Did my vet know for sure that my cat was dying?

Question

My cat got sick 1-01-07. It was sudden. He was overweight and didn't get the excercise he should have got. The next day his condition worsened. I thought he had pnemonia. My husband gave him a shot of penicillin and b-12. He got worse to the point he was crying in pain. We took him to the vet. My cat was haven't difficulty breathing also for two days. He was so weak, he couldn't walk. He didn't seem that sick until the last couple of days. He hadn't felt very good, but not of a dying cat. The vet took a needle and pulled fluid from his lungs. He had a grim look on his face. I asked him for the truth. He seemed to know I was dying myself inside. The first thing was , it depends on how much money your willing to pay. I said .I want to know if my baby is dying and is he going to get better. I told him that I would not let him suffer. I love him too much. He then replied, he was not going to get better and there would be tubes and needles the rest of his life. We let him go for love. Help

me. I think I made the right decision. I really believe without the vets opinion , I made the right decision. I hope I did. He never urinated on hiself before and he was a sickly boy through the years, but what if I didn't?

The vetenarian said he had conjested heart failure.

My baby was almost eight years old.

Answer 1

you did the best thing, honey. Believe me, it's very hard to let go of a pet, i did it with my best dog, and i couldn't let him go to the vet's. I let him suffer and die without dignity... i will never forgive myself for my selfishness, and how he suffered the last days of his life. I still think about it now, years after it happened, and i have vowed to not let any other animal suffer for my selfishness.

Answer 2

Well for one thing it would be helpful to know what disease your cat had. Not being there I wouldn't know but, just because your cat didn't seem to suffer didn't mean it wasn't suffering, cats are particularly notorious for hiding symptoms of illness. So it is possible your cat was worse off then you thought. There is also the possibility that the treatment it was on was not working, and that the next step was a costly, and stressful proceedure that your parents couldnt' afford or didn't want to put the cat through. I had a similar problem with a dog a few years back where we tried medications but then the next option was an expensive exploritory surgery, with them not even being able to give us an idea of what the odds were we could find what was wrong let alone that we could fix it. Also, by your post I would guess you are still a minor (or your parents shouldnt' have had the leagal right to have the animal put down, unless it was a case in which the vet determined teh animal was so bad that not treating it or putting it down fell under neglect/ cruelty). Now, if they had your cat put down, they shouldn't have lied to you, they should have talked to you about it. However, depending on your age, it is questionable of weather you could make the judgement of whether it was time to put the cat down or not... in that case your parents would have stepped in. If you really must know, then ask them. I don't know what you mean by, they'll get suspisious. True if you are/were a minor it really was, leagally their responsiblity to see to the cat's care, however morally they are accountable to you and telling you the truth about what happened with your beloved pet. However, you should then, in turn not just look at this as betrayal, because honestly from the tone of your post I get the impression that it probably needed to be done, but you couldn't bring yourself to let it happen. If that is the case, they were trying to make this as painless for you as possible.

Answer 3

I think your vet was honest with you. A dishonest one would have let you spend a lot of money on worthless treatment and let the suffering go on as long as he could. Not many out there that are that bad, but there are a few.
The decision was made for all the right reasons. My heart goes out to you. I've had some live to a very old age, but some have developed painful life threatening conditions that would have been expensive to treat with little hope of a comfortable life.
Like you, I felt it was my responsibility to make this decision to end suffering.
A difference that I believe exists between humans and other animals, is they have no regrets and quilts to resolve, and they don't have any real plans for the future. Each day is the only one and if each day is painful, there is nothing to be gained by dragging it out. You have a lot of the right kind of love. When you are ready, I hope you'll share it with another one.

Answer 4

I am sorry for you. I know how I would feel if my cats got sick. Unfortunately cats are like people. They get sick and die.

While it seemed this was a sudden problem, it wasn't. He had fluid in his lungs which could be anything from Congestive Heart Failure to kidney failure to cancer.Your cat was very sick. He was crying in pain. You could have started to spend alot of money on tests and possible short term solutions. It doesn't sound like he would get well.

I think,even though it was hard, you made the right decision. The poor cat was suffering and you didn't want him to continue to suffer. It was/is tough but right.

God bless you and I hope your heart heals quickly.

Answer 5

It sounds like you made the right decision. It could be that he was sick for longer than you think and you just didn't pick up on it. I'm sure you did all that you could and cats are VERY good at hiding signs of illness. It's not your fault. Try to be comforted by the fact that he did not suffer for long and that he's in a better place now. He'll always be with you. I'm sure he would thank you for the love you gave while he was with you and for the selfless act of letting him go.

Answer 6

I am sorry you had to go through this. The vet is a professional and I can guarantee that they do not enjoy putting an animal down.

While it is hard to accept, the vet may have been correct. Fluid in the lungs is definetly not a good sign. When my cat got that sick she never got better. I was lucky in that my sis-in-law is a vet and was very helpful. We tried and tried and were unable to help my cat.

We had to let her go and it was (and still is) hard.

Remember the fun and his smiles!

Answer 7

Poor thing. I am so sorry for your loss, please accept my sympathy. It is common to question yourself after making such a hard decision. I think you did the right thing. The vet has a lot of experience and education, and knows his stuff. It might help you feel better to do some volunteer work at an animal shelter in your cats honor. Thats what I did when I had to have a pet put to sleep. It really helped my grieving soul to heal in a hard time.
Best of luck to you

Answer 8

First of all, I'm sorry about the loss of your beloved pet.

You need to ask the veterniarian that examined your cat. No one here was there or can even venture an educated guess as to why or what the veterinarian knew from that exam.

Answer 9

the exact same thing happened to me with and overwieght older cat... it hurt me so bad to put him down.. he was almost 13.. but what he had was diabettis... maybe your had it too. i tried for 2 months giving him a shot of inculin 2 times a day and he just kept getting worse i know i did the right thing for wally (my cat) he didnt diserve to be in any pain... im very sorry about your lose and i understand how u feel

Answer 10

ok , i m not sure but cats take time to die not sooner, but through time , u discover that it gonna die. i suggest to let it die the time it s gonna to, coz sometimes u see that it ll die but after week or more, it starts feel betteror recover. so, give it time.
i faced the same problem with my cat, it was hurt by my bogs, and it has at that time 6 cats children, we said that it ll never stay one day alive, but inspite that it can not walk , vet says it ll die sooner or later. i let it live with their cats , i think a month or month and half, then it died in between my hands while i was sleeping. i do not want to remember. do ur best to cure it, if not, i think u did ur best, give it the time to live even suffering. do not kill them it s not fair.