 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsGeneral TopicsCat AnecdotesHealth and BehaviorRescue CatKB.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / September 2003euthanasia - anything I should know?
Hello - I'm a somewhat frequent Usenet user, but never here. My parents have a cat that it's now time to put to sleep. He's about 14 years old and over the last month (or less) has ballooned up with fluid in the abdomen. The vet did a blood test (negative for any diseases) and then an ultra-sound. They found lots of cancer all over the body. So far the cat does not appear to be in pain, but he's obviously uncomfortable being so big and each day can move around less and less. Up to now he's been eating lots (as he always has) but yesterday and today he doesn't really want food. So we are quite sure his time is near and we'd rather do this before he is in real pain and or before it's the weekend or 2am or something and then the cat gets in pain and we have to wait hours to do the right thing. My question is: Is there anything special I should know. The vet they go to has been good to them for years and seems very professional. It seems clear enough. But, well, I'm always amazed at Usenet for the great things people tell me that I never would have thought of so if there is anything I should know or be thinking of or tell or ask the vet, please let me know. Oh: This cat has had THE life. Indoor/Outdoor cat that was saved from being a "street" cat when very young. Since then has had the run of a huge yard, had birds to watch and mice to catch. Had plenty of human affection. It's sad, but it's as good as any being could hope for. Thanks, Gary >Oh: This cat has had THE life. Indoor/Outdoor cat that was saved >from being a "street" cat when very young. Since then has had the run >of a huge yard, had birds to watch and mice to catch. Had plenty of >human affection. It's sad, but it's as good as any being could hope for. There are two types of euthanasia medication. One is completely painless. Ask your vet about this. They also might want to give him a little valium before giving him the shot. Your vet could administer the shot at your house to make it easier on everyone. You could before hand make him a little grave in yard in his favorite spot or you could have him cremated and put in a little container on your mantle. Resign yourselves that you will all cry. Try to hold it together while your kitty is alive so he doesn't get scared while he goes to sleep. I think euthanasia before our pets are in pain is the most loving way to go. I wish it were legal for humans. When the vet gives him the shot, he'll be gone in about two seconds. It's extremely fast. I'll keep you both in my prayers. > Try to hold it together while your kitty is alive so he > doesn't get scared while he goes to sleep. I hadn't thought of that. > I'll keep you both in my prayers. Thank you. >From: mmmaryinla@aol.comspam (Mary) >There are two types of euthanasia medication. One is completely painless. What are the two types and which one is painless? ________ See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm >Try to hold it together while your kitty is >alive so he doesn't get scared while he >goes to sleep. Whenever I have had to euthanize one of my beloved pets, I have always made sure to hold them in my arms or wrap my arms around them, look deep into their eyes and stroke and talk softly to them until they have slipped away. I think that not only helping them to the other side gently, but being there to the very end is something that we all owe our beloved pets for the years of unconditional love and joy that they have brought us. While I realize that for some this may be difficult, I would hope that they would do the right thing, regardless of how hard it may be, set that aside and stay with their pet until they cross the bridge. As some of you may remember, that special moment of comfort and being there for my cat Benjamin was taken away from us by bastards at the ER and to this day I still can't get over it. Being with your pet until the end is so very important and is the last selfless and loving gift you can give them. Megan  Signature"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -Edmund Burke Learn The TRUTH About Declawing http://www.stopdeclaw.com Zuzu's Cats Photo Album: http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22 "Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way." - W.H. Murray I'm sorry to hear about your parents' kitty... > My question is: Is there anything special I should know. The vet they > go to has been good to them for years and seems very professional. > It seems clear enough. But, well, I'm always amazed at Usenet for > the great things people tell me that I never would have thought of > so if there is anything I should know or be thinking of or tell or ask > the vet, please let me know. If you want to bury him at home, make sure you arrange that with the vet. They can cremate him or release the body for you to bury. It's best to arrange that ahead of time, as your state of mind will not be the clearest when the time comes. If you'll be bringing his body home to bury, bring a blanket and/or a nice box. Some vets will euthanize at home. Ask your vet if this is an option for you. Again, I'm sorry to hear about the kitty. I'm sure he'll be missed and waiting for you all at