Vet Says Time To Put To Sleep
Steve Thomas
called and got the news that we all dread: my 12 year old female cat
who was hospitalized the last 4 days for kidney failure + pancreatitis
+ liver problems has taken a turn for the worse. She apparently has
had seizures this a.m. and appears to be coming in and out of
comatose. They have been giving her fluids and antibiotics and
vitamins by IV 24 hrs for days now but she has not rallied or eaten
anything. The vet - who I know to be a very responsible, caring vet
based on experience with other cats & dogs of mine - suggests I might
want to "make a decision" about whether to continue treatment by this
afternoon. She is not pushing me, that is just her suggestion. It
appears to me that this cat is just going into total systems failure
of some sort. Only two weeks ago this cat was (appeared to be) lively
and happy and now she seems to have gone into this drastic, cascading
series of decline.
I don't know whether to go with the vets advice and put her to sleep
now -- or to take her out of there and try to nurse her at home and
hope for a miracle. I really don't know what I could do at this point
due to her condition and its not like I have an ICU all set up in my
house. If anybody has any advice or experience in this situation and
can reply before this afternoon I would appreciate it. I've had cats
and dogs die naturally on me before but never had to put one to sleep
and I am more than a little scared of the whole thing. As you can
imagine, all options seem terrible at this point!
Thanks.....
whayface
I feel for you. We just had to let our 17 year old Moses go this past Saturday and it is
not an easy decision to make. Our vet told us this past October or so that as long as his
quality of life did not deteriorate that we could wait but if that happens then it is time
to let go and this past weekend was the time to let him go to the 'Bridge as much as we
did not want to. We have to do what is best for our beloved pets as much as we do not
want to let them go. They give us a lifetime of love and affection and the best way we
can repay them is to release them from they pain and suffering. They will be waiting for
us at the 'Bridge when we reach the end of our time here.
Check out www.rainbowbridge.com and / or
http://www.geocities.com/lorisgarden/PetsInHeaven.html
Your and your baby have our prayers and purrs.
http://members.aol.com/larrystark/
LauraK
>now -- or to take her out of there and try to nurse her at home and
>hope for a miracle. I really don't know what I could do at this point
>due to her condition and its not like I have an ICU all set up in my
>house. If anybody has any advice or experience in this situation and
>can reply before this afternoon I would appreciate it.
It is one of the hardest decisions to make. No one likes to end the life of a
good friend. Do it as a truly unselfish act of love to repay the love she's
given you.
lau...@madmousergraphics.com
http://www.madmousergraphics.com
web design, print design, photography
CVT 1025
now -- or to take her out of there and try to nurse her at home and
hope for a miracle. I really don't know what I could do at this point
due to her condition and its not like I have an ICU all set up in my
house. If anybody has any advice or experience
While we all realize that only you can make this decision, since you asked for
advice, mine would be to euthanize her. It doesn't sound like a miracle will
happen, I'm sorry. Thoughts and prayers are with you both.
GovtLawyer
>can reply before this afternoon I would appreciate it.
This is probably too late, but I'll answer it as if it wasn't. You are
probably very upset about her apparant young age, 12. You've heard that many
cat's live to 17 and even as long as 22, so you are figuring she is too young
to be lost. She isn't. Just like humans, cats can get illnesses which are
sudden and life threatening. I had two go at the age of ten.
The bottom line is that you love your cat dearly and as much as you want her
with you, you are keenly aware of her well being and do not want her to suffer.
In the final analysis, whatever decision you make will come from your heart
and your love for her. Please do not second guess your decision, whatever it
is. Whatever you decide will be the right decision. Your cat has been lucky
to have you as a loving companion for all of these years, and she trusts you.
I know you'll do the right thing and I share your pain at this time.
CVT 1025
sudden and life threatening. I had two go at the age of ten.
The bottom line is that you love your cat dearly and as much as you want her
with you, you are keenly aware of her well being and do not want her to suffer.
This brings up a point debated about and pondered by many vet techs like me and
others in the field....if we have this option when dealing with animals, why is
it when a terminally ill and dying human family member is never considered for
potential "euthanasia?" I know a lot of you probably are either laughing or
thinking I'm nuts but I think it brings about a good point...when people or
animals are suffering and will definitely die within a short period of time,
why is it ok to end animals' lives but not a person's? Do you think it has
something to do with the soul of a person? How do we know animals do not have
souls? Is it like murder? How can it if it's for the GOOD of the person?
It's baffling.
