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.

I think separating them (no one will adopt four ancient cats together) or taking them abroad at their age would be cruel.

Personally I'd rather be put to sleep than left to die with no dignity at a hundred. but because I'm a human with children I have to think about how they would feel. you are the only one who will mourn your cats so I don't think it's actually a horrible idea

Oh ffs. The OP's circumstances have significantly changed through no fault of her own. The cats have health problems and have lived with one family for 16 years. Putting them in a rehoming centre would be cruel. They are reasonably likely to either spend a long time or the rest of their lives there. They will be split up from their family and probably from each other. Why the fuck do people think that would be better than being PTS?

YANBU op. I do understand your anguish can I just suggest you do it as humanely possible perhaps have a most wonderful time take pics play and groom them , give them their special favourite food and get the vet to come to the house and do them one by one so they are not exposed to the death of the other pets ,just a suggestion. I am so sorry

JaquesHammer, yes you carry on thinking just killing 4 cats because they have become inconvenient is fine

I prefer to be sympathetic and understand that people's circumstances change.

And yes - I think there are far worse things than a 16 year old cat being PTS quite frankly. It is quite hysterical to suggest a dignified, comfortable, loving end for a pet is the absolute worst thing that can happen.

I don't think some of you have the faintest fucking idea how hard it is to find decent rented accommodation for a family with income issues in some areas.

OP, I dislike the idea of putting them down as you clearly do too, but don't allow yourself to be guilt tripped by people claiming you can find pet friendly accommodation with a bit more effort. You know you can't or you would have done it.

So try to find fosterers as hard as you can, offer a sizable donation to a rescue, try to get a pet deposit for your new home, but if you can't, let them go in peace.

However. Don't let your embarrassment at becoming someone who needs to rehome your pets stop you from doing it via a shelter.

They are not 4 healthy cats. They are four old cats with ongoing health issues.

They are also not children.

Oh there is some sanctimonious bollocks on here. OP clearly cares deeply for her cats and has done the best for them for 16 years. Rather than subjecting them to a potentially traumatic and uncertain future she is considering a peaceful comfortable end that will be painless for them and very painful for her. They will simply go to sleep loved and secure especially if it's done at home. She's not planning on beating them round the head with a baseball bat.

Oh another one of those "I don't trust anyone to love my pets as much as me so Im going to kill them instead". We had a near mirror image of a thread like this last week with a dog.

add that to your being embarrassed to see if a rescue would take them............wow, its quite breathtaking tbh.

And have to wonder why, if you have had to put them in boarding soooo many times with such a hectic lifestyle you didnt make a decision to rehome sooner, clearly not that anxious about their welfare.

I think youre completely an totally out of order and should at least speak to as many rescues as you can, I used to know someone who worked for the CPL and the amount of elderly people in particular wanting to adopt elderly cats was quite high.

Give them a chance at least ffs, or, just, you know, kill them to save your embarrassment, whatevs.

YANBU. Under your circumstances I would have chosen to PTS too. And I'm also a cat lover who has gone through that trauma twice and will probably go through it again in the next week or so. We have an obligation to ensure quality of life for our animals and to put them down when we can no longer do so.

They are not 4 healthy cats. They are four old cats with ongoing health issues.

That doesn't mean they're suffering and deserve to be PTS, though. Lots of animals have ongoing health issues, some more serious than others. OP hasn't elaborated, so it could be something like diabetes, arthritis, or something as simple as needing a prescription diet, or a flea allergy. I've had cats with varieties of health issues (one with a flea allergy, one who needed prescription food and one who is grain intolerant) - they're "ongoing health issues" as in, they'll never be cured, but the cats live totally normal, fulfilling lives - they're certainly not reasons to have them PTS.

Will the shelter put them down if a good home is not found? My mil loves her cat more than her children. Its an elderly cat whose owner went to nursing home. A perfect fit. But I've given a cat away, been promised love forever and they gave it away a month later. Sold a horse that got out with its colt and killed by a car. There are no promises in life. I've had horrible hostile adopted cats and my new cat is adopted by me from college kids is the best pet yet!

Follow your heart.

Didn't we do this OP already with a dog?

Just re read the OP to be sure, but nowhere in it does she say or give the impression that the cats are an inconvenience. She has gone to great lengths to keep them while suffering financial hardship however has now unfortunately run out of options.

She sounds like a caring cat owner and it's a shame there are not more like her and less people making snide comments.

OP I have had cats all my life. Please don't do this - your cats could have years left.
If you really can't cope, PM me and I will come and get them if you are in the U.K.

I do know what it is like to try and find rent property with pets. I have cats and a dog and no it wasn't that easy but me and DH persevered because no way were we giving up on our pets.

I would have thought it would actually be more difficult to find a rented property if they are not working.

Yes peoples circumstances change but you when you take on pets you take them on for their life.

There are rentals that won't take children but someone with children would just keep looking till they found one that did take them wouldn't they? No cats are not children but nor are they just a disposable item to be got rid of when things get tough

I'd have them put down if I were you. If you can't keep them, it is kinder to put them to sleep now, while they are happy, unstressed and well cared for, that leave them to die in a rehoming centre, as they will inevitably will, as nobody in their right mind will want a 16 year old cat with health problems.

No,it's not ideal, it's a hard choice, but that's life as a human. HArd choices. You give them the best life you can and you make their end as swift and painless as possible. I don't think months or years in a rehoming centre meets that criteria.

i'd pay for a vet to come to your house and do them all at once, to minimise stress.

More people who PTS due to embarrassment of approaching a rescue, and PTS because of a very arrogant "no one could possibly love them like meeeee and they'd die without meeeeee anyway"

No, we really dont need any more of those sorts of people, TVM.

And sorry if its been covered, but how come you had to put them in boarding every time when looking for somewhere new to live? Were you homeless?

The cruelty of keeping animals alive because people are too selfish and pathetic to make difficult decisions makes me incredibly angry.

@Mia1415
You speak to landlords, pay a higher deposit,

And if you don't have the money for a higher deposit?

@KimmySchmidt1
have you considered getting a job?

Because anyone without a job can just walk into one tomorrow?

The OP should have a word with the new landlord and see what he says.

Without knowing the medical conditions and personalities of the cats it's hard to say if it's unreasonable or not to have them pts - when we bought a house there was one cat I considered leaving with my parents as I thought he was too old for it to be fair to move him, but he saw me as his territory and pined without me. He only lived another year but I think he'd have died within a month if I'd left him.

One thing to consider is how you'd feel having them pts if medically it wasn't necessary. Having had it done a few times where it was absolutely necessary to prevent further suffering/a long drawn out death I still felt like shit and guilty afterwards.

@AnaViaSalamanca
Putting to sleep? It is called KILLING.

I think we all know what 'putting to sleep' means.

I can fathom not wanting them to go to a shelter. I really can't fathom choosing to live somewhere that doesn't allow them. It's always my top criteria for renting. Are there no friends or family who could take them?

If it makes you feel better, I adopted a frail elderly cat (15 years old) from a rescue shelter and 3 years later we are still having a wonderful time together - even though she has since developed a few more ailments that need managing. She is very well looked-after and there was a fair amount of interest in her too so am lucky I got her.

Also - cats on average are rehomed within 23 days from shelters. You'd be surprised at how many people request 'an elderly cat with health issues that no-one else will take." People use animal shelters because they want to rescue an animal. They want to give them a chance.

I am refusing to read this horrible thread.

Fgs, how difficult would it be to take your poor cats to a shelter? I SINCERELY hope you get short shrift from any vet you have the nerve to approach.

I despise your attitude to the animals' lives.

Horrible horrible attitude.