When is it time to put a pet to sleep?

[BabyBearsMom]

We have a cat who is very sweet but has issues. She is a rescue and was badly abused before we adopted her. As a result, she has permanent spinal damage which has evolved into arthritis in her back and hind legs. She is also extremely shy of humans and since DD was born, she avoids us for the most part. The other day, I was in the basement doing laundry, saw her laying there and went over to give her a scratch. I haven't actually seen her in several weeks as she hides out in the basement or under beds. She was excited for some attention, so she got up to nuzzle me. When she walked, I noticed that she holds her leg at a very odd angle to move and when I tried to inspect it, she cried out in pain. It doesn't look like she injured herself, it just looks like her arthritis is getting much worse. I called the vet and he offered to give us pain pills for her. The thing is, the cat has mental issues as well (not surprising given the torture she went through before we got her) and I feel like pilling her everyday will give her extensive anxiety. But I also feel awful that she is in pain. DH says we should just wait until she can no longer walk to the litter box and the food and then put her to sleep. He is also anti-pain medicine because pilling her is very dangerous to us, she has claws and some teeth and is not afraid to use them. I don't want to kill her, but at the same time, I feel absolutely terrible that she is in pain. Would you risk your own skin and the cat's already shaky mental state and pill her? Would you wait and put her down when she is unable to move? Or is it more humane to put her down now before the pain gets so severe? She is always worse in the winter than she is in the summer, so I know there is more pain for her to come.

[elektra]

I probably would try the pills and see what happens. If she wigs out mentally, I would then ask the vet about what he thinks her pain level is, and if there is something that can be done to alleviate the pain besides pills. If he thinks she is not in great pain, I might wait it out longer. But if she is in pain, it doesn't seem right to make her struggle until she is physically unable to move to the litter box either.
And if she is old and the only option is surgery that will cost thousands, it might be time to put her down, IMO.

[BabyBearsMom]

I probably would try the pills and see what happens. If she wigs out mentally, I would then ask the vet about what he thinks her pain level is, and if there is something that can be done to alleviate the pain besides pills. If he thinks she is not in great pain, I might wait it out longer. But if she is in pain, it doesn't seem right to make her struggle until she is physically unable to move to the litter box either.
And if she is old and the only option is surgery that will cost thousands, it might be time to put her down, IMO.

She is 7, so not old but we were told when we adopted her that due to her arthritis, she would not be a long lived cat. The Humane Society actually said it would be a miracle if she made it past 6, so making it to 7 was a surprise for us. I know DH would not be game for a $$ surgery for the cat and would put her to sleep before he would spend more than a few hundred dollars on her. He loves cats, but definitely sees them as pets and not as part of the family, kwim?

[rlu]

We lost both LGD (little girl dog) and BBD (big boy dog) to osteosarcoma. LGD was relatively young when diagnosed and we were given the option of pallitive care or amputation to buy another year. LGD suffered vet anxiety, and the amputation would require a multi-night stay at the vet with extremely limited visiting - it seemed cruel given her anxiety. We choose pallitive care and she was with us for another six months. I would try the pain pills and see her quality of life.

Depending on the medicine, you may be able to purchase it online for less. Initally the vet may give you a sample to try to determine dosage before having you buy a large quantity. At least, ours did. We donated back to her the remainder of their pills after they passed so she could pass them along as samples to others just as she did for us.

eta: do you think the anxiety would be a side-effect of the medicine, or from the administering of the medicine?

[BabyBearsMom]

eta: do you think the anxiety would be a side-effect of the medicine, or from the administering of the medicine?

It is administering the medicine. She won't eat the pill voluntarily (even when wrapped in cheese or meat) so you have to hold her mouth open, shove the pill down and hold her mouth closed. We ran into this when she had a severe urinary tract infection several years ago. DH and I both looked like we had made failed suicide attempts because our arms were sliced open. She also became terrified of us from giving her the pills, so in order to give them to her, we had to pull her out of whatever hiding place she was in. It was terrible. And this poor cat has been through so much already, I hate to make her afraid of the only two people who have treated her kindly.

