Cat EOL

MrBump

This is a hard one - my cat is ill, and I suspect that the trip to the vet tomorrow may be her last.

She's had kidney problems for years.  She's deaf and now almost blind, and riddled with arthritis.  She still seems to get enjoyment from life, but she's struggling to keep food down now, and is starting to be incontinent (she actually pissed and shat over my PedalTrain a couple of months back!!! Bitch!!!).

She's just turned 19, so all in a pretty good innings.  I've been finding excuses to avoid taking her, but the wife has just messaged me that she's just been sick another 3 times today.

No idea what the vet will say, if they'll suggest medication etc.  I love her, she's been around longer than my kids, and I'm dreading having to make a final decision about her.

Don't know why I'm writing this.

Moominpapa

Sounds like the kindest thing would be to put her to sleep. Tough choice, I know (I've been there), but her quality of life can't be good now if she is vomiting regularly.

VimFuego

it is hard, however the ultimate duty we have as pet owners is to make that decision. I miss all the ones I've had to take on that final journey, and at no point do I ever regret doing it, I knew they were suffering and were never gonna get better. Sometimes the thought that I put something off for a day or so too long haunts me, as the idea of an animal (or person) I love suffering is hard.

Phil_aka_Pip

My sympathies mate, I've been there and it made me feel like Judas.

Don't take her to the V.E.T. you don't want her last journey to be stressful. Arrange for the V.E.T. do do a house call and you can say goodbye while she's on your lap. More costly (30 pieces of silver) but worth it.

ourmaninthenorth

we've got a 19 year old too...actually 20 in July. We've had her from a kitten. 

She's an old lady now, certainly slowed down a lot. But, she's in decent health at the moment. 

When the time comes I'll carry her to the end with a heavy but grateful heart. The honour to do this for her will be all ours. 

Good luck Pal, be cool with yourself. 

Alterlifeson

If its as bad as that the kindest thing may be to take her in, however hard it may be. I had to take my mums cat (17) in last week as it had similar problems as yours, she didn't seem to be enjoying life in those last few weeks. It was emotional, but for the best. Looking back we are glad we made that choice rather than see her suffer further.

gusman2x

I'm really sorry to hear that. As Phil says, if you can afford it, it might be a better experience to have the vet come out to you.

WezV

We had the same thing earlier this year.  It was the right thing to do.

Our vets were reluctant to make the suggestion, they definitely wanted it to come from us.  They did suggest we could try more treatment but were clear it was just a trial and error approach on an old cat.  They were steering us towards the decision, but wanted us to say it.   I am still not sure if that was  a deliberate approach to the conversation.

As a side note, on a rather selfish level.   It has had a massive impact on our quality of life too.   You don't realise how much time you are spending cleaning up after the poorly cat.  We have a second one and blamed them both for the mess, it was just the poorly one

HippoPete

I'm thirding the comment that if you can run to it, have the vet come out. We had two old gents, 18 and 19 respectively and the vet did their injections while petting them on their favourite sleeping spot in the sun.

Becky, our vet said they were just tired out and she was right.

FFS - tearing up just thinking about it. 

CHRISB50

Unfortunately all I can offer is my sympathy.

You've given your cat lots of love and the best life you have been able to offer her.

All the best.

 

BRISTOL86

I sympathise OP. We have only had our rescue for less than 2 years but the thought of having to face this one day is terrifying. It’s insane how much of an impact our pets have on us.

You’re doing the right thing in getting her seen ASAP, and only you can really make that final decision on whether her quality of life is sufficient to keep trying. If not then try to take some comfort from the fact that I’m sure for 19 years she’s wanted for nothing and has had a life better than 99.9% of other cats!

SteveRobinson

Our cat is 15 with kidney problems, high blood pressure and as a consequence she's blind from detached retinas.

At the moment she's happy and manages fine. She could go on another five years but we're not looking forward to the inevitable.  We love her dearly and I wouldn't hesitate to do the necessary if we thought she was suffering.

bluechargeboy

Our last old boy had to be taken to the vets at 1am because he couldn't breathe, and we had him put down there and then (he had been in a few times, congestive heart failure). Honestly it was the worst day of my life so far, but of course we knew it was the right thing to do.

My missus was watching some vet programme the other day and the vet said "length of your pet's life is for your benefit, quality of life is for your pet's benefit." I think when you know, you know.

rlw

It's shit but if you can do it at home, slightly less shit.  You have my sympathies - done it too many times but only one left now, an old girl like yours...............

DrJazzTap

My thoughts go out to you. It's a horrible decision. We lost a ten year old cat, who my girlfriend had had since he was a kitten in December 2016. He was knocked over. We then got another cat in Feb 2017 and sadly had to put him to sleep in September 2017 as he had been in a car accident. 
The current cat Norma is now a designated house cat and we would be mortified if we lost her. 
You've given that cat so much love and happiness over it's lifetime. And I know you now have the hardest decision to make but you have the power to make that as comfortable as possible.