Putting a pet down ?

Question

Do you believe it is right to choose to put your pet down or not?

I personally don't unless they are in extreme pain. I was told that they let you know if its they need you too. My cat right now isn't doing good she is 14. Has an abscess on her stomach, my mom and I have been cleaning it and its draining. She has just been laying there, she can still get up and move around and is still eating and drinking on her own. I feel so horrible that she is going through this but I don't believe that she is ready to go. I could never put a pet down unless absolutely necessary and I think if it was her time right now then she would let go and god would take her. I don't know how many of you talk to your animals but I do. I was laying there on the floor with her, telling her that she is my little fighter and that she doesn't need to keep fighting it. For all I know she could live another 6 months, I could never decide to take their life.

I just wanted your opinions on it...do you think its right for the owner to decide when its time for the pet to die (i.e. putting them down) or do you think you should let nature take its course and they'll go when they are ready?

Answer 1

My 16 going on 17 abyssinian was put down because he had a tumor, we only put him down that because he made it clear it was time to go, he couldn't walk he was extremely skinny, stopped eating and if left any longer would have been in complete agony, we knew about the tumor about 3 months before he died and like you we weren't going to end his life then when we knew he still had time to go. Some times letting nature take it's course is worse then letting you decide.

Answer 2

You are the best judge of this imho.  I had to make the decision of having my baby put down and had to consider his quality of life.  He was lethargic, could do nothing, but lay on the back of the couch, couldn't make it to the litter box in time, and was bleeding.  I didn't want to let him go and was feeling selfish, but decided to let him go to Rainbow Bridge and be happy and healthy again.  He is buried in my side yard with a little tombstone I had made saying "We love you Babbles" as a memorial to him.

Answer 3

I think it is a silent pack anyone who takes on the responsibility of a pet promises to the pet--that you will care for it which includes making the really tough final decision if that becomes necessary.  If you know your pet, you will know when it is time to let them move on to a better place.  A kept pet is in an artificial situation and you cannot fall back on "nature taking her course."  If nature had her way, your kitty would probably already be dead (any injured animal in nature will be taken down by a hungry predator or infection and complications will take down the animal very fast)--I know, it's harsh to hear but it's true.  You'll know when you're kitty's quality of life becomes negative and you should prepare yourself for making that hard decision to euthanize her rather than let her suffer (starve to death?  Die of thirst? Just keen in pain until her heart finally gives up or her brain finally gets too infected to function any more?).  I've seen pets who's owners refused to euthanize them when it was obvious the animal was in grave pain and, if it was given the freedom to leave, the animal would have walked off to find some deserted hideaway to die in--but because it was a pet kept in a yard and/or indoors, it died piece by piece by piece, putting up a brave front for it's owners but in constant pain.

Answer 4

I do not think you should just let the cat die. You should go to the vet right away. The vet will most likely have to do surgery to get the abscess off of her. But this is better than treating it by yourself. You also need to get any medicines that your vet prescribes. If you do not have enough money to take her to a vet, I'm sorry, but you really shouldn't have a cat.. (i dislike saying this but you need money to take care of a pet). Take her to the vet. It is for her own good.

Answer 5

I am sorry you are going through this

I understand the question because what many people here call putting to sleep or putting down is really killing.

There is a difference

The reasons to do this are simple. It is for the benefit of the cat.

If the cat is in pain and can't recover or be treated or be made comfortable then you would be doing the humane thing for the cat's benefit.

  Putting a cat down for something like diabetes or hyperthyroid is killing because the person is too dam lazy or irresponsible to do the right thing and treat something very treatable. Sometimes it is very difficult to know what is right to o as cats can hide pain pretty well.

  Your cat has an abscess, that is treatable an I hope your cat gets well soon

Answer 6

i feel the exact same way as you do. i talk to my pet i care about my dogs alot they mean the world to me & i would be heart brocken if they were in pain too but i look at it like this you kept them happy you raised them all thses yrs there a reason why this is happening. personaly i wouldnt want my animals to suffer in pain id want it to rest in peace not goin thru pain they cant even stand. it depends on the situation if u cant do anything to make it feel better then put her pain to an end.  

