In a previous post I read that a poster's vet "knocked out" a kitty
before delivering the fatal injection. This is a new idea to me.

After many cats put down behind closed doors, I stayed with Abbey for
her euthanasia (due to quickly spreading malignant mammarian tumors).
She was a very special kitty, who I know was terrified. I hoped that
my presence would keep her calmer, and felt it was my duty to her to
stand guard during her final terror. For her sake I'm glad I did,
she's gone now, though it was utterly traumatic for me.

The vet missed the vein at first, making Abbey flop down after a short
taste of the elixir, frightening her more. When she died, I was
shocked at how undignified she went, with her tongue shooting out of
her mouth, and flopping down indignantly on the table.

Tiger's 11, Louis 2. If they become too ill to continue, what do I ask
the vet for to have them get a knockout-shot before they're
euthanized? No vet has ever offered this as an option to me.

When Roy died, the vet gave us some pills to calm him. They turned him
into a pitiful automaton.. roaming around the house in circles till he
couldn't walk. This was far worse than delivering him to the needle
directly.

I don't want to have to go through any of those horrors again.

For the cat, I'm sure it's an amorphous, short-lived fear, followed by
a blameless oblivion, but then again I'll outlive the cat and re-live
their final moments for decades.

God. This whole episode with Henry is bringing back the ghosts of all
my old cats in 3D.

How the hell do Vets live with this? I wish I could get a glimpse of
their worldview. To love animals so much, yet deal daily with their
dispatch.

BLink