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I Truly Have A Dilemma, What Should I Do?

My sweet, gentle female cat is nearly eighteen. My vet thought that she wouldn't live to be more than 8-10 years old, because she suffered from chronic bladder infections and terrible anxiety. Her companion, the silly and loving Johnny, was put down in February. I got a kitten 2 months ago (he's now 7 months), and she wants nothing to do with him. She chooses to stay in our bedroom all day and sleep. Vet said she really has no quality of life, and should be put down. I don't want to lose her. Thoughts?

asked 2 months ago

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thisismyac

As long as she isn't suffering I don't see why you would want to put her down. I'd let her live out the rest of her days relaxing around the house. If she has stopped eating and is suffering it's another story. Some animals can get really torn when they lose a friend. I've seen it with my own animals. One of my cats seemed to stop caring for anything after her companion died but she got over it after a while and she's quite happy still. She's a fairly old cat like yours and this was only about 3 months ago but things are better now. If she isn't eating and you feel that she is going to just wither away maybe it is the right decision, but from what you say I don't see why she doesn't deserve to live the rest of her life.

answered 2 months ago

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I feel like you do, just let her go on until she shows real signs of illness. Over the past few years, she has lost weight, but the vet said it's not unusual for elderly cats to lose weight. They feel that she's probably in kidney failure, but other than frequent trips to the litterbox, there's no pain associated with kidney failure, at least in this stage, I guess. It's the people who keep telling me that she has no quality of life, because she spends all day in the bedroom. It's the choice she's made, because she can come out at anytime, the problem is, she doesn't want to deal with the kitten. Sometimes I will put him in a room for awhile, and let her come out for a bit, and if she doesn't come out, I'll go in there and talk to her and cuddle with her. I knew what I had to do when I had my cat put down in February. It was obvious to everyone that he wasn't the cat he used to be, and he had to be relieved of his suffering. My girl is a whole other story. It's the whole "quality of life" issue, and no one holds back with their opinions. If I ask, like I did here, to see what other people who don't know the cat think about it, that's fine. The problem is all the unsolicited advice I've been getting. She's gotten crankier, as she's gotten older, but she was always a kind of crabby, one person cat. It would be so much easier it everyone would just stop telling me what they think, and let me decide what's best for her. I've had her since she was 7 weeks old, so believe me, I take none of this lightly.

comment made by Mymollie 2 months ago Report

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I feel like you do, just let her go on until she shows real signs of illness.  Over the past few years, she has lost weight, but the vet said it's not unusual for elderly cats to lose weight.  They feel that she's probably in kidney failure, but other than frequent trips to the litterbox, there's no pain associated with kidney failure, at least in this stage, I guess.  It's the people who keep telling me that she has no quality of life, because she spends all day in the bedroom.  It's the choice she's made, because she can come out at anytime, the problem is, she doesn't want to deal with the kitten.  Sometimes I will put him in a room for awhile, and let her come out for a bit, and if she doesn't come out,  I'll go in there and talk to her and cuddle with her.  I knew what I had to do when I had my cat put down in February.  It was obvious to everyone that he wasn't the cat he used to be, and he had to be relieved of his suffering.  My girl is a whole other story.  It's the whole "quality of life" issue, and no one holds back with their opinions.  If I ask, like I did here, to see what other people who don't know the cat think about it, that's fine.  The problem is all the unsolicited advice I've been getting. She's gotten crankier, as she's gotten older, but she was always a kind of crabby, one person cat.  It would be so much easier it everyone would just stop telling me what they think, and let me decide what's best for her.  I've had her since she was 7 weeks old, so believe me, I take none of this lightly.

Mpmmikempm

Do the humane thing. How do you feel about Dr. Kevorkian?Do humans have the right to end their suffering and pain when there is no hope of recovery? I have put several very loved family pets out of their misery in my life when no one else could do it and cried like a baby while doing it but I know it was the right thing to do and that they would thank me if they could.Don't let something suffer because of your fear of losing them, it's selfish.Do the right thing and feel good that you did it.(I'm mainly talking about animals in a lot of pain or that can't move anymore.)Take care, Mike

answered 2 months ago

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It's been determined that she's not suffering physically, but it's more a quality of life issue. I just had a cat put down in February, so I know the difficulty, not to mention the emotional pain. My girl is being euthanized tomorrow. The tears started a long time ago.

comment made by Mymollie 2 months ago Report