To put my four elderly cats to sleep even though they are not dying?

[Turningtiger]

DH lost his job and we've had to move to a cheaper area of the city we live in. The house we have found to accommodate our family and within our price range does not allow pets. We will also probably have to move abroad next year because most of the jobs that DH can get are in Europe.

We have gone through periods of boarding our cats while we have been looking for somewhere new to live and all the turmoil it has brought about. It has been expensive boarding as each cat has a different health condition which needs a lot of attention, giving meds, vet visits etc, so we've had to pay extra for the very kind lady at the boarding to do that too.

I have volunteered for animal rescues in our area for 20 years, and I know what pressure they are under. I know that most people abandon their animals without a second look, and if they do make a donation to the shelter before they disappear, it's usually just enough to cover the initial vaccinations and perhaps a spay. I've also had these cats so long that I don't feel I could trust someone else to look after them in a way that they wouldn't suffer. I know that doesn't sound rational, but I've just had them for so long, I know them so well.

There is also an element for me of feeling terribly embarrassed, after all these years of volunteering and donating, to present the same story as everyone else who we have rolled our eyes at over the years. In the "rescue" world I volunteer in, there is no excuse to abandon your animals.

I am temped now to put them down, so that I can know that they had a fantastic life and that they did not suffer. It will save me a lot of anxiety (yes I'm aware I am thinking about me). I know also that this doesn't sound rational either. But to me it feels like the right thing.

What do you think? The cats are all 16 from the same litter.

Please think about contacting your local Cats Protection first, they have volunteer foster carers who may be able to care for the cats in a home environment rather than a rescue centre (I am a CP foster carer for example).

PS....I have fostered a number of elderly cats and none of them have found it particularly difficult to settle in. I suspect you'd be surprised at how quickly they settle.

Imagine just disposing of children or elderly people in the same way because they didn't fit in with your lifestyle/housing.
You have a responsibility and their lives matter.
How could you live with four murders on your conscience, when they are not sick? They may be elderly but have many happy years left. Maybe only months, but you owe them that.
It 'will save you anxiety'. How? Will you be with them? Will you hold each of them as the needle goes in, and watch them stop breathing?
Will you put them in the special bin/ freezer after, or take them to the incinerator, as vet will have to do, unecessarily, or take their lifeless little bodies home? Those that you called your pets?
I really hope this is a fake post.

Agree with greyhorses. I'm an RVN too, been in practice 25 years and I don't know a single vet who would have a problem carrying out OP's wishes. Too many people here anthropomorphizing. I have a keen interest in feline behaviour and can assure you removing an elderly cat from it's environment and placing it in a cattery full of other cats would cause a great deal of stress. Cat's stress signals are very subtle and most find being in close confinement with other cats very stressful. Yes some cats live upto 20 or so but not the majority, 16/17 is a very good age. I wish more people made the decision to euthanize before their pets end up looking RSPCA adverts, something i see every week without fail.

Is OP returning to this thread?

Are you allowed to say cunt on mumsnet?

Imagine just disposing of children or elderly people in the same way because they didn't fit in with your lifestyle/housing

And way fewer landlords stipulate "no children or elderly...."

I think there are far worse things that can happen to an animal than being PTS-for example being a frail elderly cat in A rescue centre

Not rtft but I took on a cat like this. Poor thing. I did my best for him but in truth, it would have been much, much kinder to him to put him to sleep.

Quality of life counts in humans, and in cats

In your situation, 16 year old cats with health conditions, I would rather put them to sleep then them be split up and spend their last days in a shelter. YANBU.

In your position I would put them to sleep. We got into financial difficulty before and moved in with family. They wouldn't allow our pets. One cat we rehomed but another with medical conditions we pts

We spoke to people in no kill shelters and they said they would take him but he'd live out the rest of his days caged cos realistically they wouldn't find a taker - the stress of that would be crueller than putting him down.

It was awful but we did it. He didn't suffer which he would've done in a shelter.

At 16 years old I'd put them down tbh

Best of luck anyway, it's an awful decision to make xx

Threads like these are why I refuse to get a pet until I own my own home. Finding a rental property that will take pets is often so difficult, I would worry about it all the time. The instability of renting is scary enough as it is.

As someone who has owned and loved 4 cats at once for the last 16 years and dedicated a large proportion of your free time and energy to a cat's shelter, I think you can trust yourself to make the best decision for your pets.

The arguments on both sides are really emotive but you are a compassionate person who knows and understands both your cats and your personal circumstances.

How could you live with four murders on your conscience, when they are not sick

Ofgs get a grip. They are sick, OP has said they have medical conditions requiring daily medication, medical conditions such as kidney disease and hyperthyroidism are progressive diseases, they won't get better, only worse.

I also volunteer in rescue and have foster animals here often.

I've also worked in vets, and as PP have said such as UsernameEnvy and Greyhouses, in these circs all vets I have met would certainly PTS at your request.

