Should I put 15 year old moggy to sleep?

[MrsKilminster]

She sustained a horrible injury to her front paw on Friday - broken toes and sliced right through the paw. The vet stitched her up and did loads of investigations and £800 later she came home. The wound has now become infected and she's back at the vets. She's not insured and I'm not well-off and will have to draw the line with regards to how much more I can spend on her. Worst case scenario would be a leg amputation which I can't afford and as she's an old outdoor cat, I think this would impact on her quality of life. Best case scenario is that they try to treat the infection, she's in a crate and wearing a cone for weeks if not months and I have to keep going back to the vet and spending more money.

Again this would affect her quality of life and she's an old cat. I love her to bits but I need to do what's best for her and for my bank balance. The vet is trying to talk me out of euthanasia but I've lost faith in them anyway because they weren't transparent about costs in the first place (didn't consult me before they did anything). I'm so torn about what to do - she might get better but it could be a long haul. On the other hand, taking sole responsibility for putting her to sleep is very hard. What should I do?

We were having a discussion the other evening in a lull in evening surgery. Cats do brilliant with three legs having normal active lives climb fences and tees regardless of which leg is removed.
I had a 17 year old cat several years ago who was attacked by a dog and had a horrible broken leg we amputated and he lived till he was 21 going outside right until the very end.
Discuss a payment plan with your vets. Amputation is not a bad option for a cat.

I would say infections can be hard to treat after all MRSA is ‘just an infection’ and often you can need expensive antibiotics of several types for 6-8 weeks this alone could run to hundreds of pounds.

At the age of 15 I would put to sleep over an amputation and I would put to sleep when the available pot of money runs out. The cats had a good long life, probably thanks to you. Don't beat yourself up about making the decision you choose.

I can't believe people think it's ok to pts because the animal is older. Cats can and do live for over 20 years.
Pts if an animal is suffering and that suffering can't be relieved.
When you take on an animal it should be for life. Yes the cute baby stage but also the sometimes hard old age stage.
I wouldn't say the cats had a good long life so you can pts and not feel bad. I would say the cat has been part of your family for so long you owe it to the animal to do the best for them.

Well said Wolfie, I completely agree with you. When Harry broke his jaw a few people commented on how much we spent on him but what was I supposed to do, he’s part of the family.

Thank you Robin, I simply can't spend much more and to me it does make a difference that she's old. I hope fervently that the infection clears and I'd be gutted to lose her but I don't have a choice. I'm not prepared to put my family through hardship over this.

Crossing fingers infection clears X

Do you actually not have a choice? Would you lose the roof over your head?
Perhaps you should have kept up the insurance then.
It's immoral to get rid of a pet simply because it is old and costly.
Poor bloody cat.
Pink. I'm glad Harry has you.

Oh god. We had to PTS our 15yo cat a couple of weeks back she had ongoing health issues for 2 and a half years and her body gave up. Something like this can be fixed and like others have said a cat can live to 20+.
An important thing I found is trust in your vet(s) and a good relationship with them. I found them very honest in their thoughts on what was best for our girl.

Vino sorry for your loss. It's not the same when they can't be made better or the treatment is too painful/prolonged/distressing. But if you can treat and it's in the best interest of the animal to do so then I can't fathom why anyone wouldn't.

The average life span of a domestic cat is 12-16 years so she hasn't done badly so far. *Wolfie" you're sounding unbalanced - I'm not going to defend myself anymore. The decision is made - I have a pot of money (£1,500) put aside for my ageing cat and once it's spent and it doesn't look like she's improving, I'll reluctantly have to PTS. As for the roof over my head, well yes, I wouldn't be able to pay the mortgage so there you go.

Thanks to everyone for your comments.

My experience with animals and antibiotics is that progress isn't linear. They can seem to be struggling for several days, and then suddenly perk up. Fingers crossed this happens and your cat gets rid of the infection.

Please don't put your cat to sleep without at least contacting local charities (RSPCA, Blue Cross etc) and seeing if you can get some financial help, and also asking the vet about a regular payment plan.

Our last cat lived to 21.
If you have her put down please don't ever get another pet.

Hi op. Can I suggest you also consider checking costs with another vet? There are two veterinary surgeries near me - and the one we are now with is much cheaper and always talks about the cost of treatment before going ahead.
Recent example having 20 year old cat PTS and return of ashes - vet 1 quoted £317, vet 2 quoted £170.

