JAWM--Had to have cat put to sleep

[Garga]

Our sweet, sweet kitty who isn't even two years old did something (we don't know what, but think it might relate to a day a year ago when a table fell on his leg) to his leg. The head of the femur cracked in two.

 

We went to an emergency vet with him last night. He was clearly in a great deal of pain, and you know that cats are excellent at hiding pain.

 

The vet said they could do a surgery for the leg. We looked up all the details about it when we were there. People were saying their cats had to be put in a cage (crate) for months, the cat would possibly have pain throughout its life. And how would we know that for sure, since they're so good at hiding it? There would be lots of meds, lots of visits, lots of pain. The cat would have a lame leg pretty much forever, but would still be able to move around.

 

But.

 

But, I'm someone who makes sure our cats have the most spoiled lives a cat can possibly have. In the winter, we move our cats into patches of sunlight if they look cold. On cloudy days, we cover them with little blankets and tuck them around the cats. Every morning they get a little nibble of cream cheese. We never, ever yell at the kitties. We pet them nonstop. They live lives of pure bliss.

 

And when that will end for them, due to disease or injury, we have always said we'd let them go. Thirty years ago, vet medicine wouldn't have had us trying to extend the lives of animals. Now they do, but along with that is often the pain of the procedures and the fact that the body is never quite right.

 

I've long felt that we should not extend the lives of humans to the point where the medicine causes almost as much misery as the disease. And I certainly feel that way for animals. They do not fear death. They do not understand why they hurt.

 

So...even though the vet said they could do the surgery, we said no.

 

He was put down last night, quickly, because he was hurting. Before they did, he was rubbing his face on ours and purring. He's always been our sweetest baby. My husband had to praactically run from the room in tears. I held his little body.

 

I need (need) to see you guys write, "You did the right thing." Because I did. I did. It is the entirely wrong thing for us, but it was the right thing for him. We had to come home and tell the kids and we all sat there in silence for about an hour until we all slowly went to bed. It's been more of the same this morning.

 

But we did right by our baby, right?

 

JAWM.

[oneddmanybooks]

I absolutely think you did the right thing. I am so sorry. We have two pampered kitties and I can only imagine how sad we would be.

[Heatherwith4]

Yes, you did the right thing. I would have done the same thing, and I have 3 extremely spoiled kitties. :grouphug:

[JustEm]

I would have done the same exact thing. I've seen animals go through so much pain because the owner isn't ready to let go and it breaks my heart. I wouldn't want to always be wondering if that sweet cat was still in pain, they really are good at hiding it.

 

Our dogs are both officially seniors but still on the young side of it. They have certainly slowed down a lot. I've started wondering how soon it'll be that one gets injured or sick enough for us to say, " they had a great life but it's time to let them rest pain free."

[JustEm]

Hugs. Sorry you had to make a tough decision like that

[bodiesmom]

You absolutely did the right thing for him. I'm so sorry for your hurt. 😢

[OneStepAtATime]

Huge huge massive hugs. I am so sad for you and your family.

 

Yes, you did the right thing. 100%. You made the best choice for your little one even if it is painful for you and your family.

 

FWIW, my mother was in a similar situation and made a different choice. She regretted it. There was a lot of suffering and quality of life deteriorated. And he ended up dying later from complications, suffering quite a bit.

 

Hugs again and best wishes to you and your family. My heart goes out to all of you.

[UncleEJ]

You made the right choice. About a year ago, my elderly dog hurt herself and we made the wrong choice. I regret it. I am so sorry for your loss.

[catz]

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:  I'm so sorry.  You did the right thing.  We had to put down our sweetest kitty a few weeks ago.  It's hard.  :(  We spoil our kitties completely rotten too.

Edited August 28, 2016 by WoolySocks

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

 

I'm so sorry. Your post has me in tears because it's clear you loved him so much. I would have made the same choice and I would have dragged myself through the same uncertainty you are, but I believe you did the right thing. 

[zoobie]

You sound like a very loving, thoughtful kitty caretaker. I'm so sorry about your kitty. :grouphug:

[Ellie]

But we did right by our baby, right?

