NationStates Jolt Archive

Have you ever had to have a pet euthanized? Have you ever turned one over to a shelter?

I was reading one of my many cat books the other day and got to the part where the author had to make the decision to "put to sleep" her 16 yo cat. My roomies were quite disconcerted to have me bawling on the couch. I remember quite well the two I had euthanized. One for feline leukemia. My husband had been in charge of getting kitty shots and was not quite up to it. He took the cat in and said "Give him his shots." Not realizing at the time that a feline leukemia shot was something you had to specifically request.

The other time was some time earlier. A four-month old kitten had gotten out and gotten cross-wise of some dogs. I was still in highschool and knew my parents would balk at paying the kind of vet bills a kitten with a broken back would need. I pictured the kind of life he would lead, incontinent and dragging himself around on his belly. At that time I was totally ignorant of things like kitty wheelchairs anyway. Unlike the later time, I didn't have the stomach to stick around and see the deed done. I told the vet my decision and fled the scene.

I did once deliver a cat and dog of mine to a shelter. It was at least a no-kill shelter but I still cried my eyes out. And feel guilty for abandoning them to this day. Though the move that prompted me to might not have been impossible with them, keeping them would have presented some definite problems.

And for cat owners. Do you let your cat outside? I usually have. They seem to really enjoy it. And let's face it, it's easier on me. Less litter box mess. Fewer fights between them. I'm a hairsbreadth from becoming the crazy cat lady. I have too many because I rescue too many. It becomes very stressful to keep them all inside. But in the last ten years I've lost one to feline leukemia, two to dogs and two to cars. All because I let them outside.

Your opinions. Criticisms. Anecdotes. All welcome.

One dog that we had (which was a cross between a pit bull and a Boxer) had to be put down after she got loose and attacked my cousin. This happened when me and my brother were little, I think I was 5 and he was 7. My parents told us that he 'ran' away, so of course we went around the neighborhood and area looking for her. Now that I look back on it, I'm surprised we didn't put her down sooner, she was a wild dog and she was just too wild for us.

I have thought about putting down Sara (the Siamese I had before Amelia), but we ended up letting her go peacefully on her own. She was 15 when she passed away. The reason I wanted to put her down was that I didn't want her to suffer the dying process, but I ended up making her as comfortable as possible and petting her and loving on her until she passed away.

That's pretty much it.

Who else read the thread title as "pot issues...have you had any".

Overall we had to give a bunny to the shelter because he was chewing the wires behind the t.v and nearly shocked himself to death. We just didn't have the heart to keep him in his cage.

I had to put my dog down last year, he had heart disease and death was going to be sudden and painful, and he was pretty sick already, so we put him down. It was horrible. I hope I never have to do that again.

I have 2 kittens now and I don't let them outside because the dogs in the neighborhood would eat them.

Our dog attacked some sheep and had to be put down. I don't actually remember how long ago.

yes three cats, one two years back for beening really sick and two this year, one with the same thing as the one two years back and the other one for old age with only two days left before they could not breath the vet said to mum when she taken it in to be put to sleep

the only animal that i've had to put down was my first horse. She was 32 and had lost all her teeth, and no matter what we tried we couldn't keep weight on her and we knew that there wasn't a chance that she would make it through winter.

All of my cats have been out side cats, we let them in for a little milk every once and a while, but they to happy out side to keep them in all the time.

Click Stand;12997698']Who else read the thread title as "pot issues...have you had any".

Overall we had to give a bunny to the shelter because he was chewing the wires behind the t.v and nearly shocked himself to death. We just didn't have the heart to keep him in his cage.

Bunny suicide?

my dad was on the phone to have my dog put down later that day when she died. We were both glad she went naturally and somewhat painless.

Appreciate the input so far. Keep 'em coming. But the damn library is about to close so I have to go shortly.

And in case Smunkee drops back by, check your TG's girl. I saw what a troublemaker you used to be on the "Have you been arrested?" thread.

