Should I have my cat put to sleep?

Question

My cat is about 13yrs old. He wasnt acting right for a couple of days.So i took him to the vet today.The vet said he had a absest tooth and that they would need to put him under anastasia and because he is so old they would need to run blood test to make sure that he wouldnt go into kidney failure.Well he has a kidney disease she said they are going to keep him overnight and give him fluids and if the fluids dont work than she sagest that i put him to sleep. Sould i put him to sleep or could someone sugest any other options for me?

Answer 1

This happened recently to a 12 year old of mine. The kidney disease was so far along he wasnt producing any urine. They said that they could keep him alive for a month or 2 with medications and dialisis but that would just be more painful and tramatic than the euth. Kidney disease is irreversible and always ultimately fatal. Time of death comes depending how bad the cat has it, and how long. It also causes underlying ailments like bad teeth, dehydration, eye problems. and generally they just suffer. I asked my Vet why didnt we see this happening and catch it sooner? The Vet says renal failure (kidney disease) is fast acting and at first painless, you dont see it till they are very sick or some other problem crops up. I suggest giving him peace and comfort and hold his paw and say you love him and then release him. harder to watch him suffer and go through treatment than the alternative.

Answer 2

If the only thing wrong is the tooth, ask the vet if there is any way possible to give the cat a local to numb the area and yank the tooth out same as a human would have done. Also ask if they have any other kind of sedative that would be processed through the liver instead of the kidneys. (not sure if that is possible)

I do not know that either of those options would work, but it's worth asking. I do know that if the animal has kidney or liver problems it can cause failure if they use the wrong kind of anesthetic to knock the animal out.

If it was my cat, knowing the risk involved, I'd ask the vet to try the anesthetic and pull the tooth. Talk with them first and tell them if it puts the animal into kidney failure then you'd have it put to sleep, but if the kidneys are strong enough to deal with it then the cat will be comfortable again for a bit longer.

What you don't want to do is just leave it be and let it be in pain. If you have a serious talk with the vet and let them know you understand the risk and still want to try to have the tooth out I can't see any reason why they wouldn't try it.

Answer 3

My cat was 22 yrs old when she last had anesthesia to have her teeth cleaned and her kidneys were really shot at that age. The fluids should help a great deal. She did just fine.

You definitely need to get the bad tooth out and you should be able to find another vet to do it. The vet should use the gas anesthesia which is the safest for your cat. It doesn't take more than 15 minutes to get a tooth out, if that. Do not let the vet give the cat a ketamine shot - insist on the gas.

I think your kitty should do alright and you are doing the best for his health as the infected tooth can do more damage to his kidneys than the anesthesia could. If your cat's kidneys were in that bad shape you would have seen symptoms of it long before now.

Any cat can have a bad reaction to anesthesia and some do die from that induction. I really don't think this will happen with your cat.

Answer 4

Try not to make any decisions until you find out how the intensive IV therapy goes. At our clinic, we've had many cats improve greatly after IV therapy and live several years afterwards. If after 2-3 days of hospitalization the doctors see no improvement, then it may be time to euthanize. Dying of kidney failure is agonizing.

Now, if kitty pulls through you will have some intensive home therapy to do. Firstly, you will probably have to administer subcutaneous fluids (fluids under the skin). Do not be alarmed at the idea of sticking a needle in your kitty. LOTS of kitty owners do this for their kitties in their golden years. Kidney disease is very common in older cats. The doctors and/or technicians will train you and supervise you the first time you do it.

You may also have to change kitty's diet once she starts feeling better. A diet lower in protein will help ease the burden on the kidneys. You may also have some medications to give kitty to keep phosphorus levels down and perhaps a potassium supplement will be needed.

The dental disease may have contributed to the kidney disease in the first place. Hopefully kitty will be stabilized well enough at some point to get rid of that tooth, even if a full dental cleaning is not performed. If that just isn't possible, kitty may need long-term antibiotic therapy.

So do not give up hope just yet! I've seen lots of kitties live for several years after being diagnosed with kidney disease. Good luck to you and your kitty!

Answer 5

The cat probably has a kidney failure, which also causes tooth problems sometimes. If with the fluids they give him they can lower the urea levels, enough for him to start eating again, you can take him home and let him live as long as he can, feeding him special diet canned food for renal problems. Don't give up on him just in a day, he may have a few months or years to live, even with the kidney condition. If you see him get worse and start going into a coma, you will know, I mean he will be looking like he's dying. But just having a kidney failure, if he manages to survive and eat, is not a reason to put him down. Don't take him into dialysis treatment, but treatment with IV for a few days may save him at least for now.
The teeth problem is not preventing him from eating, by the way, but the high urea level..

Answer 6

cats do get abscesses, and they are dangerous for them. I hope the vet was able to put kitty on antibiotics that weren't too scary for the kidneys?

OK,ask answer some of these questions, to help you make your own decision:

Can you afford the vet bills? How far are you willing/able to go financially for this kitty?

Can the kitty be saved? What are the odds? can kitty have a comfortable, happy life?

How much pain/fear, etc is kitty having to endure?

Does your vet specialize in cats? Is there a vet in your area that does specialize in cats that could give a second, (and possibly updated), opinion?

When you have your answers, you should know better what the decision should be.

Answer 7

That really depends on the severity of his kidney failure. It might be possible to maintain him on a special diet (Hills and Purina make special prescription foods for patients with kidney problems) and fluids that they can teach you to give him at home. It would require you to give him fluids under his skin every day or two (depending on what your vet recommends).

If that is the case, they may just have you do that and treat the abscessed tooth with antibiotics and see how he does. It's possible that it may gave him another happy week of his life with you or another happy year of his life with you. Again, though, it depends on the severity of his kidney failure.

However, if his quality of life is going to be poor and he is going to be uncomfortable, I think euthanizing him is the most humane option. It is a very peaceful way to die, and even though it's tough to make that decision, it might be the best thing you can do for him.

You can always ask the vet if you can try and treat him and see how he does for a few days, and if no improvement, then put to sleep. Good luck with everything. I know it's tough.

Answer 8

that's a tough decison one my wife and i had to make four years ago. I think if have used this vet before and really trust his or hers advice then do what is right for your cat some people get so attached to theire pets they forget about the suffering that the pet goes through just so they can spend another day with it.
but if this is a new vet then i would take the cat to another vet and get there opion but either way i would have the tooth removed because one time a vet told me my cat had days to live because of the kidney problem he was a white cat that was yellow from the illness, he gave me some pills and told me to make him as comfe as i could but when i got home he excaped after 1 pill and took off I did not see him for a week after that he was fine and lived another 8 years.

Answer 9

exactly what is going on with his kidneys?? Is it kidney failure..if so cats can live for a long time with this with treatment. My cat started going into kidney failure at 16 years of age and lived until he was 19 years old. It depends on the cat's condition....can it be treated, is the cat in pain, etc.? Think you need to talk with the vet...I am surprised the vets first suggestion would be to euthanize!! 13 is not terribly old for a cat...your cat could live another 2-5 years!

Answer 10

I'm so sorry that your cat is so poorly. My cat was put to sleep a few years ago after kidney failure. His kidney problem was diagnosed when he was about 4years old and with medication and a lot of support from my vet he survived until he was 11 years old. He bcame very ill towards the end - didn't want to eat, walk or anything. The vet thought he had been through enough and that another procedure (akin to kidney dialasis) wouldn't prolong his life that much. So I agreed it was time to let him go.

If he is well enough to undergo treatment for his tooth I'd be inclined to let him have the operation.

Whatever happens, I wish you both well. Oh, I have another cat who is nearly 19years old.