Steve Thomas
as I saw Ophelia lying there in a coma, with open eyes and fixed
pupils, shuddering with seizures, I made the decision on the spot to
put her to sleep. The vet believes she has a brain tumor, either
primary or perhaps spread from somewhere else internally, probably the
pancreas. The Vet said she was relatively certain that Offie would
probably die within the next 24 hours if I wanted to wait for the
natural event to occur, but I didn't see the point. She was already
totally out of it anyway, so there was no trauma. I petted her while
they gave her the shot -- I hope somehow she knew that her friends
were there with her at the end.
Ophelia came to us as an abandoned stray. She was starving and looked
pretty wild. She did not trust us enough to even set foot in the
house at first but showed up late at night to get fed. I was working
a miserable night shift job at the time and would get home long after
midnight and the only bright spot in that dismal situation was that
ball of jet black fur and green eyes who would inevitably materialize
out of the darkness from under a hedge or a bush as soon as I got out
of my car, yowling for food. Eventually she trusted us enough to come
inside but was always very claustrophobic when closed up and would
climb the walls trying to escape : a true stray cat, thru and thru!
Once outside, she would relax and let us pet her. We have an enclosed
screened back porch that opens into the yard so we built her a little
all-weather hutch out there with a cat bed inside. That seemed like a
compromise she would accept and for the last 8 years that was Her
Place -- and boy does it look empty now.
When we took her into the vet last Wednesday she still had enough
energy to stand up and walk. The vet tech told us today that, when
she opened Offie's cage during that first night in the hospital, and
turned her back briefly, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a zooming
blur of black fur as Offie made a dash for the door, trying to escape.
I love the fact that the strong, noble instinct for survival that kept
her alive through her time of abandonment and fending for herself was
burning bright to the very end.
She's buried now in the backyard, under the green grass she loved to
lie in on her back in the late afternoons, catching the last warm rays
of winter sun that streamed over the ivy hedge. Thanks again for the
replies and for letting me vent.
In memory of Ophelia (aka "Offie")
1992 (?) - 2004
A true stray cat, to the very end.
GovtLawyer
>it when a terminally ill and dying human family member is never considered
>for
>potential "euthanasia?" I know a lot of you probably are either laughing or
>thinking I'm nuts but I think it brings about a good point...when people or
>animals are suffering and will definitely die within a short period of time,
>why is it ok to end animals' lives but not a person's? Do you think it has
>something to do with the soul of a person? How do we know animals do not
>have
>souls? Is it like murder? How can it if it's for the GOOD of the person?
>It's baffling.
>
>
>
I don't know if it has as much to do with the "soul" as it does with conscious
thought. An animal could never tell us before hand what to do "if," but a
human can express wishes. We do allow some humans to pass away without
providing assistance. The "DNR - Do Not Resucitate" directive. The big
problem with assited suicide is how can we be 100% sure the person had no hope
and was competent to make this decision. We just don't have these kind of
debates with animals.
Damaeus
posted a message in news:rec.pets.cats which read:
> I feel for you. We just had to let our 17 year old Moses go this past Saturday and it is
> not an easy decision to make. Our vet told us this past October or so that as long as his
> quality of life did not deteriorate that we could wait but if that happens then it is time
> to let go and this past weekend was the time to let him go to the 'Bridge as much as we
> did not want to. We have to do what is best for our beloved pets as much as we do not
> want to let them go. They give us a lifetime of love and affection and the best way we
> can repay them is to release them from they pain and suffering. They will be waiting for
> us at the 'Bridge when we reach the end of our time here.
I only wonder why we give people such a hard time when they have the ability
to request in plain English, a way to exit their misery.
Damaeus
news:rec.pets.cats which read:
> This brings up a point debated about and pondered by many vet techs like me and
> others in the field....if we have this option when dealing with animals, why is
> it when a terminally ill and dying human family member is never considered for
> potential "euthanasia?" I know a lot of you probably are either laughing or
> thinking I'm nuts but I think it brings about a good point...when people or
> animals are suffering and will definitely die within a short period of time,
> why is it ok to end animals' lives but not a person's? Do you think it has
> something to do with the soul of a person? How do we know animals do not have
> souls? Is it like murder? How can it if it's for the GOOD of the person?
> It's baffling.
This brings up a point I've thought for years. I've never died before,
obviously, and I've never had a near-death-experience. But I've had my share
of "mystical" experiences and whatnot which leads me to believe that death
isn't just a sudden, snap event that begins and ends in a few minutes. I
think death is a process, just like growing and maturing is a process. I
think that as the body begins to get old and worn out, the soul/spirit travels
more. I think the mysteries of life become clearer, hence the seemingly
easygoing joy that many elderly people seem to enjoy. It's not that they're
having OBE's every night, but I think the fact that they can't do with their
bodies what they used to do leaves their mind and spirit open to do more
things related to the soul. When the body does begin to really shut down, for
all we know, that person's spirit is soaring in the heavens, but their body
may groan in pain and misery. Ever seen a person talk in their sleep? They
wake up from a dream never knowing they were just a'blabberin' away. The
spirit may be soaring while the body suffers. By ending their life too
quickly, perhaps it's more traumatic. Perhaps the most gentle transition from
the physical to the etheric is to die naturally.