RB... ------------------------------------------------- ~kaeli~ Press any key to continue or any other key to quit. Who is General Failure and why is he reading my hard disk? http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace ------------------------------------------------- If your parents are very upset at the time the euthanasia's done, the vet can most likely arrange for them to arrive & leave by a side or back door, instead of the regular front door - which would involve the whole waiting room scenario. Also, if they don't feel up to going to the front counter to pay right afterwards, it can probably be arranged for a bill to be sent to the house instead. Also, some vets will do a house call for euthanasia. IMO, it's a good idea if they ask the vet to explain everything that's happening as they go along - or right before the procedure, so that they know exactly what they might or might not expect. They will have the option of leaving the vet to do the euthanasia alone, or they can stay with their cat. It's a personal choice; I prefer to be w/ my cats when it's done. So far, I've found that the time leading up to the euthanasia's more upsetting (worrisome, sad) than the procedure itself. They also need to decide ahead of time whether they'll want to bring the cat's body back home for burial, or if they'd prefer a cremation. If a cremation, then a mass one, or private one. If they opt for cremation, the vet's office will call them when the ashes (in a little container) are ready to be picked up. Cathy -- "Staccato signals of constant information..." ("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon > Hello - I'm a somewhat frequent Usenet user, but never here. My parents > have a cat that it's now time to put to sleep. He's about 14 years old and [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > Thanks, > Gary Thanks Everyone. I think the ideas about paying before hand (or billing) is good, who needs to deal with that. My parents are pretty stout people, will probably stay with the cat and hold it together OK. I'm sure we'll take his body back home for burial. They had our dog go about 11 years ago and that's what they did. We have nice stone marker in the yard for her. I'm sure they'll do the same with the cat. One other thing/indea I found on the web: Say something nice to the vet to the effect that the cat had a good life and that this is the right thing. The vets may get tramatized a little too from taking a life. Helping them know it's "ok" is good. Gary > Thanks Everyone. > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Gary Oh, vets can & do get upset, even when they're in complete agreement about the timing of the euthanasia - esp. if they've been caring for a certain pet for a long time. I don't - in this case - think they're upset about "taking a life' - since they know they're preventing a possibly difficult death, just that they're upset the pet's life is ending. Cathy -- "Staccato signals of constant information..." ("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon > Hello - I'm a somewhat frequent Usenet user, but never here. My parents > have a cat that it's now time to put to sleep. He's about 14 years old and [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > so if there is anything I should know or be thinking of or tell or ask > the vet, please let me know. I would ask for a valium sedation for the cat prior to euthanasia. A pre-sed makes the cat a lot more calm, and makes the procedure easier on you, as well. Sorry for your loss - I'm sure kitty knows he is well loved. -L. > I would ask for a valium sedation for the cat prior to euthanasia. A > pre-sed makes the cat a lot more calm, and makes the procedure easier > on you, as well. > > Sorry for your loss - I'm sure kitty knows he is well loved. It all depends on the cat, really, whether they need sedation or not. Sometimes forcing a pill will upset the cat more than the time it takes to inject. Two injections are more upsetting than one. And there are certainly more than two ways to euthanize, and none of them are 100% painless. The least painful is simple IV injection, something the cat is probably quite used to from a lifetime of vaccinations. Of course, if the cat is that ill and perhaps having circulatory problems, the vet may choose another method, called IP (intraperitoneal), which injects double the fluid into the abdominal cavity. The gentleman who ran the seminar at our shelter said that IP is the method he would choose for any of his animals, and if he had the choice, IP is the way he would choose for himself when the time came (and he's been running these seminars for over 20 years with the full support of the HSUS). There's also a cardiac injection, but that's usually for fully sedated animals. But certainly, asking the vet to explain things as he goes is always an excellent idea. If there are any twitches, he can assure your parents (and you) that it's perfectly normal (and it is). We lost our family dog recently to lymphoma, and I took it as a sign that the time was exactly right that he went very quietly and very, very quickly. Good luck. All our thoughts are with you and your family. > > "Gary Warner" <jabadoodle@yahoo.com> wrote in message > news:<bjl3cl$kko8f$1@ID-149710.news.uni-berlin.de>... [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Sometimes forcing a pill will upset