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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

Let cat die at home or take to vet?

58 replies

Cleebope · 15/12/2016 17:20

I am not really a cat person and need advice. Our wee tabby appeared at our back door 7 years ago and has stayed ever since. We think she was about 3 so maybe 9 or 10 now. She has stopped eating for 2 days and has just curled up on the sofa and can hardly lift her head. She has started to smell very bad. We think she is dying of natural causes. Should we take her to the vet to perhaps get put down or should we let her literally curl up and die in peace?

OP posts:

gamerchick · 15/12/2016 22:00

youve never taken it to the vets before? Not even for a health check, boosters, anything?

Patienceisvirtuous · 15/12/2016 22:06

You should really have had the cat to the vets for it's annual boosters/check-up.

If you get another cat please make sure vets visits are regular.

Weedsnseeds1 · 15/12/2016 22:21

That's the best end for her really. A natural death isn't necessarily the best.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 15/12/2016 22:58

I'm so sorry about your cat OP. We always had cats at home and we've had ours for nearly 9 years and I still ask my Mum or on here for advice.

Gamer, some people only take their cats to the vets if they are ill or injured. DM's cat doesn't go to the vets as he is a bundle of stress and it's not fair on him to try. He's not vaccinated, flead or wormed (we can't get close enough to do it) but it doesn't make DM a bad owner, we took the decision to let him be and only take him to the vet if he needs treatment.

Floralnomad · 15/12/2016 23:29

Apparently the efficacy rate of the FIV vaccine is 80% so if the OP had had the cat vaccinated this may not have happened , and pinksparkly , I'm fairly sure that most people would consider you a bad pet owner if you don't even do the basics of flea / worm treatments .

FestiveBiscuits · 16/12/2016 00:22

You're not a bad pet owner and stepped up to follow the advice here. I assume if you had made the decision to take on a kitten you would've had jabs etc but this cat adopted you. It is also stressful for them going to the vets as they are semi wild so different people will make different decisions about how often they put them through that for routine checks/jabs.

DangerQuakeRhinoSnake · 16/12/2016 00:27

Agree with gamer and Patience. If you had given the poor cat proper care in the first place it might not have died so young.

Please learn from this if you get another pet. Vaccinations are so important.

Christinedonna · 16/12/2016 00:36

Animals quite often go off their food and get little bugs that a pet owner can deal with without a vet. I don't think you need to grill OP for not acting sooner, she asked for advice as for all she knew everyone could have said "why stress the poor thing out by taking it to the vets, let her die at home with her family" asking shows she cares. Some people are so cruel kicking people when they're down

DangerQuakeRhinoSnake · 16/12/2016 00:44

But it's more cruel to put a cat through that experience unnecessarily. As their owners we HAVE to put ourselves out to make sure they don't suffer and that includes preventative measures.

What's done is done now, but it would be shameful if the OP did not take an important lesson away from this.

Christinedonna · 16/12/2016 00:51

I'm glad you gave a stray cat 7 years of having a family OP

MountainDweller · 16/12/2016 01:00

So sorry. You did the right thing. Glad she's at peace now

Autumnchill · 16/12/2016 05:39

Sorry for your loss

Veterinari · 16/12/2016 07:09

To all those criticising the OP for not getting the cat vaccinated or giving it proper care THERE IS NO FIV VACCINE AVAILABLE IN THE UK, so it may be worth doing some basic fact checking before you start your witch hunt.

OP - you did the right thing and I'' glad it was peaceful and straightforward. You are certainly not the first person to think a natural death might be peaceful and you probably won't be the last. Most of us would love for our pets to slip away peacefully and naturally at home but unfortunately that's quite rare, and we have to make tough decisions. Well done on doing the kindest thing for your cat

gamerchick · 16/12/2016 07:22

Gamer, some people only take their cats to the vets if they are ill or injured

Evidently, or not even then.

And vet I never mentioned anything about an fiv vaccine and I certainly don't need to do basic fact checking when I read a post about an animal who couldn't lift it's head up from where it lay and was ignored until it smelled bad to know it should have gone to the vet earlier.

Maybe the next cat be luckier.

Floralnomad · 16/12/2016 07:31

I'm not starting a witch hunt and as a non cat owner I didn't realise the vaccine wasn't available in the UK , however I still think it's irresponsible to not vaccinate against the diseases that you can and to not give flea / worm treatment , although that remark wasn't actually aimed at the OP as we have no indication that she failed to do either of those things .