I would PTS. Removing elderly cats from their home, splitting them up- who rehomes four?- given their health conditions and need for medicines and special treatment I think it would be unkind to pass them on.

I've never lived without pets, and we have loved them all to the end. But in your position although I'd hate it, I think you are right. I'd do it.

I wish more people made the decision to euthanize before their pets end up looking RSPCA adverts, something i see every week without fail.

This x 1000.

Knowing the right time to PTS is part of being a responsible pet owner - it's better to be a week early than a day late. I would 100% PTS in your situation OP.

Farmers would be prosecuted for keeping animals in the sad condition that some pets end up in. Just because they can be kept alive doesn't mean that they should be.

UsernameEnvy, as I and many others have said a lot of rescues use fosters so the cats would not be put in a cattery with lots of other cats. I have given the name of one such cat rescue but as the OP has not said where they are I don't know if they could help or not.

"In my view a pet is for life"

Whose life? Should older people not get pets then? Or sick people?

I keep tortoises. They will certainly outlive me, and possibly even my children. I will look after them as long as I can give them a good life (can see us in the old folks home together ) but then I'll pass them on to a new owner or sanctuary . And yes I'd rather see them pts than cared for badly (ignorant owners are terrible for tortoises).

OP I'm sorry you're in this situation, you obviously love your pets. My recommendation would be to ask your existing landlord for a reference (I assume you're moving from one rental to another) about the condition you're leaving the house and the fact the cats have not damaged your home.

If you give the new landlord a good reference they may well let you take them (especially if you say they're old so unlikely to be regimes, I'm a landlordbut a complete softie for cats, so I personally would, maybe with a small increase in deposit if the house was furnished or carpeted). Good tenants are hard to find and I'd rather have good tenants with cats than an unknown without cats.

It's difficult, I suppose I would want to know more about their health conditions and how long they'd naturally last, I don't think I could do it personally if they still might have a number of years left.

I'm assuming you've also exhausted asking if friends or family might be able to take one or two of them?

Tehmina

I think that what you suggest, waiting until an animal is in a lot of pain, is crueller than putting down an animal before it suffers. Who are you keeping it alive for?

I recently had a dog put down because she was 13 and had the onset of cancer. She could have been drugged up and kept pain free but I preferred not to think she the chance that she would feel pain and not be able to carry out abnormal canine life.

OP YANBU - you know your cats best and you know what they would cope with or not.

I have two young cats that I have no intention of ever giving up but if I did then I know that they would both be fine in a shelter as they have both been in a cattery on occasion if I can't arrange for someone to catsit at home and neither was phased by the experience beyond sulking and needing extra treats for a few days when they came home.

My parents have a 12 year old cat who would not cope if he had to go into a shelter. He cannot go to the cattery when my parents are away because it stresses him out it makes him physically ill. Even if someone catsits by going to their house daily it still stresses him out because he hates using the litter tray, to the point that he will not eat so he doesn't have to use it. Normally he eats then goes out for a couple of hours (and does his business in the garden) and just taps on a window when he wants to come back in, and my parents are usually home a lot throughout the day so he's usually able to come and go as he likes. Unfortunately if someone is only going in a couple of times a day then he can't always just be left out indefinitely and so he has to use the litter tray. He also doesn't cope well being left alone - he is very needy and requires a lot of attention ... he can't just be in the same room as you, he needs to either be on your lap, or at the very least next to you so he can be in constant contact. Putting him in a shelter would not let him have that kind of attention and I can guarantee that even if he went in perfectly healthy he would make himself seriously ill within a short time period, at which point it would be kinder to PTS if a new home wasn't forthcoming, but it would mean his last days were spent stressed and in pain rather than peacefully and with the people who loved him.

Gosh such a tricky one. OP you clearly love those cats. We have an elderly girl -16 - and we adopted her when she was 12. I'd pick an older cat any day of the week, they're so much more relaxed and laid back: they've seen it all and done it all!

So just to say, there are those out there who will consider the OAP felines. Perhaps test the water and put some ads in animal Facebook groups etc?

I'd gladly take one, but my girl won't tolerate other cats at all.

CP fosterers care for cats in their own homes and they do very well. I don't like the suggestion that "shelters are stressful and evil" as it's a huge misrepresentation. I fostered my cat and later adopted her; she went from a frightened puss to a lovely little soul in a short space of time.

CP fosterers care for cats in their own homes and they do very well. I don't like the suggestion that "shelters are stressful and evil" as it's a huge misrepresentation. I fostered my cat and later adopted her; she went from a frightened puss to a lovely little soul in a short space of time.

CP fosterers care for cats in their own homes and they do very well. I don't like the suggestion that "shelters are stressful and evil" as it's a huge misrepresentation. I fostered my cat and later adopted her; she went from a frightened puss to a lovely little soul in a short space of time.