Got lots of those, had lots of pets. I can't remember how many cats we had put down but the last one we had was probably the most prominent. I always remember having this cat around. He was a stray and decided our place made a nice home and never left. When we moved he came with us. On top of that he out lasted three other cats. When he was 14 or so he began licking his hair off and the vet said he had cancer and wouldn't make it past 15. When he was 15 (he stopped licking and the hair grew back), he suddenlly became very ill and dehydrated and he was at the vet office on and off for about two months before he "recovered". I think they diagnosed him with a 2nd type of cancer, this time in the liver or something. By this time his arthritis became so bad he quitting going down into the basement. He'd make the trek to the 2nd floor to check on everybody at night before finding a bed to crash on, and then down again the morning. But that was it for stairs during the day. He'd still go out and hunt and surprising catch a mouse every so often. He became ill and dehydrated again when he was probably 16/17 and by this time we figured he'd kicked enough ass and had him put down.

The other notable animal was our German Shepherd. I think she was about 12 when we put her down. She got out one day and attacked someones champion prize poodle, so my parents figured it was probably best she be put down, to prevent such an incident from happenning again. She was great dog though, especially around people she new. You could wrestle with her and all that fun stuff. And she was smart, figuring out how to open both her dog run and the sliding door to the house amoung other things.

Click Stand;12997698']Who else read the thread title as "pot issues...have you had any".
You got weed on the brain or something? :p

We had a cat put down when he was 21. By that time he was blind, senile, incontinent, frail etc., so it was probably for the best. The next one we got died naturally at about 7 which was horrible. We've got two at the moment (mother and son). All of them we've let outside, and though the first one got into a few scrapes (trapped in a wall in one instance) I still think it's worth it.

Did you say the feline leukemia was caused by going outside?

While I've never had to euthanise a pet, I have had to bring one to a shelter. It was one of those situations where we had to pick between two of the cats we had. The two were constantly fighting and the male cat kept "marking" his territory by urinating everywhere but in the box most days. We were forced to keep two litter boxes because of it. It worked for a while but the cat just wasn't very friendly with me and I began to hate the cat because he would act hostile towards me and scratched me.

The female cat, who I still have (who was about 7/8 years old at the time, now 14 years old), was the same age as said male cat and she was able to use both litter boxes without thinking and was and still is a kitty with a gentle temperament. She was not innocent in this matter however. She would deliberately seek fights with the male cat and outright provoke him into fights and if it became apparent that she was losing, she would meow plaintively to get out help and it usually worked because we couldn't tell if she was really being hurt or just trying to get help.

In the end, we kept the female cat because she was a better-tempered animal and was able to show that she respected the boundaries of pet-owner, as well as an affinity for domestic behaviour.

I know my father felt slight remorse for turning the male cat over to the shelter but it couldn't be helped because the cat just didn't act right. The cat was just plain... well, let's just say stupid would be a compliment.

I felt bad as well but I don't regret it because the cat wouldn't change his behaviour and was plain aggressive; a temperament not suited for a housecat.

I've had two cats and two dogs. Both cats are dead now, and one of the dogs. The dog was older than I was, and when my parents divorced she stayed with my dad. She died when I was 15 or so, she'd of been 16 or 17.

The cats both lived to be quite old, by cat standards. One was a silver tabby, the other was her son, a half lynx. He only lived to about 14 or 15, just went out one night and never returned. He'd been losing weight for a while and I figured he was going to die. The mother lived to be almost 18 years old. Again I knew she was dying, she didn't act like she felt good for a couple weeks, rarely moved from a warm spot by the fridge. She stayed in the house for two or three days so I carried her outside by the back porch so she could atleast be in the sun. She disappeared, I looked everywhere for her 'cause I didn't figure she'd go far, but apparently she did. Found her a couple days later, she'd almost made it back to the house from wherever she went.

The half lynx was perhaps the dumbest critter I've ever seen, but he had a real sweet temperament you wouldn't expect from his heritage. Huge teeth, and tufts of hair on the tips of his ears were the only way you could tell what his other half was.

I guess growing up on a farm and being associated with agriculture most of my life gives me a little different perspective about life and death.

I've been around birth and around death on a regular basis. I've spent all night bringing a baby into the world only to have to shoot the mother.

I've had all sorts of animals for pets. And I've watched them go through the circle of life.

I don't see death as a sad or unnatural thing. Animals (and humans) are born, live and die. When they are gone there are others to take their place. Someday I'll be food for the worms. I hope that no one sees that as a loss.

I had to put my kitty down. She had cancer :(

Damn, I still cry over that cat.