OhTheRoses · 16/12/2016 07:53

The OP's cat could have stayed a stray and died many years ago. We only have one cat now. With insurance, vet checks, cat sitter when away, flea drops, etc, I estimate responsible cat ownership costs £100pcm. There's be far more cats abandoned on that basis.

Veterinari · 16/12/2016 08:19

And vet I never mentioned anything about an fiv vaccine

Then why are you responding directly to my post? It clearly wasn't aimed at you.

I still think it's irresponsible to not vaccinate against the diseases that you can and to not give flea / worm treatment , although that remark wasn't actually aimed at the OP as we have no indication that she failed to do either of those things

There are many reasons why people may not use a vet regularly. Of course you're free to judge and criticise their behaviour, regardless of whether you try to understand their rationale, (though the implied criticism upthread of the OP, who has just euthanised her pet and is comforting her children is perhaps not best-timed) In my pretty extensive experience, criticism is not usually very helpful at actually helping people to change their behaviour.

Lots and lots of pet owners want a 'natural death' and aren't necessarily aware of what this means for their pets welfare. It's very easy to judge but that doesn't usually help the animal, or the owner

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 16/12/2016 08:57

That was aimed at me, as well as being told I'm a bad pet owner when you actually know nothing about my circumstances and I wasn't even talking about my cat. DM's cat doesn't go outside (through choice) and so we took the choice not to vaccinate, flea or worm him rather than traumatise him every month. Should he need treatment of any sort the vet will be called to the house.

For the record, my own cat is vaccinated, flea'd and wormed and only has to look at me the wrong way and is at the vet.

RubbishMantra · 16/12/2016 10:57

All your Litter Mates know you're a good and responsible cat owner Pink. I often read posts about you taking H to the vet, the last year must have been a nightmare with his tooth extractions and broken jaw., amongst other ailments you've taken him to the vet for.

Floral, you're getting the FIV vaccine muddled with the FeLV vaccine I think.

OP, I'm sorry you lost your cat, and thank goodness you took the advice and had her seen by a vet and she died peacefully.

Floralnomad · 16/12/2016 11:07

pink , if you had said my mums cat is an indoor cat and we don't do X,y z then I wouldn't have made the statement so I apologise for that . My own mum has an indoor cat and he has minimal vet intervention and is also not wormed / flea treated as he has numerous allergies and needs antihistamine cover for any treatment . Hence I stand corrected and as I said apologise to pink .

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 16/12/2016 12:11

Thanks Rubbish, we are rather well known at the vets now!

No need Floral, I also apologise for missing out that fairly vital piece of information! I have tried to take DM's cat to the vet but I ended up with blood running down my arms and the door kicked off the basket. He's never trusted me properly since and it took over a year for him to stay in the same room as me. He still hisses at me occasionally now. DM is

LivingInMidnight · 16/12/2016 17:12

cleebope I hope you and your family are ok. Well done for taking her and giving her a peaceful ending.

Alfieisnoisy · 16/12/2016 17:28

Bless you all, you did absolutely the right thing. It's a hard decision but from what you said she didn't sound peaceful or comfortable. You've addressed that and given her a peaceful ending.

Original poster

Cleebope · 16/12/2016 17:36

Thanks Living and other sensitive posters. It was horrible making the decision to put her to sleep, a first for me. I understand that posters on This thread are passionate cat owners who despise irresponsible cat owners. I don't feel we were irresponsible as this happened very fast. She actually didn't smell when she got to the vets so I think the smell was some poo leakage where she was lying. When we get our next cat we will be better informed now about catcare. I really didn't expect to miss this cat so much. She was a roamer until recently when she preferred indoors. I loved her independence. I just hated her catching my gorgeous garden birds. But I am not asking for another flaming here on appreciating a cat's true nature! The vet said there is no fiv vac so I don't think there was any more we could've done. Strays , fighters or roamers are susceptible.

OP posts:

RubbishMantra · 16/12/2016 18:52

Again, I am so sorry for your loss, you must be feeling heartbroken.

Even though there is no vaccination against FIV, it's important to keep up to date with vaccinations, as FIV weakens the cats' immune system, making them more susceptible to other illnesses. On cats' yearly booster injections, the vet will also give them a health check, at no extra cost. Also a good idea to take out health insurance, I use PetPlan, but it can be bought for much cheaper if you shop around.

I just felt I needed to convey this info as you plan to adopt a cat/kitten in the future.

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