Not wanting to take pet to the vet for fear of what they might say

[GraceMarks]

Earlier this year, I had to have a pet euthanised, and even though it's been many months now, I still miss him very badly. I have two others, one of whom hasn't been very well on and off all year and one who is generally in good health.

The sickly pet is currently doing ok, but I do worry about him. He always seems to need attention of some kind!

However - the more robust one has been showing some very minor signs of an age-related condition recently. Nothing fatal, and no signs that she's in pain. But I'm so scared to take her to the vet in case they tell me that she ought to be put to sleep. If I lost another pet within months of my previous loss, I really don't know how I'd cope, and I am already scared that the weaker one might not pull through.

Am I being selfish and irresponsible? To be clear, I would obviously take her to the vet if I thought she was in pain or struggling. This is probably more of a "quality of life" thing.

How is her quality of life? What specifically would you take her to the vet for?

I suppose to get a "diagnosis" - I realise I'm being a bit obtuse but don't want to out myself. However, I suspect she has the early stages of arthritis.

When I took my other pet in recently, I mentioned to the vet what symptoms I'd seen, and he suggested that it might be arthritis but said I would need to bring her in to be x-rayed to confirm it. That's where I've left it for now.

She is quite old, but she's active, bright-eyed, and has a good appetite, so I'm not worried that she's masking any pain. I'm just aware that she is now at the point where she would be classed as geriatric and the vet wouldn't be very inclined to intervene much for the sake of another couple of years.

If it's the early stages of arthritis they are unlikely to suggest euthanasia, it's more likely they'll suggest a long term pain relief. My cat has been taking loxicom for arthritis for ages and she's so much happier on it, it's worth getting if that's what the problem is!

As pp said if its arthritis they'll suggest pain relief. My dogs on long term metacalm for arthritis, it's not something they would ever suggest putting a pet to sleep for unless it became deliberating or so quality of life effecting that they are unable to get around. Please don't work yourself up, I suspect the need for fuss and attention could be coming from awareness of your emotions, plus everyone including pets live fuss and undivided attention.

Arthritis is super common, so much so that it is often under diagnosed. Certainly not an indication for euthanasia of early stages.

Though remember arthritis is a painful condition, so you cant really say you don't think she's in pain but thinks she has arthritis.

Getting it checked out sooner rather than later means you are more likely to get longer with her, as it is a progressive disease, with treatment aimed at slowing progression.

At the end of the day the vet is there to help your pet and the last thing they want to do is put them to sleep :) you can always say no to whatever investigations they suggest, they are ok with this as long as it doesn't compromise the welfare of the animal.

She's not the sort of animal that can easily be treated, like a dog or cat, and the jury is still out on the question of whether pain relief is even effective. But I take the point NannyPear that if I've noticed symptoms it's unlikely that she doesn't feel anything.

I will give her a week and see if anything changes, and take her in if not. I just have a horrible feeling that I'm going to have started the year with three pets and end it with none.

OP this is a very common fear - when I worked in a vet practice, there was some research in one of the industry publications which suggested as many as 1 in 4 people in the waiting room had similar concerns.
Ultimately the choice of if/ when to euthanase lies with the owner (except in very extreme welfare cases). Your vets main concern will be ensuring your pet has a good quality of life for as long as possible.

Please take your pet to the vet. I have a lovely friend who agonised for months about this, arthritis again, and eventually plucked up the courage to take 'one last journey to the vets with her'. She even gave her a special day, the day before.

The vet looked her dog over, said she was doing very well for her age, but some medication might make her more comfortable and enjoy her walks better. She walked out with her dogand, many months later, she is still posting lovely photos of their walks on FB.

Please take her to the vets. No vet is going to 'make' you put a pet down and certainly not before they are ready.

I know my dog doesn't show pain unless it's bad as they are very stoic. Therefore if you know she is showing signs she is going to be feeling worse. Why would you deny treatment etc for them when they rely on you being their advocate simply because you are scared