Not to put cat down?

[babybooo]

My cat is 16 and up until this last month has been in perfect health, only saw the vet for a UTI this year that's all. She has a grade 2 heart murmur which is medicated.

Over the last month she's become more frail and slowed right down. To be expected with her age I suppose. She can still walk around, go up and down stairs, jump on the bed etc. I would say she's just slow at going from sitting to lying down.

Last week she became super lethargic and went off her food. Took her to emergency vet who ran full blood screen which came back fine, very good in fact! They gave her fluids and said to monitor her. She went to the normal vet the next day who said she had muscle wastage in her hind legs to be expected with age. Gave her appetite increasing meds.

Over the last week cat has barely ate. she will take a mouthful of warmed cat food or tuna but that's about it. No interest in food.

Took her to vet yesterday who gave a steroid injection to hopefully get her eating again. She also gave fluids. She said there is nothing "wrong" with the cat but she is probably nearing the end of her life. She isn't in any pain or distress.

She has eaten tiny bits since the injection yesterday. She has also started drinking which is good. She was very dehydrated yesterday.

I am due to fly to America on Tuesday for 2 weeks but I have decided not to go because I am scared cat will die while I'm there.

She isn't in any pain or distress, other than not eating I would say she's her normal self, maybe a bit more sleepy than usual.

AIBU to give her a chance? Or should I have her put to sleep?

Vet has us booked in for 9 Aug which was meant to be after my holiday. She said if the cat starts to eat that would keep her going.

She has lost a significant amount of weight over the last couple of months - she's losing weight even between vet visits and is very very skinny.

This cat has been by my side for 16 years and in need to be by hers and do right by her.

I think it's time. All these vets visits cannot be comfortable for her and all you're doing is biding time.

She's had a good life, she's not showing signs of utter distress, and she's a ripe old age.

I've had pets PTS and it's less distressing if you don't wait until the point of suffering, and she's already showing signs of being at the end of her life cycle.

I know it's upsetting to think about. It's because it's done with complete compassion and love for our pets that it causes us such distress.

Whatever you choose, go well.

Having had to make this decision myself I know how awful and heartbreaking it is and I am so sorry. To me it sounds like it might be time, this the hardest and worst part of having pets is the end, but it is also the time we have to be the bravest.

Again I'm so sorry you're having to think about this

This is heartbreaking. This exact thing happened to my 12 year old cat. Suddenly started going off her food. Vet couldn't find anything wrong but she kept getting weaker, eating less and less.
She still wandered around the house but and didn't seem to be in any pain but one morning i just looked at her and she was so sad and thin. I knew i had to let her go and the vet agreed.
That was 3 years ago and i know it was the best decision. Even now the tears are blurring my eyesight at the memory.
Maybe your wee cat will pick up. I truly hope so. It's s horrendous even thinking about having to let them go💐

We had to have our cat pts the first bank holiday of lockdown in 2020. She was a rescue kitten, tiny and very obviously had been the runt of the litter. She was a real character, slightly bonkers (possible slight brain damage) but we adored her as did our older cat who loved and hated her in equal measures. She was only 6 but started to pee blood, she had lots of tests, scans etc and they found a tumour near her bladder, it was awful and we could not even be with her at the end due to Covid restrictions. She had a shaky start in life but we gave her the most amazing 6 years where she was loved and adored, she hadnt even shown any signs of illness but we knew it was the kindest thing and the vet agreed. Spend some time with your cat and then let them go before life gets too painful.

Thank you everyone. I just can't bear the thought of being without her but I don't want her to suffer. At the minute she can still jump, purr, walk around and enjoys being fussed. But she isn't eating much at all now. Maybe a mouthful every now and then.

I will take her to the vet in the morning and ask for their advice. I really really really don't want to lose her, but I will hate myself if she is struggling or suffering.

I guess I just wonder, what if it's something that can be fixed? What if I put her to sleep when she was going to recover? Am I giving her a fair chance? What if she thinks I want her to die?

10 days ago she was eating and happy and fine, now she is not even eating... I'm so sad.

