Guilt at cat PTS

[pottersbar]

My lovely tabby was PTS this morning. She had non-regenerative anaemia with the vet saying her blood test showed possible sign of bone marrow cancer. There was an option of blood transfusion and bone marrow biopsy but I didn't want to put her through that. She was only 5 but a wee little thing.

The vet said she was severely ill and he totally understood our decision but I'm absolutely wracked with guilt. Should I have done the transfusion and bone marrow test? Feel awful about it. She was so weak. Her PCV was 7% which is very low. I feel awful. I wish I could have noticed earlier but she was fine one day and then went off her food and was lethargic for two days and then we took her in to the vet yesterday morning. Just feel so guilty I loved her so much x

goodness from what you describe, i’d be feeling more guilty if the little poppet was still suffering

You have done the right thing, but I know I too would feel guilty if it was me and my cat. I think that's probably just human nature. I'm really sorry for your loss 😢

Absolutely the right call op but the most difficult. You made the decision with love and compassion- not every animal passes so peacefully. Be kind to yourself x

You did absolutely the right thing for your little puss, OP.

Such a brave decision. Don't feel guilty, she's not suffering now.

You've done absolutely the right thing, and she was very lucky to have an owner prepared to take responsibility like this

Absolutely the right call. There was no way out of this and doing the transfusion and waiting for bone marrow results would just be pushing the decision down the line.

So sorry for you and your cat.

You made a compassionate decision and ensured she didn't suffer longer than she needed to. She wouldn't have known what was happening, only that she was being cared for. You will miss her, of course, but you have no reason to feel any guilt. Please be kind to yourself

So sorry for your loss. Such a shock for you.

It probably won’t ease the guilt, but you’ve done the kindest thing for her.

we had to put our boy cat to sleep on Tuesday this week totally out of the blue due to a blood clot caused by a silent hereditary heart condition. I keep replaying the whole day over in my head too. He was only 6. we still have his sister and it’s just unbearably sad.

they’re irreplaceable but she will have known how much you loved her.

Oh I'm so sorry. You did the right thing for your dear little cat.

It's such a hard decision to make abc it takes courage.

We had to do the same for our girl a couple of weeks ago. It's very, very sad but so much better than them suffering.

My advice is to look at all the lovely pics and videos you have and to remember your smashing cat with love and affection. 💔

Thank you all. I keep googling stuff about non-regenerative anaemia in cats and the different directions it can go and it's all so bleak. I do think we did the right thing. It's so hard to know. I hope she is looking down on us and remembering the good times. I miss her little face and meows when she came in the room. My sweet little friend, I love and miss you so much already x

It sounds like any “treatment” would only have added suffering and not provided any relief. You spared her that. You’re suffering. She isn’t.

We had similar with our lovely girl earlier this year - she had intestinal lymphoma and a very bleak prognosis even if we’d done invasive chemotherapy with a specialist referral centre. We opted to let her go “well” rather than put her through treatment which would have involved regular trips to the vet and being poked and prodded. I miss her so very much and it broke my heart, but I think we did the best for her. I think you did too, but oh, it’s absolutely awful. 🤍

You gave her 5 lovely years (of cuddles and cat treats I would guess - from the way you post her you clearly loved her) so don’t feel bad. 💐

I think this is a perfect post, especially the last sentence.
So very sorry for your loss @pottersbar 💐

It is very brave to choose what is best for the cat, you have done the right thing, absolutely agree with wolfiefan (very well put)

Aww sweetie, I'm so sorry to hear this. It's totally normal to feel guilt at ending a pets life. I had the same in March with my boy Bob. He had an intestinal tumour apparently. He was so ill and the tests would have cost into the 1,000's and would have only confirmed the worst. I think you did the right thing. She sounds like she was very much loved by you and she will still be around, I've fleetingly seen my Bob since I had to have him pts. He will know he was loved and missed as much as your girl will know too.
This is the worst part of being an animal lover, but I wouldn't be without them. Sending hugs and comfort your way 🤗🌻❤

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I think guilt comes no matter what the circumstance. Ours died suddenly before we even had chance to consider pts. We felt terrible that we had somehow missed that she was unwell (the reality was the illness had struck suddenly and she had likely been fine until that day).
I know we would have also felt guilty if we had the opportunity to pts. So concluded that it happens regardless. I think guilt is a coping mechanism during times of grief as it is tangible and within your own control somehow.