the cat more than the time it takes to > inject. IME, cats are never sedated orally before euth. >Two injections are more upsetting than one. Not if the first one is a major dose. Usually the cat gets enough valium that it relaxes and nearly goes to sleep and doesn't even notice the IV injection (which IME is the way 99.9% of euths are done - both at the feline specialty vet and in the shelters I've worked for). And the valium injection is a simple IM in the thigh - most cats don't even feel it, IME. >And there are certainly > more than two ways to euthanize, and none of them are 100% painless. Oh, that's a great thing to tell someone who is about to euthanize their cat. Keep up the support. If the procedure is known to be painful, more reason to pre-sedate, IMO. Geez! -L. -L. <k3_e81@yahoo.com> wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav: > Oh, that's a great thing to tell someone who is about to euthanize > their cat. Keep up the support. If the procedure is known to be > painful, more reason to pre-sedate, IMO. > > Geez! That was my thought. I hope they mean in terms that they all require injections. Pain is a relative term. An injection is a momentary "hey, cut that out." Cocoa, my parent's cat that recently passed, had already been sedated to be catheterized, so following through with the euth was pretty easy in a clinical sense. The pinches of needles mean less to cats, and probably all animals, than they mean to us. The issues we want to be most cognitive of would be comfort and security. If you provide that to the cat for the duration, you needn't worry about much else. Then, take care of your afterward. SignatureBrandy??Alexandre? http://www.swydm.com/?refer=BrandyAlx Well, would you? > > It all depends on the cat, really, whether they need sedation or not. > > Sometimes forcing a pill will upset the cat more than the time it takes to > > inject. > > IME, cats are never sedated orally before euth. Not sure what "IME" means. "In My Experience?" I've seen a few cats given IM sedation by stick, but I know dogs can be sedated orally. I've no experience with valium. *shrug* > >Two injections are more upsetting than one. > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > for). And the valium injection is a simple IM in the thigh - most > cats don't even feel it, IME. IM is something we avoid, though perhaps valium doesn't sting the way premix does. The way we were taught, anything going IM will sting because it displaces the muscle, which is never a comfortable sensation. > >And there are certainly > > more than two ways to euthanize, and none of them are 100% painless. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > -L. I'm sure if the gentleman was upset by honesty, he would have asked for people to skip over the unpleasant bits. >Hello - I'm a somewhat frequent Usenet user, but never here. My parents >have a cat that it's now time to put to sleep. He's about 14 years old and >over the last month (or less) has ballooned up with fluid in the abdomen. >The >vet did a blood test (negative for any diseases) and then an ultra-sound. >They found lots of cancer all over the body. My vet administers a sedative which puts the cat to sleep, then injects the fatal dose. I was surprised to hear him say that not all vets give the sedative first, so just in case, make sure that is done. Hold the cat as the sedative is administered. Decide what you want done with the body. I got three options. Cremation (~$75). Cremation with the ashes returned (~$175). Or the body back for burial (not sure of cost but cheaper than the first two). Usually I've just done cremation since burying bodies in the back yard is illegal here in NYC, but for the last one (Nico The Wonder Cat) I actually got the ashes back. I assume I got the ashes back. I suppose everyone wonders about just whose ashes are actually in the box but I doubt it really matters. They told me that I could go and watch to make sure that I got the real ashes back but it seemed to weird. By the way, 14 really is a ripe old age for a cat. I know that many cats live longer but the vast majority really are dead by 11 or so. I'm now on my fourth and fifth cats, and of the dead three, two died before 12 and only Nico TWC made it to 16 or maybe 17. So it goes. I'm glad you understand that your parent's cat had a good life and that you don't want him to suffer. As many other people wrote, the best thing we can do for our cats is let them die with dignity and at peace. > >Hello - I'm a somewhat frequent Usenet user, but never here. My parents > >have a cat that it's now time to put to sleep. He's about 14 years old and [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > injects the fatal dose. I was surprised to hear him say that not all > vets give the sedative first, so just in case, make sure that is done. Hmm. It's not essential. It depends on the cat. My vet has never done it this way for my cats, and I have no complaints. I'm always present with my cats and it's always been peaceful. These page may help the OP a little (ignore the specifically CRF bits), though I'm sorry it's necessary in the first place: http://www.felinecrf.org/saying_goodbye.htm http://www.felinecrf.org/the_final_hours1.htm HTH Helen > > >Hello - I'm a somewhat frequent Usenet user, but never here. My parents > > >have a cat that it's now time to put to sleep. He's about 14 years