Agree with other posters. It's time. This is so hard though as you always want to think things will improve but it's really not likely. Big hugs.

I am so sorry you are in this situation OP. Probably a stupid question, but has the vet checked her teeth? (Just grasping at straws) when I was in this situation with my girl (she was 16 too) she went from being fine to having seizure and wetting herself. It was heartbreaking.

When I was in a similar situation the lovely vet said that in her decades of being a vet she hasn't really come across anyone who regrets doing it too early but many do regret wai

So sorry, that posted before I finished typing.

What I wanted to type was that she hasn't really come across anyone who regrets doing it too early but many do regret waiting too long. Of course you only want to make the decision to PTS when anything treatable has been ruled out (for example by doing blood tests as you have done).

She’s not going to recover she’s an elder cat who’s at the end of her life span. We keep them alive for us not them. It’s selfish of us because we love them but we do it for us not them. Would you honestly say you where enjoying your life back and forth to the doctors not eating really regularly dehydrated at an elderly age?

I’ve recently had this but my cat had oral cancer - this was discovered early and she had a happy extra 8 weeks before we knew it was time. Because I was so unsure of when that time should be I took her to the vet every 10 days for a check up for around 3 weeks - yes it cost £50 a pop but it reassured me and it allowed us to plant the seed with the kids that the end was nigh and withdraw slowly rather than a sudden shock. I just knew with my cat in the end - she just looked sad. I remember cuddling her and promising her I knew it was time and I’d do her right - I called the vet at 8:30 the next morning and she was pts at 4pm that afternoon. The thought and build up was worse than actually doing it. Seek the vets opinion but the sadness, lethargy and not eating was the final clincher for me - as others better a week early than a minute too late. I really tried to do the best choice for her, not for me 🥲

I was in a similar situation with my dog recently. I asked the very same question and got a lot of the same answers but the one that stuck with me was.. Better a day too early than a dsy too late.
If your questioning if its time...it most definitely is time.
With my dog I was back and forward to the vets and I took her in and said how will I know when is right?
She wasnt too bad at the time, weaker, slower, less herself.. They sent me home saying we would know when it was time and it was a week later I called back and took her in.. The decline was rapid and distressing.. For us both.
I think you know its time and you will do the kindest thing for your beloved cat.
Its not easy.. But think back to how she was in her prime and you'll realise how far away that is to what she is now.
Its the cruelest kindness. Hugs x

If the vet has checked everything, including teeth, then unfortunately it's time op. Better a day early than a day late. ❤

My son's 19 year old cat loved tuna. He grew old and lethargic and grew skinny and only picked at his food. My son brought him his favourite tuna and when he did not want that we knew it was time to let him go. We spend day in garden and cat lazed in the sun are one mouthful of tuna and my son cuddled him then took him to vet. He brought him home and we hurried him in his favourite border in the garden. You obviously love your cat and I would wait one more day to see if steroid injection improved it's appetite. If not time to let it go. It was very hot last week and that may have made cat dehydrated. So sorry.

Our cat is 18 and has periods when she doesn’t eat land becomes thin
we worked out that if we rotated her food and gave her soft pate stuff she would then start eating again and put on weight
I would have never thought this would have helped as I thought if she’s hungry she’ll eat

we now feed soft pate food 4 times a day
not a huge amount
we also use a raised bowl which helps her eat

she seems perfectly content so wonder if above worth a try
she’s on tablets for her kidneys the last 3 years

I'm so sorry, its really hard to know what to do. We had our old cat put to sleep a couple of days ago, he was 20 and was quite happy slowly pottering around the garden and eating bits of chicken and tuna.
My daughter lifted him on her bed every night and he stayed until she took him out for a wee every morning.
But sadly the extreme heat was too much for his poor old body and his heart began to fail. I regret leaving him just one more night to see if he would improve as it got a bit cooler, he didnt,he was just too old.
Bless him, its broken our hearts but I knew it was the right thing to do, he was far too old for treatment that probably wouldnt have made much difference anyway.
Sending hugs x

Not eating after a steroid jab means either eating is painful or she feels too full to eat, or she isn't hungry. None of those things are nice to live with for more than a few days.

