Deciding when to euthanize a furbaby...?

[spokewench]

My Big Kitty was incontinent probably the last year of his life; he tried to get to the box, but would go where he slept and have accidents. I had many, many towels out and under the towels I put puppy piddle pads. This saved my furniture. Although, I had to clean up the floor a lot. We have wood floors. I had to banish the Big guy from the bedroom as it was carpet and I could not trust him on the bed. He lived a happy long life and finally when he quit eating, I knew it was time. He was a big cat and loved eating; so when he quit eating, that was it.

When I left for vacation in the last year, I had a very good friend who did not mind dealing with his issues stay at the house.

It is different for everyone. It is hard to tell when is the right time. Hang in there.

[molliewog]

I recently went through this last month with my beloved Persian. She was still eating, using her box, purring etc. but the look in her eye told me that she was no longer happy. She had severe arthritis in her hips. I found this blog post, and it helped me put things in perspective and make my decision. I couldn't stand to see her suffering, and for me, I'd rather put her down sooner than later. Now I know she is no longer in pain

Best of luck in the timing of your decision. It's apparent that you love your little meow. It's certainly one of the hardest things to do!

[zoom-zoom]

I found this blog post, and it helped me put things in perspective and make my decision.

That is so eloquent...what a great piece.

[lauraelmore1033]

We are in exactly the same situation with our 20 year old Mamma Kitty. She neverr was a big fan of using the litter box in the first place, but now the free range peeing is getting really bad. But...
She seems happier than she ever has been in her life! The other kitties seem to know that something is up with her, and they are extra lovey dovey with her and she seems to be enjoying that in spite of the fact that she had never been a cat-social kind of ca before. The weather has been nice, so we've been able to corral her in the front yard, and she's really enjoying that too, since she started out as a feral, outdoor kitty who didn't like having to stay inside.

a couple of times, on her bad days, I found myself thinking that it was time for the last trip to the vet, and she suddenly sat straight up from a dead sleep, made eye contact and began to purr like I've never heard before. Clearly she doesn't think it's time. I have to confess that I have moments of resenting the mess she's making of the house, but I sure couldn't look into those intelligent eyes, knowing that she wants to live, and have her put to death. It's a really tough choice. and it really sucks.

[Biciclista]

One of the issues with these kitties is that their kidneys are shutting down which makes them have to urinate more, and ah, gee whiz what a hassle when you are old and weak and sore, and yes, this is not quality of life. It's also one thing when it's you taking care of your kitties, but when it's someone else; you KNOW the time is coming, do you want her to decide to die while your m-i-law is taking care of her?
That JUST happened to me, Barbie died 2 days after my guests from Italy came. I had to reassure them that they did NOT cause her death, that she had been failing..
Cats are fortunate.. we don't have to make them suffer. Good luck.

[zoom-zoom]

One of the issues with these kitties is that their kidneys are shutting down which makes them have to urinate more...

Lola just had bloodwork done on Monday--kidneys are still good, which surprised me. My childhood cats both died around age 16, but both had failed kidneys.

[zoom-zoom]

So maybe it was just a temporary illness? That would be wonderful for all of you.

The only thing that the vet found "wrong" with her was a mild UTI (which she didn't think explained the urination outside the box), a slight amount of blood in her urine (perhaps from the UTI), and some dehydration (which is one reason we've switched her to wet food...she's never been a good chewer and ends up doing a lot of puking of solid pieces of food). Other than that she's just an arthritic old cat with well-managed overactive thyroid who pees where she shouldn't.

[zoom-zoom]

Oh, and she's very sneaky. She's always been good about taking her thyroid pill in a Pill Pocket, but isn't doing as well with the small antibiotic pills--she's eating around them. I tried mashing it in her food, but she won't eat the food. (her sense of smell and taste still seem very good...perhaps even better with her somewhat decreased eyesight). We may try pulverizing the pills and mixing them with tuna juice in a syringe.

[indysteel]

One of the issues with these kitties is that their kidneys are shutting down which makes them have to urinate more, and ah, gee whiz what a hassle when you are old and weak and sore, and yes, this is not quality of life. It's also one thing when it's you taking care of your kitties, but when it's someone else; you KNOW the time is coming, do you want her to decide to die while your m-i-law is taking care of her?
That JUST happened to me, Barbie died 2 days after my guests from Italy came. I had to reassure them that they did NOT cause her death, that she had been failing..
Cats are fortunate.. we don't have to make them suffer. Good luck.

Mimi,

I'm having a hard time remembering if you posted about Barbie at the time. Sadly, we've lost so many pets on TE of late that I can't recall, and my search didn't reveal a thread about it.

In any event, I'm so sorry. You've had so much on your plate; I hope you get a big break soon. A really big break.

[Biciclista]

Barbie decided to exit the earth plane a couple weeks before Donald got his bad news. IMHO, Barbie timed it very well. I would have been a wreck dealing with a failing cat right now. She gave VERY clear signs about it being her time. (I did post about it, but really it's ok if you can't keep track of a kitty that you never met )

[Owlie]

I have no experience in this area, but ((zoom-zoom)).