Either way, I think the result is the same. I just think natural death would
be far smoother than euthanasia.
Damaeus
Luvskats00
the fact that the vet knows much more about the medical problems of your cat
and all cats - more than you do.
It's a very difficult thing for us to let go of the ones we love. It's the
kindest thing we can do, though. I'm sure you don't want your pet to suffer or
be in pain. If you can be with her it might be of comfort to know you were
with your friend 'til the very end.
I found the people at petloss.com to be of much comfort. There is a nightly
conference where you can chat with others who have lost their friends.
CVT 1025
they gave her the shot -- I hope somehow she knew that her friends
were there with her at the end.
I'm very sure she did. Know in your heart you did the right thing. Take
comfort in knowing that her suffering has ended.
Tim May
<govtl...@aol.com> wrote:
> I don't know if it has as much to do with the "soul" as it does with conscious
> thought. An animal could never tell us before hand what to do "if," but a
> human can express wishes. We do allow some humans to pass away without
> providing assistance. The "DNR - Do Not Resucitate" directive. The big
> problem with assited suicide is how can we be 100% sure the person had no hope
> and was competent to make this decision. We just don't have these kind of
> debates with animals.
Excellent points.
Another issue is, to put it bluntly, I don't want my potential heirs
(or those who _think_ they will be heirs) to make decisions on when the
"old man" is beyond hope. I'm talking about euthanasia of those who
have not requested it, not either DNRs or patient-requested action.
With animals this issue of heirs have ulterior motives never arises
(well, nearly never, though it may arise with insured horses, that sort
of thing).
I had my Siamese cat put to sleep a couple of years ago. (He was a
great buddy, but I have no religious illusions about some "Bridge" he's
supposedly waiting for me at...when he died, he died, his CPU stopped
ticking, his personality and consciousness stopped the same way my
computer's "soul" goes away when I flip the power switch. Same thing
that'll happen to me someday.)
He was very sick, had already had a couple of expensive transfusions,
and it was clear that there was no hope of his gettting better. And,
yes, financial considerations were a determining issue--I don't gussy
it up with stuff about "not prolonging his suffering." The fact is, my
vet of many years said that she could have him sent to a specialist
facility for a battery of tests, but that the results would almost
certainly match her own clinic's results, and that further transfusions
and drugs might let him live another month or two, at a probable cost
of $2500 or more. For me, this was an easy decision to make, as it's
silly to spend $2500 for slight life extension to a terminally ill cat.
Better to spend that money helping other, healthy cats, in my book.
Another month or so of life wouldn't have mattered for my cat--some
deep philosophical issues of what matters--and it would only have been
a time of extended worrying for me and (some) suffering for him....and
more expenses over and above the special tests and treatments.
I _was_ glad that after he first fell ill I had him get one
transfusion, some Prednisone, etc., and that I took him home for a
couple of weeks. Then the cancer problems returned, with a vengeance,
as the vet expected they would. The couple of weeks he was at home gave
me time to get used to what was coming, without exorbitant or heroic
expenses and measures. It was less of a shock than just taking him to
be looked at and bringing him home in a box for burial would have been.
It used to be that most pets and home animals died at home. They got
sick and eventually died. Today we are starting to appy the same
"anything it takes" measures to our pets who are elderly. We even have
beggars spamming this newsgroup asking for money to pay enormous
terminal care costs they admittedly cannot afford...
Not a healthy development. When a pet reaches the probable point of no
return, spending increasingly large amounts of money to extend his life
by a few weeks or even months is just not a good idea.
--Tim May
GovtLawyer
The one message I tell all pet owners who write on these boards about their
life/death quadries, is that it is obvious that they love their pets. I've had
the same balancing act of money vs quality and length of life. It is a
distressing quandry. Do I spend money I don't have to prolong kitty's life,
for how long, and what will his quality of life be. When it finally comes down
to it, my uppermost concern is kitty's welfare and comfort. I feel content
after these decisions, knowing I did what I thought was best for my friend and
companion.
blkcatgal
I am sorry for your loss. You made what I think is the hardest
decision....as right as it may be, it is still difficult. I feel for you.
"Offie" is now running free at the Rainbow Bridge, free of all pain.
Sue
"Steve Thomas" <stev...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:a6b17c70.0403...@posting.google.com...
Unknown
it. What a lovely place for her final rest. May she rest in peace.
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