[newg]

It is administering the medicine. She won't eat the pill voluntarily (even when wrapped in cheese or meat) so you have to hold her mouth open, shove the pill down and hold her mouth closed. We ran into this when she had a severe urinary tract infection several years ago. DH and I both looked like we had made failed suicide attempts because our arms were sliced open. She also became terrified of us from giving her the pills, so in order to give them to her, we had to pull her out of whatever hiding place she was in. It was terrible. And this poor cat has been through so much already, I hate to make her afraid of the only two people who have treated her kindly.

can you cut the pill up and mix it with a really yummy, soft treat (or soft food).....and give it to her when she's really hungry??
My greyhound was only eating chicken in her last month.......I felt like a personal chef for her, but it was the only way I could get her to eat at all, let alone take her five pills.

[annex]

I don't know if it will be any easier, but when my elderly cat was limping and our vet gave us a liquid pain med we just had to squirt on the back of the tongue (and made sure we confined him for a few days in a place where he didn't need to jump/do stairs to get food/water/litter.) I don't know how much made it down but it seemed to help some.

[hopeful_mama]

Do you think she might find a syringe of liquid to be more tolerable, and would you think you'd get scratched less? I've always found a syringe to be significantly easier and faster for me to administer. If that would sound better, maybe ask the vet if either there's a liquid available or you'd be able to dissolve the pills in water (or crush them and mix them in). If I did go ahead with pain meds, I would always follow with a treat unless she's really on a special diet.

That is a tough situation. Our current cat only likes DH and me, though doesn't hide from DD or others to the extent of yours. I totally get not wanting to damage that last relationship. If I thought it would be truly traumatic, and ruin the rest of her quality of life, I would probably lean against doing it. But I couldn't say for certain unless I was faced with the decision myself... :hug:

[SkyrMommy]

I would try the pill just for a time to see how she does and then if by late fall she's not doing better and you know the she'll be in awful pain or unable to walk I would have her put to sleep. FWIW, our vet had me crush our oldest kitty's pill as she battled cancer on her mouth and mix it with a tiny bit of very tasty soft food that she could eat. I knew she ate the medicine because she would finish the small amount and I didn't have to force anything on her. I had another three months of love from her before the cancer got to be too much.

:hug: I know how hard it can be.

[wellyes]

DH says we should just wait until she can no longer walk to the litter box and the food and then put her to sleep.That seems much more cruel than putting her to sleep immediately.

It's so hard when an animal is just plain miserable and you see no hope for the future. But I personally would not put a pet to sleep because of an illness that can be treated, especially one that can be inexpensively treated, without doing my part to pursue that relief. I'd ask the vet for a different form of pill, or invest in very thick gardening gloves to administer the pain pills.

I symapthize, for sure. We have a cat and are are much less generous with our time and attention than we were pre-kids. I feel like an awful person when the cat is absurdly grateful for some simple petting and companionship.

[MommyofAmaya]

Do you think she might find a syringe of liquid to be more tolerable, and would you think you'd get scratched less? I've always found a syringe to be significantly easier and faster for me to administer. If that would sound better, maybe ask the vet if either there's a liquid available or you'd be able to dissolve the pills in water (or crush them and mix them in). If I did go ahead with pain meds, I would always follow with a treat unless she's really on a special diet.


I avoid pills for our pets since the time I pulled one out of dd's mouth when she was less than a year old. I can only assume that although we thought we got it down the dog's throat, she was still able spit it out when she came back upstairs. We try to do a liquid if at all possible.

[pinkmomagain]

Not sure if they are made for cats, but I've discovered Pill Pockets made by the company that makes Greenies for dogs. These things are truly a miracle. Look/feels like a soft, melted tootsie roll with a tunnel in the middle. You put the pill in there and smoosh it up. My dog loves it! I've tried wrapping pills in cheese, etc. and he won't take or eat the cheese and spit out the pill. But these pill pockets are something else, in my experience.

Oh they do make them for cats:
http://www.greenies.com/en_US/Products/felinepillpockets.aspx

It's worth a try!

