When is the right time to have cat put down?

Craterloads

Craterloads

Craterloads

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Struggling a little bit here with our almost 16 year old kitty.

Shes at the stage where she’s barely eating and weight is coming off quite a bit now. not being able to clean herself properly doing my best to help with wipes etc. her poops are just black goo for the last few weeks. Last few days her breathing has become laboured, not sure if she’s got a cat cold or related to this ill health.

I don’t thinks she’s in pain right now but it only downhill going forward. What’s making it difficult for me is she still shows that spark of wanting to do stuff, she will still playfully paw at you or get up and eagerly come to the table expecting scraps even though she can’t eat what ever you give (she’s getting by on paste food atm)

Vet said its end of life care for her probably kidney failure. Her quality of life isn’t great right now but not in any immediate pain I can see.

Just struggling on when the time is right, any advice?
 
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If she's not suffering then in my opinion it isn't that time yet.

Try heating her food with a tiny bit of kettle water, which will also thin it. Might aid her in eating.
 
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We had a siamese, at 18.5 years old steroids weren’t keeping her weight on and she was having problems moving around.

A resilient puss, she’s had a stroke due to being allergic to anaesthetic (cleaning teeth) when she was only a few years old. She wasn’t expected to last the night, mum spent her nights feeding her water with a pipette. She managed to get mobile, walking by leaning against the wall and politely waiting for doors to be closed so she could lean against those too. Eventually she returned to normal health being only selectively deaf. Still miss her now, over 30 years later. Very much a family people cat.
 
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If your cat is suffering and if you have a vet and they advise that you put your loved kittie to sleep, then do so. If not and your kittie is healthy then of course don't.

I took the tough decision to put my first and only cat down at the age of 14, but only after the vet advised that it was in Tom's best interest as he had developed cancer. I cried my eyes out when I didn't do the same after my father passed away.
 
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Our 17 year old girl died two nights before Christmas and OlI would give anything to change the way I found her and given her a painless and comforting death.

We had been back and forth to the vet but they were struggling to do tests because she was still feisty with them but losing a lot of weight. They suspected kidney issues. We were already set on making sure she didn't suffer but never got that chance as things happened so fast and late at night.

Don't leave it too long, especially if their quality of life has deteriorated massively. It sucks but it is kinder and less traumatic for her and you.
 
MissChief said:
I think a friend said it best many years ago. 'It can never be too soon, but sometimes it is too late'. As much as you'll miss her, you have to do what's best for her, not for you and your family.
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We had to put our Persian down after 4 failed attempts to treat ringworm - it was causing a nasty immune response and reinfecting our other cats.

The vet said most would have called it a day after two failed attempts (it's a really expensive, invasive process), but we wanted to give her the extra chances to pull through.

Really hard decision to make, as it wasn't her fault, but the wider impact on the rest of the family and the fact that she had to be separated from everyone meant she had no quality of life.

I would set a date and get your goodbye snuggles done, so you can send her off before she declines any further or feels any pain.
 
I think it's best to look at what quality of life they have and whether or not they are suffering.

I know somebody who had to have their 17 year old cat put down recently. Basically it was down to liver failure and nothing was working. As much as their hearts were in the right place by trying to treat the cat, it was slowly deteriorating and losing weight. It eventually reached a point where it became incontinent and hardly moved a few steps - by which time it was decided to end the cat's suffering.

Without wishing to sound awful, but in a way it was a relief once the cat had been put to sleep. There was no worrying about bills, the cat's suffering or whether it'd take her medication with a struggle or not.

My own advice is to ask yourself whether or not the cat has any quality of life without suffering.
 
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My cat hung on for a few years with a thyroid condition and kidney failure (the two go hand in hand), there was a point he just wasn't really able to eat or drink without vomiting and getting the runs and we just knew it was time. Rip Felix he made it to 21, I'd had him since he was 9 months.
Cats just seem to carry on seemingly at death's door for ages then things rapidly get worse at one point. What the other posters said is true, look at the quality of life day to day, if she's still doing cat things then maybe it's not time quite yet but only you will know best. Sorry OP :(
 
Quartz said:
Just be there for her when she goes.
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This is important.

Most animals look for their owners during those final minutes.

When we had our cat put down, We weren't there and i still regret it to this day. We saw it from our point of view and not that of our pet or the vet.


I've still not come to terms with not being there for our dog, He passed whilst being treated and I'd give anything to have been holding/comforting him in those final few minutes



NEVER AGAIN..
 
Last year, a few weeks before I was hospitalised, our cat Dusty was getting very thin and hardly eating. She didn't take kindly to vet visits in the cat carry. In the end, we paid for a vet to come to our home and give her the injections. The first injection she had, she ran off to hide in her cat palace and died in there from the first injection, didn't need the second one.

Fast forward to last weekend, her sister, Daisy had stopped eating and was being sick and dodgy poos constantly. We took her to the vets and she had a scan and found one of her kidneys has a large mass on it. We have been given anti-sickness tablets for her and some special food. She's back to eating and the other end is improved, but she has changed and is not quite the same as she was. At first she was very demanding for attention, which we gave her. Now she's a little more distant than before and subdued. She's still her but now it's obvious she's not much time left. She is nearly 14. It broke my heart on Monday when I was told this but we were kind of expecting it. She's always been a more sickly cat due to her diabetes. We have been injecting her twice a day for a large part of her life. It's like losing a member of the family whom you actually care very deeply about.
 
Maybe just keep monioring for a while longer and if you see things getting worse then look at that option again.

Its a hard thing to do, we had to put down a 6 year old dog over a decade ago and it still haunts me.
 
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If I were in your position (And I have been several times) - if she’s not in pain, then I’d probably enjoy one last Christmas with her, and then send her over the rainbow bridge in the new year, particularly if she has no quality of life and not eating. Then it’s no longer living, just surviving.

Give her a stroke/rub from me, and wishing you all the best.
 
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Our cat started having breathing difficulties and then my sister said it literally suffocated to death, climbing up the walls, scratching, everything you think a cat can do. It was very traumatic.

We recently sent our dog to sleep and it was much better than we expected, he was gone so quick, I have no complaints at all.
 
MissChief said:
I think a friend said it best many years ago. 'It can never be too soon, but sometimes it is too late'. As much as you'll miss her, you have to do what's best for her, not for you and your family.
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Totally agree with this. If you can afford to have her PTS at home please do.
It's a very tough decision, but in my experience when a pet is no longer eating, you know it's time - They're suffering and can't/won't eat.
 
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9 years ago, always been a lap kitty or sleeping on chest. When we have guests / family over she will literally sit among everyone for pets not afraid at all.

think I will wait till the new year and see where to go from there.

Vet gave me a number for a lady who comes to your home and does the deed. I would very much prefer to be there for her in her last moments.
 
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