 

 

 

Yes, honey girl, you did right by your baby. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

[SparklyUnicorn]

So sorry about your kitty.  Big hugs...

 

 

[creekland]

Yes, you did the right thing, and yes it hurts incredibly badly both because we lost our friend and because we had to make that decision.  Allow yourself time to grieve while reminding yourself it really is better to love and lose than never to have loved at all.  My heart goes out to you and your family.  :grouphug:

[DawnM]

I am so sorry.

 

It is so hard to know when the right time is.  I hated making that decision for our first dog.  I second guessed it for a year!

 

It will be ok.  You did the right thing.

[Pawz4me]

I think it's hard to say what the "right" thing is.

 

If it helps you any -- and I hope it does -- I probably would have made the same decision as you did.

 

Had it been a dog I might have opted for surgery. But cats are such different creatures than dogs, and I think reduced or limited mobility is a much greater quality of life issue for them than it is for dogs.

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

[Robin M]

I'm so sorry Garga for the loss of your fur baby.  Yes, it is hard to make that decision but it was in your kitty's best interest.  We had to make the same decision for one of our fur babies a couple weeks ago due to intestinal cancer.  We could have opted for surgery but it would just have prolonged the inevitable.  

 

:grouphug:

[MysteryJen]

You did the right thing. I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved kitty.

[OhanaBee]

Yes, you absolutely did the right thing.  And it just sucks that the right thing is also the hardest thing.

[Anne in CA]

Your really did do the right thing. That is spoken as someone whose friend spent 3K on kidney dialysis for a pet bird. Yes, the bid died anyway. The money was not the point to my friend, he'd have spent a lot more to keep the bird alive, but the bird was miserable doing dialysis.

[DaisyDay]

You did the right thing.

 

Sorry for the awful choice you were forced to make. Allow yourself and your family to grieve your loss and don't second-guess your decision.

 

And give your other critters a little extra love today.

 

Hugs to you.

[ktgrok]

Hugs. I've seen very young kittens heal fractures quickly and easily, but they were less than a year, and had much less serious fractures. A femur head is totally different. As you said, you wouldnt know if he was in pain years later. 

 

Also, and this may sound harsh, the money you might have spent on that surgery would have been significant. Perhaps take a part of it, and donate it to a cat rescue. Instead of prolonging one cat's life, possibly in pain, it could help save the lives of several kitties. 

 

Hugs. 

[Kassia]

Oh, I'm so very sorry!  I do think you did the right thing.

[Tess in the Burbs]

You did. Nothing you could have done in the future could have outweighed a lifetime of pain. It was for the best. So sorry for your loss

[JudoMom]

You did the right thing. I'm so sorry you had to make that decision.

[mominco]

:grouphug:

[mom2att]

I am positive you did the right thing, and I think he was telling you it was okay as well, because of this:

 

Before they did, he was rubbing his face on ours and purring.

 

RIP, sweet kitty.
 

[Joules]

You did the right thing.   :grouphug:

[Valley Girl]

You were faced with an incredibly difficult decision. You did the right thing. You did the loving thing, too. So sorry for your heartache.

[ThisIsTheDay]

You did right by your kitty. I am so sorry, for I know what an awful choice you had to make.

 

And I'm not just saying it to agree with you. I believe that 100%.

 

Your precious kitty was lucky to have a family who cared for it so very much, not only during its healthy times but also when it was in pain. He needed you to do the right thing, and you did.

 

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

 

<hugs>

[Lanny]

Pet owners sometimes need to make decisions for their pets that are very difficult, but, hopefully humane, and limit the suffering of their pets. 2 or 3 months ago, we had to have our elderly German Shepard put to sleep. Her quality of life was not good. Then, shockingly, something terrible happened to our young Rottweiler.  He was one very sweet dog and much loved.  The vet. amputated his right rear leg and we thought he would be coming home, in a day or 2, and then early one morning (about 5 A.M., the vet. called and said that he'd died.  Our backyard has both of their graves and sometimes I look out the window at where they are buried. We also have cats and a parrot.  The German Shepard had a long life, but the Rottweiler was less than 2 years old and he was in the house more than all of our other dogs combined. He was very special and a real member of the family. As I told my wife and DD after his death, "Our family was blessed to have had such a wonderful animal in our lives".  My wife now believes he had something that is common in the DNA of Rottweilers that caused his early demise. I cannot take away your pain, grief is normal, but I hope that in a month or two, you will consider giving another animal a wonderful home and the loving care that you described in your post here.  

