Cat euthanasia decision and process
January 18, 2018 11:22 AM Subscribe
Kitty is not doing well. I think it may be time to let her go. I need some help thinking this through.
My 16-year-old cat was diagnosed with kidney disease about six months ago. About a month ago, a wound on her leg turned out to be an aggressive cancerous tumor. She is the most anxious cat I've ever had, and I always knew I would not be able to do a lot of medical treatment for her (I've done subcutaneous fluids for a cat before, so I'm no stranger to caring for a sick cat). So I opted for palliative care (treating the tumor would have meant amputation, which didn't seem right for her age and anxiety level). A local mobile vet came to the house for a hospice assessment and prescribed pain killers, which I've been giving her.
She used to come up to me to chat every day, but she's not really doing that any more, except for once this week. She spends most of her time sleeping. When she was first diagnosed with the tumor, the vet manipulated her leg quite a bit, and she didn't seem to be in pain from it. But now I've noticed an occasional limp. She still climbs to the top of the stairs and jumps into her favorite chair. But today I noticed that she was holding the leg with the tumor slightly above the chair for a while, which made me think she is in pain. In the last few days, her appetite has decreased. She hasn't used the litterbox for peeing for quite a while, but she always goes in the same place, so we've been using puppy pads. She still purrs when I pet her.
She absolutely hates the car and the vet, which is why I wanted to bring in the mobile vet, though she also hates all strangers. I am afraid that if I keep waiting, we will end up in an emergency situation where I have to drive her to the vet with her yowling in fear the whole way. We live in snow country, so I'm also afraid of having to drive her to the vet in very cold weather or a snowstorm.
I am very anxious about the situation and am sick with worry every morning that she will have died in the night and sick with worry every evening that she will have died while I'm at work, but I don't want to put her down just to end my own anxiety.
But I also know that if the mobile vet comes to euthanize her, she will hide, and that just seems so painful. The vet did say she could prescribe a sedative for me to give her before she comes over. I think I know I should just make the appointment, but I can't get myself to do it. I'm not completely sure that I'm doing the right thing. I've had this cat from kittenhood, and I love her to pieces..
I'm familiar with the HHHHMM scale, which is part of why I worry that I'm jumping the gun. She is not soiling herself and still grooms herself (hygiene), and she is drinking water (hydration). She is not stumbling - just the slight limp (M). I don't know if she's having more good days than bad - all the days seem about the same - not wonderful, but not terrible. I will say that the tumor itself looks horrifying, though she doesn't seem that bothered by it.
I did send the mobile vet an email, and she said I should take my thoughts about her fear out of it and think about her quality of life, but that's what I'm having a hard time assessing.
Any advice/thoughts would be much appreciated. I've looked at all the previous Asks on pet euthanasia, but I still don't know what to do.
My 16-year-old cat was diagnosed with kidney disease about six months ago. About a month ago, a wound on her leg turned out to be an aggressive cancerous tumor. She is the most anxious cat I've ever had, and I always knew I would not be able to do a lot of medical treatment for her (I've done subcutaneous fluids for a cat before, so I'm no stranger to caring for a sick cat). So I opted for palliative care (treating the tumor would have meant amputation, which didn't seem right for her age and anxiety level). A local mobile vet came to the house for a hospice assessment and prescribed pain killers, which I've been giving her.
She used to come up to me to chat every day, but she's not really doing that any more, except for once this week. She spends most of her time sleeping. When she was first diagnosed with the tumor, the vet manipulated her leg quite a bit, and she didn't seem to be in pain from it. But now I've noticed an occasional limp. She still climbs to the top of the stairs and jumps into her favorite chair. But today I noticed that she was holding the leg with the tumor slightly above the chair for a while, which made me think she is in pain. In the last few days, her appetite has decreased. She hasn't used the litterbox for peeing for quite a while, but she always goes in the same place, so we've been using puppy pads. She still purrs when I pet her.
She absolutely hates the car and the vet, which is why I wanted to bring in the mobile vet, though she also hates all strangers. I am afraid that if I keep waiting, we will end up in an emergency situation where I have to drive her to the vet with her yowling in fear the whole way. We live in snow country, so I'm also afraid of having to drive her to the vet in very cold weather or a snowstorm.
I am very anxious about the situation and am sick with worry every morning that she will have died in the night and sick with worry every evening that she will have died while I'm at work, but I don't want to put her down just to end my own anxiety.
But I also know that if the mobile vet comes to euthanize her, she will hide, and that just seems so painful. The vet did say she could prescribe a sedative for me to give her before she comes over. I think I know I should just make the appointment, but I can't get myself to do it. I'm not completely sure that I'm doing the right thing. I've had this cat from kittenhood, and I love her to pieces..
I'm familiar with the HHHHMM scale, which is part of why I worry that I'm jumping the gun. She is not soiling herself and still grooms herself (hygiene), and she is drinking water (hydration). She is not stumbling - just the slight limp (M). I don't know if she's having more good days than bad - all the days seem about the same - not wonderful, but not terrible. I will say that the tumor itself looks horrifying, though she doesn't seem that bothered by it.
I did send the mobile vet an email, and she said I should take my thoughts about her fear out of it and think about her quality of life, but that's what I'm having a hard time assessing.
Any advice/thoughts would be much appreciated. I've looked at all the previous Asks on pet euthanasia, but I still don't know what to do.
This post was deleted for the following reason: poster's request -- cortex
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