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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / June 2004How to tell when it's time?
This is a bit difficult to write. My cat is near the end. She's coming up on 22 years old, and has been going downhill for the last several months. It really started around Christmas of 2002, when she had a big stroke. I got her breathing again with mouth to mouth, and she spent the night in an oxygen box at the pet emergency hospital. She's had a few smaller strokes since then, and each time she seems to get less steady on her feet and less interested in anything other than couch, food, and box. She seems to have had another minor stroke a few days ago, and she's having trouble getting up on the couch. She walks very slowly, and stops often, perhaps to rest. When she had the water drinking problem that I posted about, the vet (who is very fond of her) said that he was now comfortable with doing the final thing, that she'd gone downhill enough. Well of course with the new water she got much better, so that was the end of that thought for the moment. She's been really old for a few years now, so I've had a lot of time to think about this. My position has been and still is that the decision will be based on her quality of life, and also a quality end. So, what brings me to asking this question here is this: I think that she may now be in pain. It's obviously hard to walk, and she's mostly stopped vocalizing. She's always been a very vocal cat, conversational even. Her back legs just don't work very well now, and she even has trouble getting up from a laying down position, and has trouble keeping her balance while on her feet. I don't want her to suffer, but I don't want to end her life prematurely. Your thoughts, suggestions, and advice will be appreciated. Lisa > This is a bit difficult to write. > > My cat is near the end. She's coming up on 22 years old, and has been > going downhill for the last several months. ... I don't want her to suffer, but I don't > want to end her life prematurely. > Your thoughts, suggestions, and advice will be appreciated. > Lisa Lisa, I'm sorry I can't help you make your decision, but my heart goes out to you. It is such a difficult thing to guess when the time is right. Annie >This is a bit difficult to write. > [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > >Lisa Lisa, As someone who has been there, I can tell you that no one can tell you when it's time. You will know yourself when it's time and your cat will tell you in her own way when it is time. When my Norman had cancer, we had to make the decision about when it was time. I don't think we ever doubted our timing. We never wanted him suffer too much and he kind of told us when it was time. I don't really want to advise you one way or the other, except for listen to your heart and your kitty and make the best decision you can. In the end, know that she loves you as much as you to love her. My prayers are with you, Rob << Your thoughts, suggestions, and advice will be appreciated. Lisa >> Lisa, while it is a very personal decision, I prefer to opt for a little too soon rather than a little too late. I had my 18 year old kitty euthanized in March, and he was not the first. I don't think he was in pain but I do think he was uncomfortable and had lost interest in eating and was beginning to hide. He had been vocal, too, and had quit meowing altogether. He didn't purr when we brushed or petted him anymore although he seemed to enjoy it a little...not like before, though. He was wobbly when he walked. I didn't want to make him suffer more and I was sure he wasn't going to get any better. It was still very hard to decide when, though. I wish you and your kitty the best and you have obviously been an exemplary cat mom to have her live so long and happily. I'm sure you will do what is best for her. Candace (take the litter out before replying by e-mail) See my cats: http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace "One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other than human." (Loren Eisely) Thank you to everyone who offered help, both here and in email. I now feel like I'm equipped to make a good decision, and I have. Lisa > This is a bit difficult to write. > [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > Lisa lisa, i iknow how you feel. i had to put my dog to sleep two years ago. she had severe arthritis, could no longer walk or sit without being in agony. in the end, the medications and needles didnt work and my family made the decision. we didnt want her to be in pain any longer and we all knew, deep down that it was cruel to keep her going - just for us. its a very difficult thing to go through, but with time and now that i look back. it was the right thing to do. i now candy is now at rainbow bridge. listen to what your heart says, i think you already know the answer. sally. > > My cat is near the end. She's coming up on 22 years old, and has been First let me say that I am SO sorry for you and hope that you can take comfort in the fact that you've been the best care-taker she could have ever had. I really have very mixed feelings about this. I have a 14-year-old, Bandit,who, very fortunately, is in excellent health and still plays like a kitten ("Put-the-sheets-on-the-bed" and "Bite-the-passing-ankle" being her favorites). I just don't know if I could make a decision about this for her because I keep thinking that I wouldn't want anyone to put ME down just because I was in pain (I know, I anthropomorphise WAY too much). However, I might make that decision for myself if I were in too much pain and that's something she couldn't do. I did make the decision to do this with another cat - an old Persian, Percy, we had adopted but just had for 6 months before his kidneys failed. I'm ashamed to say that finances was the major deciding factor there (my husband had been out of work for over a year and I had just lost my job one week after closing on our new house). The vet told us it would take dialysis to keep him alive and would have cost thousands of dollars to keep him going - in pain the whole time. I held him in my arms as the vet gave him the injection and was bawling my eyes out then and for weeks afterwards. My husband cried too and walked home carrying him in his arms the whole way. We got a headstone from PetSmart and buried him in the backyard of the new house (even though we had not moved in yet, the people selling the house were understanding enough to let us - we sort of joke now, sadly, that he was the first one in the family to move into the new house) I'm must praying that I won't have to make this decision for many, many more years. Hugs, CatNipped CatMom to: Bandit, 14, DLH Tabby Demi, 5, DLH Pure White Jessie, 4, DSH Tortoiseshell Samantha (Sammy), 2 months, DLH Tabby |
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