems I into her's - at least earning her trust.

I have always stayed with mine. It is very difficult, but something that must be done. You want your beloved pet to have good memories before he/she passes over the Rainbow Bridge. I never wanted my beloved pets to die among strangers.
 
I'm lucky .I've never had to take a pet in and have it executed,They always died of old age.
 
I have always stayed with mine. It is very difficult, but something that must be done. You want your beloved pet to have good memories before he/she passes over the Rainbow Bridge. I never wanted my beloved pets to die among strangers.

I don't think that leaves a good memory for the pet or the owner. I was with KitKat even holding her when they gave her the sedative. She was in twilight (unconscious) when given the lethal injection. To the extent she was going to be conscious, I did not want her last thoughts being "why are you doing this to me?!" Besides, the vet was not a stranger to her. He has a way with animals, that special demeanor, and while she never would have anything to do with strangers, she always was fine with him.

Candidly, I don't think it mattered to KitKat either way. I did matter to me.
 
Your humanity is tender and generous, and while I can't speak for anyone else, I share your grief, having held many fur children as they went into the Great Beyond and breathed their last.
 
I don't think that leaves a good memory for the pet or the owner. I was with KitKat even holding her when they gave her the sedative. She was in twilight (unconscious) when given the lethal injection. To the extent she was going to be conscious, I did not want her last thoughts being "why are you doing this to me?!" Besides, the vet was not a stranger to her. He has a way with animals, that special demeanor, and while she never would have anything to do with strangers, she always was fine with him.

Candidly, I don't think it mattered to KitKat either way. I did matter to me.

My vet always gives the animal a sedative to relax them. He then gives me time to say goodbye to my pet before he comes in. It is never easy, but necessary to end their suffering.
 
I have always stayed with mine. It is very difficult, but something that must be done. You want your beloved pet to have good memories before he/she passes over the Rainbow Bridge. I never wanted my beloved pets to die among strangers.



I do not know about cats but this is true of dogs. I read an article that says never leave a dog because they get very anxious when they see you leave. I had to put down a dog once so I made the vet let me pay him before it was done because I knew I would be incapable of writing a check. They gave him a sedative, waited a few minutes then started the IV needle. I was holding his paw til his last breath. It was quick. Saddest day ever.
 
I do not know about cats but this is true of dogs. I read an article that says never leave a dog because they get very anxious when they see you leave. I had to put down a dog once so I made the vet let me pay him before it was done because I knew I would be incapable of writing a check. They gave him a sedative, waited a few minutes then started the IV needle. I was holding his paw til his last breath. It was quick. Saddest day ever.

Yeah, I know. I just had to put down my beloved Lily (Sheltie) several months ago. Her sister, Rose really took it hard, kept going out to the woods, looking for her. The only thing that got Rose and me out of the slump is the new Sheltie puppy, I brought home two weeks, later. The breeder had one pup, a female left. it was like it was meant to be. I will never forget Lilly, but the pain is not so bad, now. Chasing after a new pup will get you over the hump.
 
:(

About 4 years ago we came home to see an old, starved dead gray cat 10 feet from our front door - only turned out to not be dead. The old girl had been declawed - a death sentence to an outside cat - and clearly had been very abused for her reactions - and clearly by a woman. We fed her, she disappeared for a couple days and then came back. This went on for a couple months, as we slowly coaxed her inside to eat - but letting her out when she wanted.

We named her "KitKat" so her name sounded different from our other 3 rescue cats, but should have named her Ms. Grumpy. To merely reach for her and she'd hiss and swat - and would go nuts if one of the other cats got near her. I saw her make an amazing 10 yard open ground dash actually catching a squirrel but couldn't hold it with no front claws.

Then one day I heard a cat fight outside our door. A tomcat had her pinned against the wall, her screaming. I chased the Tom away shouting at it. When I returned, KitKat ran in the house, jumped up on the coach where I sit and stared at me - for hours. That was the end of her outdoor days. Slowly - across the next 3 years! she warmed up to me, though never could stand reaching over her head, being held, picked up or stood over - and would freak out at the word "no." She did come to tolerate my wife fairly well.

The vet couldn't figure how hold she is - just really old. A couple months ago the vet said her kidneys were shutting down. Got some prescriptions for her, including morphine.

Friday night it was clear her time had come. She stopped eating and drinking and was losing control of her back legs. In the last 2 years I've watched a dog and another cat die of old age - their body shutting down. It starts with their back legs - increasing losing body control - and then across hours or a couple days loses more body control and finally all body control. She's barely able to walk, having to half drag and half swing her back legs just to move a few feet. MOSTLY, I know she's in pain because she cries if I pick her up gently - meaning she hurts. She is so weak she's just limp if picking her up, and she's starved for not eating. When she stopped drinking we knew it over - though we have forced enough liquid into her to stay alive - plus morphine to ease her suffering.

In 45 minutes I'll be at the vet up the road to put her down. I said I would be present, but am deciding not to. This is going to be hard. I've held that old cat or her laying beside me thousands of hours - ever night. She laying beside me now. I am the one living creature - the only one - she trusted. That's almost like an honor - but it is a trust I put a great deal of time and patience into earning with her. I'll bury her beside my mini-pom I had from puppy to old age and this is reminding of that, though my pom died in my arms - peaceful. But she wasn't suffering and KitKat is.

