Putting cat to sleep

[maliafawn]

My elderly cat (17) has chronic stomach issues. She constantly has diarrhoea and doesnt always make it to a litter tray. She vomits after almost every meal now. We have tried so many types of food over the past year, even just poached chicken and fish she vomits. Some times we will find a food that shes ok with for a week or 2 but then she will start vomiting again.

Shes miserable, shes indoor cat but she was until a few months ago still happy a cuddly, would come for a fuss with you and purr happily. Now i cant tell you the last time i heard her purr. We have to lift her to the window where she likes to sleep as she cant jump up onto the sofa then the windowsill.

I think its time to consider letting her go. Its in her best interest now i think.

My issue is - can i just request this at a vets with no further investigations? I have recently changed vets to a new one thats opened closer to home, following some concerns with my old one prescribing unnecessary treatments to myself and some others i know who used them. They didnt listen to what was being said, and steam rolled decisions without discussing costs and options first. So can i approach the new vets, explain the history, and request euthanasia?

thanks

@maliafawn if the vet understands your concerns then I think they should help?? Its not an easy decision but if the cat is unhappy and constantly ill then maybe it is time. Sending hugs x

Yes, have a conversation with them, she sounds poorly, its hard though to part with them, ny cat is same age as yours with similar issues, dreading the approaching time, but know its kinder.

Thanks. I just dont want to put her through more arbitrary testing that wont cure her at the age she is at. That feels more cruel than letting her go.

Theres also the cost impact, more tests, more high cost foods that wont help, more ruined carpets and rugs, more repainting as shes got diarrhoea up walls. My house is getting ruined and ive dealt with it because she is very much loved and wanted. But that is now impacting my decision as nothing is working to stop her being poorly all the time.

So sorry to hear about your lovely cat . From what you have written , you have done everything and sadly your cat now has very little quality of life .

I think it would be helpful if you flagged up to the reception staff when making the appointment , that you think it is time. They will hopefully try and give you a non rushed appointment .

Any decent vet will not want an animal to suffer further and will not want to put them through any unnecessary tests .

If you can , take someone with you to the vet as I find that that makes it easier and they can help update, if you are getting upset .

One of my cats , is not quite at that stage , but probably not far off it . I have already had to have that discussion with the vet . Similar to Doctors some vets have better”; bed side manners ” than others and the vet I spoke to the last time could not have been any lovelier, as she had recently been through the same with her cat .

We give our cats a lovely pampered life and they bring us so much joy . Hard though it is , the final act of kindness we can provide is to do this for them when it is time .

Sorry if it is insensitive , but I also heard a vet being interviewed on the radio about this topic . He appreciated how hard it is for owners , but also said that as an owner you should stay with your cat until they pass and speak gently to them .Hearing is one of the last senses present . I am aware that there may also be in some areas, vets who will come out and administer the dose at your home . This will obviously be more costly and it is not available where I live, so I can’t provide any further details .
Take care .

A decent vet will do as you request and I think you are making the kindest decision to relieve her suffering and prevent any further invasive treatment.

It’s never easy to let go but the toll this will be having on her as well as your own mental health shouldn’t be ignored.

When we have had to make similar decisions we always ask ourselves “is the dear cat having more bad days than good” - if the answer is yes then you need to be kind and let them go as they never get any better really.

We were in a similar position with one of ours - months of fussy eating, sickness and toilet issues - the vet said to remember that today is the best he will be - tomorrow he will be less so.

Far better to make the decision now for all of you.

When we have known that the time is “right” we have made an appointment with the vet to discuss times and how to settle - but not taken the cat to this appointment. Maybe try that and you will see what they are like and whether they will respect your wishes and act in best interests of your lovely cat.

Sending hugs.

In theory you should be able to get the cat's records transferred to the new vet, but I know some can be an absolute pain about letting a new vet see them. I would say even more so in your case, as if they were as bad as you say then I could see the new vet having a little word with the BVA about them. If nothing else, they should be able to have a 5 minute chat over the phone with a vet or vet nurse about your cat.

Ive called the new vet and discussed her a bit. We have an appointment, then plan is to trial a different worming treatment and some anti sickness for her, and see how she gets on, then if in a few weeks theres no improvement, we go from there.

You probably tried this, just another thought.

My cat has had chronic vomiting issues her whole life, literally from a kitten and she's now 15. We had some good spells where there was just a vomit or two a week, interspersed where periods she would vomit at least once a day.

2 months ago she was diagnosed with kidney disease, and we started her on a wet renal diet (Purina Advanced care). In the last 2 months she's vomited twice. Totally unheard of for her.

It's pretty clear that irrespective of the kidney issues, it's helping with her digestive ones massively.

On your off chance it's not something you've tried, maybe buy a box of it?

Best of luck.

How long have you had this cat? The symptoms sound like the cat I took in that had been homeless for 2 years after her owner had died. She had chronic diarrhea and the vet and I tried so many things. I had her for 10 months when she shut down. We did some further checks and it turned out that she either suffered from FIP (most likely) or lymphoma.

I'm so sorry. What I would do is ask the vet how much invasive testing would be needed to get a diagnosis. What could the possible diagnoses be, in his/her opinion. If treatment would entail stressful and traumatic procedures, or a taxing home care routine, with you having to give her pills/injections every day, then I would ask for euthanasia.

If the vet thinks it'll be a simple process to get a diagnosis, and a simple cure, then that's different. But I think that is highly unlikely given her age.

I wouldn't want my cat's last few months to involve pain and stressful tests and treatments that she doesn't understand the reason for, and intensive home care treatments often means the cat starts to associate you with pain and stress, when you have always been her safe person.

I think I waited too long to put my old cat to sleep because I had an overzealous vet who wanted us to do a whole lot of treatments, when he had terminal kidney disease! I really regret it. But at least I know now what I'll do when that time comes for my other cat. I will do the kindest thing and ask for him to be put to sleep rather than making him suffer unnecessarily with little quality of life for the last few months.

At 17 and in failing health there aren't many more months/years you can hope to get with your cat and it's kinder to let them go while they still have some quality of life 😢

Have a look at home euthanasia services, it avoids the stress of taking a poorly cat to the vets and allows them to go in the comfort of their home.

So we had the appointment. Shes had a new wormer, and another new food to trial (purina hypoallergenic as its less complex than others?), a steroid injection, and then in 6 weeks if not any better we can trial and anti-emetic.

my issue now is we have two younger cats. I dont want to move them over to the same dry food. Keeping her away from their wet food is ok, i can seperate for their meals. But they have constant access to biscuits too so its going to be a hard few weeks unless i remove their access to dry food completely!

Any suggestions would be appreciated