Wolfiefan I sure hope you are a fellow vegetarian. You’ll be pleased to know I kept my pet cow alive long after she lost her last tooth. She was 25 when she had a stroke and died. I find it truly appalling when people claim to be animal lovers and eat animals.

Thanks for further advice. Whisky I do hope she perks up, am waiting to hear from the vet this morning. Chrys I already have another pet (a dog) and will always have a dog. I'm glad your last cat lived to 21 but you're being extremely judgmental.

So is the cat dead?

I think what people are trying to say is you had options... Work out a payment plan with your vet. Get a bank loan. Get a credit card. Cancel Christmas presents! (Gasp!)

The cat is with us for the weekend and then has to go back to the vets
on Monday for them to wash out the wound/reassess. Her paw looks awful as if it's rotting away and is still oozing puss. Trying to get oral antibiotics down her but she just lets it dribble out...any tips? The vet says that they're waiting to see if part of her paw is dying but I'm not sure what happens after that.

He's been waiving the fee for her staying in and only charging for meds/treatment but will still be hundreds I don't have. We don't have much money for Christmas anyway so unfortunately can't claw back much from there. Cat seems well in herself though and is trying to walk. It's hearbreaking having to put her back in her crate when I'm not in the room/out. Surely if it doesn't heal soon (been 5-6 days since infection set in), then amputation is the only option? And that unfortunately, means I have to PTS :(

So sorry, you're going through a hard time. Deciding to pts is a very hard and horrible decision.
Imo you're right to consider her quality of life and age.
Could you get a second opinion if you aren't happy with your vet? I wouldn't be happy about the lack of clarity about cost.

I really don't think you should put this cat through months in a cage and then amputation at 15.
My beautiful ginger boy developed a heart condition and hyperthyroidism at 14 and I would have sold everything I owned to save him.
I sold my aunts diamond ring that she left me in her will, it was worth £5000 and spent nearly all of it on the drastic treatment they suggested part of which involved radiation and meant he had to be kept in isolation for months.
He died anyway and spent his last year not happy.
How I wish I had had him euthanased and for him not to go through this. I was devastated. I was also wrong to put him through this.
His natural life span was 14 and nothing was going to save him.
I now have both my cats insured and because they are moggies it only costs £15 a month for the both of them, you can get cheap insurance anywhere and it really is essential. For one cat it's only £7.50 a month. i have to pay the first £100 of treatment as they are old cats.
You must do what you see fit OP, it is your cat and only you know if she would be happy living with an amputation. If she is an outdoor cat then probably not.

So sorry for what you had to go through with your pusscat Irritated, you tried to do what was best. She's mewling pitifully from her crate at the moment and it's so sad....

Will see what they say tomorrow. But I know what they'll say, we'll just have to wait and see and I don't know if that's best for her.

Quick update...moggy has been to the vets and back about 3 times now. They've been keeping her in to monitor the infection which now seems to be slowly improving but he still can't see which bits of her foot are dead. They've kept costs minimal because which is good. The vet says he's doing all he can to save her foot (knows she'll be PTS if it comes to amputation). But with broken toes and her poor little paw all mashed up, he can't seem to give a prognosis. She's at the vets until tomorrow when I'll bring her home and have been instructed to wash out the wound twice daily. She needs to be in a cone and in a cage :(

I suppose all I can do is watch and wait but for how long? The thought of her being caged and miserable for weeks on end is horrible and as I'm at work all day she'll be all alone.

Ohhh, you're doing so well. It's tremendously stressful. I just wanted to post and to say that you never do know in these situations what it's right to do, because they can suddenly turn the corner or suddenly take a nose-dive. The best you can do is to react day-to-day. It is, very sadly, the same with very ill humans.

FWIW, older cats don't move as much anyway, so a cage is not perhaps the hardship it is for a younger moggie!!

Our cat broke his leg years ago and had to be caged for (I think it was) a couple of months. I was horrified on his behalf, but he actually coped quite well. They do sleep most of the day, so yours will mostly be sleeping when you’re out. We’d take ours out for a cuddle in the evening then put him back in. He lived another 11 years after that.

OP you say you ‘will always have a dog’ but why when you have a limited budget for their care?