This isn't easy to do - taking her to have her killed. But she has only a few days of pain and suffering in front her if I don't. So it has to be done. The grumpiest, least friendly pet I've ever had - but she won her way deeply into my heart and it seems I into her's - at least earning her trust.

There are Vets that make house calls when the time comes to put a pet down. I've read of such on another forum. In many cases the price is comparable to an in office visit. Just a thought.
 
Done. She didn't suffer and went peaceful. On the way there she softly but sadly talked to me, burying her face in my arm. It would have been cruel to let her just suffer a few more days - if she even had that. Over the weekend she had lost nearly all control of her back legs, plus not eating or drinking meant her time has come.

This makes room for another rescue, so her death will soon equate to another cat's life saved. For that I feel ok about this, but for the first time in years I didn't walk in the door to KitKat climbing down from a perch we made for her to meet me on the couch.

I just realized our other 3 house cats are not in their usual places. All 3 hiding under our bed. They know the pet car carrier always leads to something bad happens, ie going to the vet. We take them in once a year or sooner if needed. Animals remember stuff like that.

Thank you all for your kind comments. :peace

loss.jpg
 
There are Vets that make house calls when the time comes to put a pet down. I've read of such on another forum. In many cases the price is comparable to an in office visit. Just a thought.

Oh, there are, and they are a blessing when a vet is needed on a Saturday evening or a Sunday. We have one on call, and she is wonderful. Just a couple of months ago we had to euthanize one of the older kitties (cancer) when she grew tired of her heroic fight. It was a late Sunday afternoon when she told us she was ready, and this vet and her husband came out and were wonderful. It was a gentle, peaceful death.

But it never ever gets easier to say goodbye. Mi gata is now 15 and becoming frail. I've taken to calling her my "little old baby." The time is coming...and it will be hard. Sigh.
 
:(

About 4 years ago we came home to see an old, starved dead gray cat 10 feet from our front door - only turned out to not be dead. The old girl had been declawed - a death sentence to an outside cat - and clearly had been very abused for her reactions - and clearly by a woman. We fed her, she disappeared for a couple days and then came back. This went on for a couple months, as we slowly coaxed her inside to eat - but letting her out when she wanted.

We named her "KitKat" so her name sounded different from our other 3 rescue cats, but should have named her Ms. Grumpy. To merely reach for her and she'd hiss and swat - and would go nuts if one of the other cats got near her. I saw her make an amazing 10 yard open ground dash actually catching a squirrel but couldn't hold it with no front claws.

Then one day I heard a cat fight outside our door. A tomcat had her pinned against the wall, her screaming. I chased the Tom away shouting at it. When I returned, KitKat ran in the house, jumped up on the coach where I sit and stared at me - for hours. That was the end of her outdoor days. Slowly - across the next 3 years! she warmed up to me, though never could stand reaching over her head, being held, picked up or stood over - and would freak out at the word "no." She did come to tolerate my wife fairly well.

The vet couldn't figure how hold she is - just really old. A couple months ago the vet said her kidneys were shutting down. Got some prescriptions for her, including morphine.

Friday night it was clear her time had come. She stopped eating and drinking and was losing control of her back legs. In the last 2 years I've watched a dog and another cat die of old age - their body shutting down. It starts with their back legs - increasing losing body control - and then across hours or a couple days loses more body control and finally all body control. She's barely able to walk, having to half drag and half swing her back legs just to move a few feet. MOSTLY, I know she's in pain because she cries if I pick her up gently - meaning she hurts. She is so weak she's just limp if picking her up, and she's starved for not eating. When she stopped drinking we knew it over - though we have forced enough liquid into her to stay alive - plus morphine to ease her suffering.

In 45 minutes I'll be at the vet up the road to put her down. I said I would be present, but am deciding not to. This is going to be hard. I've held that old cat or her laying beside me thousands of hours - ever night. She laying beside me now. I am the one living creature - the only one - she trusted. That's almost like an honor - but it is a trust I put a great deal of time and patience into earning with her. I'll bury her beside my mini-pom I had from puppy to old age and this is reminding of that, though my pom died in my arms - peaceful. But she wasn't suffering and KitKat is.

This isn't easy to do - taking her to have her killed. But she has only a few days of pain and suffering in front her if I don't. So it has to be done. The grumpiest, least friendly pet I've ever had - but she won her way deeply into my heart and it seems I into her's - at least earning her trust.

Years ago I had a border collie who was literally my best friend in the world. He lived to be 17, I miss him to this day. Sometime later I had two cats who were litter mates, one lived to be 15 and the other lived to be 17. DW had a Pomeranian dog who lived to be 14. We don't have pets anymore, it's too hard, you always outlive them, and the pure love you get from them is almost impossible to live without.
 
:( This isn't easy to do - taking her to have her killed. But she has only a few days of pain and suffering in front her if I don't. So it has to be done. The grumpiest, least friendly pet I've ever had - but she won her way deeply into my heart and it seems I into her's - at least earning her trust.

I have had animals all my life and this is the hardest part of caring for them

You have had a bond that can remain with you for the rest of your life and that should be cherished.

She can never be replaced but don't let that keep you from having another companion.

A companion can be anything you want, a dog, a cat or a turtle for that matter.

You take time, you have my sympathy and my condolences.

Dick Tornado (Al)
 
If your dog dies at home call a carpet cleaning company.A Spot remover is what you need.
 
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