[kijip]

If you can't safely relieve her pain, then I think the kindest thing to do is put her to sleep.

[SammyeGail]

The kindness and also sensible advice I received about my furbaby was 'follow your heart' concerning when to let go. It's a miracle she is still hanging on fairly well, heart and liver failure, vet said a week or so at most, that was a month ago (?).

Like many PP suggested, I would try crushing in food. Maybe get a few cans of tuna. I am also playing specialty chef for doggy right now.

At first she would only fight a little with the liver pill, then she would always get it back out. That pill was big for a 5lb dog. She went 4 days without before I finally crushed it in with some chicken. Next day called vet office, they said that was ok, it is supposed to be taken whole, but do what I could. Went by and got her the liquid and squirt it down her throat. It works!

I know people have different views on the choice, that's why I say follow your heart. Maggie has so much vet anxiety I will keep her here until she passes. I know this may sound cruel, but I wish vet offices offered something you can use at home when it's time. I'm sure there are some regulations against that.

You did a great thing rescuing your kitty. Do what you feel is right for you and her. Lots of hugs!!

[baileygirl]

My dog (12 years old) had some knee problems, which caused her not to bare weight on the leg. The vet gave us some pain pills for her and suggested an expensive surgery if her knee wasn't better in 6 months. I had reservations on the surgery because of her age, putting her thru more pain and there was a decent chance the surgery wouldn't work. Anyway 6 months later her leg wasn't better. I started giving her Glucosamine Chondroitin for dogs from Trader Joes ($10 a bottle) and her knee totally improved in a very short time. To the extent both my mom and my fil (80) said they should start taking it. The pills wouldn't work for your cat (they are big), but maybe they have it in liquid form or perhaps they have smaller ones that could be crushed up (assuming Glucosamine Chondroitin is safe for cats).

[rlu]

I know people have different views on the choice, that's why I say follow your heart. Maggie has so much vet anxiety I will keep her here until she passes. I know this may sound cruel, but I wish vet offices offered something you can use at home when it's time. I'm sure there are some regulations against that.

Our vet does house calls for this. It isn't something they advertised but let us know about when discussing the options we faced with both dogs.

[fivi2]

If you can't safely relieve her pain, then I think the kindest thing to do is put her to sleep.
ITA

I have a very elderly cat who has health issues. *For me* as soon as I see indications of pain, I will put her to sleep. She is almost 18 years old, so I really don't feel the need to go to extreme measures to prolong her life, especially if she is suffering.

In your case, I would probably do one vet run just to rule out a simple explanation. But if this is her quality of life from now on, I probably would not begin a pain pill regimen just to draw things out. I would go ahead and have her put to sleep. sorry - I know it is a difficult decision.

[icunurse]

Our cat recently passed after a very long, expensive and *messy* illness (he used the house as a litterbox 2-3 times/day, had diarrhea for 6+ months). After a point, we kept asking the vet when should we put him down? Now? We can't do this anymore, can we talk about it? And our vet never let us pursue it (they are over-the-top pet lovers, no expense spared for an animal). Needless to say, I watched as he withered away every day, holding out false hope from the vet, knowing that it couldn't go on much longer. In talking with my dog's groomer later on, she told me this - if you are asking yourself, then it is probably time and if you don't do it, you will probably look back to that time and wish you had done it then. I find that to be true. Sorry that you are facing this....even when it is bad, it is never easy.

[ecofem]

My parents had a similar recluse cat that was a stray and had a lot of issues... mostly hid under the bed for its life...

I would try the pain meds... check into compounding pharmacies that can make it into a tuna liquid (yuck!!!!) and squirt it on the food.....

Good luck!

[mytwosons]

Our vet mentioned trying a pain patch with our dog when he kept spitting up the pills. Maybe that is an option for cats, too?

:hug:

[Jo..]

When it os obvious to you that the pet is no longer enjoying life, and you are just hanging on for *you*.

I know this sounds trite.

Our most beloved dog ever was ready to go weeks or months before we were ready to let him go. In retrospect, and if I had a do-over, I'd put him to sleep before the extreme suffering started. :(