old [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > HTH Right - I think it depends upon the cat, case by case. My first cat was extremely feisty, even on her last day (end stage CRF), & she got a sedative injected, before the fatal dose. My second cat just got the one fatal dose shot & she died very peacefully - also end stage CRF. (Both euthanasias were done by the same vet, which further leads me to believe it's done on a case-by-case basis, at least by some vets.) Cathy -- "Staccato signals of constant information..." ("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon > By the way, 14 really is a ripe old age for a cat. I know that many > cats live longer but the vast majority really are dead by 11 or so. They *are*??? My first cat lived to be 17 (almost 18), my second cat died at 16, I have one who's presently 11 & in excellent health, & then there's my 4 yr. old - hoping & assuming that he will make it way past 11. > I'm now on my fourth and fifth cats, and of the dead three, two died > before 12 and only Nico TWC made it to 16 or maybe 17. So it goes. Sounds like you've had some bad luck, re: the longevity of your cats. Cathy -- "Staccato signals of constant information..." ("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon >> By the way, 14 really is a ripe old age for a cat. I know that many >> cats live longer but the vast majority really are dead by 11 or so. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Cathy I have the track record dgk does. With my own though. Marley (RB) at 13, Shadow is 11 now and not long to go but I do my best. Shamrock is 2 and already has dental problems and allergies. I hope I can find a vet who can help me keep him healthy. Though my first family pet cat lived to 21 and she had no special treatment/food/vet care and ate tender vittles. But she was an indoor/outdoor cat. Go figure. I hope Bonnie can have a long healthy life but she's already cursed with having to have FeLV vacs until Shadow passes. >>> By the way, 14 really is a ripe old age for a cat. I know that many >>> cats live longer but the vast majority really are dead by 11 or so. [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] >hope Bonnie can have a long healthy life but she's already cursed with >having to have FeLV vacs until Shadow passes. My vets told me about it. You hear lots about long-lived cats but they see tons of cats and they say that most die by 12 or 13. Of course, they could just be lousy vets, killing them off by mistreatment, but I don't think that's the case. The practice is run by three brothers, all vets, which allows them to keep extended hours so I use them. And they do seem very good. > My question is: Is there anything special I should know. I'm sorry your parents have to go through this but it is the kinder way when it is time. My Marley had a catheter and was given a sedation prior to that but was awake and alert but calm and sleepy. He just laid in my arms and laid his head down when the final shot was given and it appeared to me that he went to sleep. There were no cries, no twitching, and for that I was grateful. Purrs and prayers for you all. > Hello - I'm a somewhat frequent Usenet user, but never here. My parents > have a cat that it's now time to put to sleep. He's about 14 years old and [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > Thanks, > Gary DON'T BE AN ACCOMPLICE IN MURDER!!! >> Hello - I'm a somewhat frequent Usenet user, but never here. My parents >> have a cat that it's now time to put to sleep. He's about 14 years old and [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > >DON'T BE AN ACCOMPLICE IN MURDER!!! Troll. We're all going to die. The only questions are when and how. (well, I suppose where and why but why quibble?) There is no need to suffer when the end is inevitable anyway. There is a column in my local paper written jointly by a Rabbi and a Priest. I usually just laugh at it but they recently said that "Thou Shalt Not Kill" actually is a mistranslation and that it should be "Thou Shalt Not Murder". This, of course, opens the door to sanctioned killing by the state (we call that one war and executions) and religions (that would be the crusades and jihads and killing gay kids). What is killing and what is murder is now subject to debate. So, you see, God said that it's OK to kill. Just not murder. We're simply killing our loved ones to prevent them from being in pain and misery when they are going to die soon anyway. We're not murdering them. Only a soulless rigid psychopath would allow a loved one to suffer when it is clear to all that the loved one is dying anyway. Oops, that's not exactly what I meant. Soulless rigid psychopaths don't love anyone but themselves and thus don't really need this discussion. But normal people are likely reading this so I write it for them. I didn't want to kill my cat, but the alternative was to let him suffer from increasingly horrible seizures until he died anyway. Tough choice? No, not really. > DON'T BE AN ACCOMPLICE IN MURDER!!! DON'T BE A MORON. ------------------------------------------------- ~kaeli~ Press any key to continue or any other key to quit. Who is General Failure and why is he reading my hard disk? http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace ------------------------------------------------- |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.