Answer 7

i would never put my pet down. unless like you said if he was in extreme pain. i just lost my hamster naturally (very sad) she was 5 years old. so my cat being 6 years i would hate to lose him. but if absolutly nessacery like there wasent a singl other option. then maybe

Answer 8

You say she has a abcess ON her stomach!  Are you doctoring it?  Why isn't it healing?  You need to be giving her antibiotics, which you get from a VET.  If, after getting her ALL the HELP you can, she still isn't getting well, she will indicate that she's ready to go.  However, unless you do EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER to help her, you're just letting her die.  "Nature" needs veterinary intervention sometimes.  So, get her the help that she deserves, and see if she can't have a few more years of "quality" life.

I have a diabetic cat (13 yr neutered male), who has been on 2 x day insulin injections for 2 years.  If I'd just "let nature take it's course", I probably wouldn't still have him.  So, do the right thing, and get her some antibiotic aid from a vet, and hopefully she'll live a few more good years.  Doesn't she deserve it?

Good luck...............

Answer 9

i had a 14 year old yellow lab and we had him put down because he couldn't get up , wouldn't eat, and couldn't control his bowels. I think that him being put down is better than him starving to death.

Answer 10

As for my opinion on the general issue, it depends on the situation.  "Letting nature take it's course" could be cruel if the animal is in extreme pain which cannot be alleviated, is permanently incontinent or has an incurable disease or severe injury which is significantly (I mean severely) impacting it's quality of life.

I sometimes wonder though, why it is seen as permissible, even desirable to take an animal's life through euthanasia when that is generally NOT seen as appropriate *at all* for humans who are sick or injured, no matter how severely (although there is current social and political pressure to change this)...What's the difference?  Doesn't an animal or pet want to live just as much as a person?  I'm not saying that an animal's life is "on par" with that of a human; but the overwhelming majority of the time it is not an either/or decision. It just seems to me that sometimes these decisions are made for someone's convenience or economic feasibility, which just seems very unfortunate if not outright wrong.

For example, the Best Friends animal sanctuary in Kanab, Utah has a "no-kill" policy for their permanent residents.  In one cat section, they have a bunch of felines who are permanently incontinent (for one reason or other), but who aren't in any pain or other serious ailments.  Most individual people who have a cat like this would want to euthanize it right away, but it wouldn't really be due to the discomfort of the cat, but rather their worry about their home, carpeting and furnishings getting ruined. :(  The cats at Best Friends are otherwise healthy and happy -- people come and visit them, play with them, read to them, etc. and the cats purr and give head butts, etc.  They just had to take special considerations to accommodate their disability.

While I realize this type of consideration can be significant and not many people can afford to do this, sometimes this attitude is taken to extremes by people who are too "house proud" and insist on declawing their cats for the sake of a stupid inanimate sofa or whatever.  Then the cat becomes nervous, jumpy and biting people a lot due to the insecurity it feels without its claws, so it gets surrendered to a shelter and eventually euthanized because no one else wants a nervous, mean and nasty "biter" for a pet, either.  That's just one example of when euthanasia can and should be prevented by people not making stupid, selfish decisions in the first place.

Concerning your particular situation with your cat, though, what is causing the abscess?  Is it due to a recent injury, or is it related to a more serious underlying condition (such as a cancerous tumor or systemic disease)?  If you don't know -- if this is a recent one-time development that you haven't seen before and no veterinarian has advised you about, why not take her in for a medical checkup?  It could be something simple that could be treated and her quality of life would improve.

While 14 yrs. is old for a cat, many cats can and do live beyond this.  It shouldn't be an automatic death sentence.  If your cat is still mobile, and still eating and drinking, those are all good signs.  Older pets need more routine medical checkups (or at least it's a good idea) than younger cats, and are prone to more ailments, however.  I'd say it's time for her to see the veterinarian, maybe even get a second opinion if you don't feel quite right about a diagnosis or if it's something complex for which there are different philosophies and avenues of possible treatment.  Best Wishes to you and your precious furbaby. :)  I hope it's nothing serious and that she will have many more years left yet.

Answer 11

I have just gone through this with a friend. The cat was eating a lot but losing weight. It turned out to be a cancer mass. We took the cat home but things got so bad that the only answer was to take him back to the vet before the cat died in agony. He also became vunerable to attack from other cats outside. It is painful for the owner but you will know when the time is right. Every sympathy with you.