[goldberry]

I'm so sorry.  You are clearly an awesome kitty owner.

[EKS]

You did the right thing.   :grouphug:

[Garga]

Hugs. I've seen very young kittens heal fractures quickly and easily, but they were less than a year, and had much less serious fractures. A femur head is totally different. As you said, you wouldnt know if he was in pain years later.

 

Also, and this may sound harsh, the money you might have spent on that surgery would have been significant. Perhaps take a part of it, and donate it to a cat rescue. Instead of prolonging one cat's life, possibly in pain, it could help save the lives of several kitties.

 

Hugs.

 

I thought of you, knowing that you worked at a vet's office.

 

Yes, it was very expensive. The money was only a part of the decision.

Well...for everyone: Thank you for the replies. I'd love to quote and thank everyone one at a time, but every time I open this thread I burst into tears. This is the 6th kitty I've had to decide to put down and this is the hardest. The others were 12 years old or older and had end of life issues: diabetes, liver failure, cancer. This is the first time it was so unexpected in such a very young cat.

 

It is comforting to know that I did what had to be done.

 

My mom has cats and each time one goes she always says, "And that one was my favorite!" I feel that way now. For today, Griffin was my favorite.

Edited September 1, 2016 by Garga

[mommytobees]

{{{hugs}}}

 

We have a cat that had the exact same injury. We decided to have the surgery.

 

That was 4 years ago. I can't say I regret the surgery, because my son is happy with his cat. (Personally, I can't stand the cat; he's a pain-in-the-bum animal.) BUT, he hurts. Low level pain that occasionally flares up. He is lazy as heck and while he isn't overweight, he isn't healthy.

 

I wouldn't do the surgery again. 

 

Kris

[Mrs_JWM]

I am so sorry, my friend. You did do the right thing, as heart-breaking as it was. Big hugs to you. That guy was obviously a very special, very loved kitty.

 

Sent from my XT1049 using Tapatalk

[Liz CA]

It's always difficult losing a pet, even more so when they are still young. But you relieved her pain.

[trulycrabby]

You did the right thing. :grouphug:

[PrairieSong]

It is obvious from your posts how much you loved him and he loved you. I am so sorry you are hurting right now, but you did the right thing. Hugs.

[lea1]

You absolutely did the right thing.  It's always hard, very hard.  But you did the right thing for him, for sure.

[kewb]

I am so sorry for your loss. You absolutely did the right thing. I would have made the same decision.

[Guest]

You couldn't have done anything else in good conscience for that kitty, I really think that was the best choice because of the pain :(. I'm so sorry you had to put her down.

[Catalytic]

I had to put down a one year old kitten due to FIP many years ago, and it hurt so terribly bad.  You did the right thing, but I know it hurts, especially with a young kitty.  You're a really good cat mommy, Garga!

[CanadianAlison+3boys]

You did the right thing. Many hugs to you and yours.

[Lizzie in Ma]

:grouphug: :grouphug:

[elegantlion]

I worked for a vet for five years, you did the right thing. 

 

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:

[AMJ]

You were wonderful.  You did the right thing.  It was a horribly hard thing to do but you did not flinch.

 

I am so sorry for your loss.   :grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

[StaceyinLA]

I'm so sorry. I agree that you did what was right and most humane. Animals aren't able to make decisions about pain/surgeries/recovery and what they are willing to do; they trust us to do that for them. I'm absolutely for less suffering.

 

I've had to make this decision far more than I'd have liked and I really dislike it. Right now I'm having to make it with an aging horse that seemed to be showing improvement, but now has an issue we don't know if we can handle. It's just killing me.