Still feeling guilty nearly a year after cat was pts

[Claris87]

In 2 weeks it will be a year since my cat was pts and i still feel guilty

She was 14 and was partially sighted and when she went for a routine blood test they found her lymph nodes were swollen and she was diagnosed with lymphoma
the vet didnt want to give her chemo because of her age so the vet was going to put her on steroids when she had her next monthly check up appointment ( looking back i wish i had asked if she could have the steroids then) before her appointment she wasnt eating much and she was wobbly on one of her back legs and we took her to the vets ( we werent allowed in the consuling room)and the vet came out and said that she wasnt very responsive and she was just lying there and couldnt hold herself up on her front legs and her lymphoma had caught up with her and we should think about having her pts
i asked if they could it that day and they did

it felt like the right thing to do at the time but ever since ive been feeling guilty because that morning she still managed to jump on to the top of the chair and was still eating lick e lix and i think what if i was too hasty

Has anyone else ever felt the same?

Yes most definately !! Every single time i have had to take my cats over the last 40 odd years.
I think it's entirely natural and normal to think.... what if.
You sound like a fantastic cat owner, and did the very best for your cat.
I've always put it down to be a part of the grieving process, and with the first anniversary approaching, it brings it all back.
Cats hide pain and discomfort so well. Take care, hope you feel happier soon💐

I think it's very common for us to feel guilty whenever we have to make the decision to put a pet to sleep. Animals can't tell us how they are feeling, we have to make an educated guess based on their behaviour, and of course the opinion of the vet. Remember that animals tend to mask pain and illness, so your lovely girl was probably feeling a lot worse than you realised.

Three years ago, I had to have two of my cats put to sleep within two weeks of one another. They were 19 and 17 respectively, so they had lived good lives, but I still feel guilty because ultimately I was the one who had to make the decision. That guilt is tied up with thoughts of 'what if?' because of the love I had for them. Even though I know that I made the right decision, I still have the odd wobble from time to time.

You made your decision based on what you knew about your cat and how she was behaving, and on what the vet told you. As Clarich007 says, you did the very best for your cat. Allow yourself to grieve, it's perfectly natural x

Absolutely, I feel guilty. I have so many flashbacks. I hate that I have to make the final decision. I wish it could be different. The loss of them hurts so much. Mine have had normal behaviour until the end as well, which makes it so much harder. I tell myself to be reassured & guided by the vet, but this doesn't console me 100%. However, I'd rather be able to assist in their passing than have them suffer.

There’s a saying about animals and being PTS, better a day too early than a day too late. In spite of knowing this I still think I was a day too late with my last 3 pets.

If you are wondering if it was too early, in spite of the vets advice, then I think you got it right. Yes it might have been a day early, but it can turn into a day too late in a heartbeat.

I tried to get my cat to the vets on the Friday, but had to arrange it for the following Monday. On Saturday morning he was prowling around the radiator, like he does when he’s brought in a mouse. Saturday lunchtime he was laying luxuriously in a spot of sunshine. An hour later he had seizures and had to be put to sleep. He likely had a ruptured tumour. I wish I could have saved him those last few hours.

You always look back and think what you could have done better or different. It’s a unique relationship when you have the option of euthanising them.

Ive seen them struggle with cancer way past the point my mum should’ve pts and it wasn’t pretty and the outcome was always going to be pts.

I still feel guilty 10+ years on that I let my cat go on too long, because I couldn't face losing him. Only when dh found him round the corner from our house (not part of his usual patrol) sitting in the gutter, motionless and unable to find his way home, did I face up to the fact that the time had probably come. You did your best for your cat, op.