Realistically, even an improvement at this point is highly likely to be temporary at best and you have to factor in also how stressful it is to be taken back and forth to the vets for tests and jabs etc.

Personally, I'd let her go - NOT because of your holiday, but because I think it is time, and whilst she could trundle on a bit longer, that 'bit longer' isn't likely to have any quality to it, things are only really going to get worse for her.

I fully believe in the saying 'better a week too soon than a day too late', and its not always easy to judge with animals hard wired to hide illness, weakness and pain, as cats are.

Thanks everyone. She's eaten 1.5 sachets of cat soup but won't touch the meaty bits in it, so I am wondering if eating is painful, or if she was just thirsty... either way I will call the vets first thing in the morning.

I would have her put to sleep before she deteriorates further. It's unlikely that she will recover significantly. She is likely to be feeling poorly otherwise she would be eating. Don't let her suffer. I know it's not an easy decision. Go and chat with your vet. If you make arrangements in good time you can have a think about your options such as would you want a home visit, or request a particular vet. If you wait till she's really poorly you may have less choice. You've given your cat a lovely long life so don't feel any guilt about this final responsibility

They starve themselves to death, basically, and I found that I couldn't allow that to happen to an animal I loved.

We lost both our kitties at the same age, one last spring and her brother this May. What got to me was that in both cases they were curled up and looked asleep, but their eyes were open. They were not even getting any proper refreshing rest, they were just waiting to die.

Of course it's utterly heartbreaking, but for me that was far worse for them than a quick painless passing. I miss them both like mad but I have no regrets, or doubt that I did the right thing, however sad (and I was in bits at the vets).

There's no easy answer and it's your choice. You can only do what you think is right, no one else can make that decision for you.

Sorry to hear this. We had an elderly cat who was failing but still apparently happy. One day, she got up, went outside to drink from her flowerpot as was her habit so all fine...but then came inside, turned her face to the wall and did not purr when cuddled. We PTS the same day.

BTW I don't know if you have a Christian faith but if you do, despite its cheesy title, I really like "Cold Noses at the Pearly Gates" for a book about animals and the afterlife. (It has Bible verses in it)

If you wait till she's really poorly you may have less choice

this.

I’m really sorry to hear about your cat. you do need to control things now and do what’s right for her.

I know money doesn’t matter with pets however my 17 year old cat deteriorated quickly one night. Out of hours treatment for her to be PTS was £450.

She was insured but I know not everyone has insurance or can pay the excess. The alternative would have been waiting for a normal appointment in the morning

the vets seemed very reluctant to say they advised her to be PTS for some reason but I knew what needed to be done

hope everything goes ok tomorrow

I inherited an elderly farm cat with a house which seemed on her last legs. That was 7 years ago. She died this spring. She went through 2 phases where she seemed to be fading away, got thinner and seemed a bit frail and recovered both times. She had the happiest death you could expect the third time she faded - she loved being stroked and would purr away and then one day she disappeared (as cats tend to do) and never came back. Too wild to be stressed by being taken to the vets.

I'm not too keen on the pts brigade, elderly pets do go through good and bad phases and if still mobile and able to enjoy some quality of life, I can't see the point in rushing them to the vets to pts unless its a particularly morbid condition. The idea about changing her diet to softer food is a good idea but its likely the heat is getting to her at the moment.

I agree that it sounds as though it is time, hard though that is to accept. If the vets can't find anything wrong it sounds as though she is just winding down. If they won't eat, and there is no obvious cause, I think they really are not feeling at all well, and their organs can fail quite quickly if they aren't eating/drinking.

@AchatAVendre - there is quite a difference between a cat getting thinner and seeming a bit frail and losing a significant amount of weight and being very very skinny, which is what the OP said in her post. I have always been able to tell when my pets are at the stage where it is kinder for them to be let go. Cats are very good at masking pain.