No one wants to think about the time they’ll have to say goodbye to their cat. For some, that may come after a long and happy life; for others, it may be sooner than expected. Making the decision to let them go is always hard. Especially since cats, at the best of times, dislike the vets. Here are some helpful tips to make that final visit as peaceful as possible.
Table of contents
Be prepared
Being well prepared goes a long way to making the euthanasia process more peaceful for you and your cat. Knowing what to expect and having made the important decisions ahead of the time will help you stay calm and in control when the time eventually comes, allowing you to focus on your cat’s well-being.
Deciding to have your cat put to sleep is never easy and you need to feel confident you’re making the right decision.
At these times, our head and our heart often tell us different things. Your vet will guide you through all the stages of euthanasia. From choosing the right time, explaining how the process works, to making all the necessary arrangements before and after the event. They will be able to answer all of your questions so you know you are doing the right thing.
One decision best made ahead of time is whether to have your cat put to sleep at home or at the veterinary practice.
Most vets can arrange a home visit for this. But having your cat put to sleep at home isn’t always more peaceful. Although cats will be more relaxed at home. Some may be more upset by strangers coming into their home than by visiting the vets. Losing a pet is also a very emotional experience. You may find it easier not to have a sad memory forever associated with your home.
You might also want to discuss what kind of arrangements you would like to make after your cat has been put to sleep. A range of options are available, from home burial to a personalised cremation. Your vet will usually arrange the cremation for you. But they can also advise you if you prefer to make your own arrangements.
Know what to expect
Even if you’ve been through it before, having your cat put to sleep may seem daunting or intimidating. Speaking to your vet ahead of time will allow them to explain the euthanasia process and answer your questions. They can also guide you to the right time to say goodbye. And put you at ease about what happens during and after your cat has been put to sleep.
Euthanasia, (‘putting to sleep’), is a swift, painless and dignified way to release a cat from untreatable suffering. Your vet will do all they can to make the process as peaceful as possible. Every vet has their own personal approach to euthanasia, but the basic procedure is similar. Your vet will ask you to sign a form giving them permission to carry out the euthanasia. They will then use a powerful injectable anaesthetic to firstly send your cat into a deep sleep; soon after this will stop its heart and breathing. The injection is usually given into a vein in one of the legs (usually a front one). But if your cat is very ill your vet may give it into your cat’s tummy instead; this will take longer to send them to sleep but will be less stressful for them than trying to inject into a collapsed vein.
As the anaesthetic takes effect, your cat may breathe a little heavier. This is quite normal and not a sign of distress. After they’re gone, they may also give a few deep intakes of breath or twitch some of their muscles; the bladder may also leak as the body relaxes. These are all completely normal unconscious actions that your cat will not be aware of. Your vet will confirm that your cat has passed by carefully checking for the absence of a heartbeat.
Will they need sedation?
Most cats won’t need sedation before euthanasia. If your cat normally gets upset visiting the vets, your vet can prescribe something to help calm them before and during their visit. Although euthanasia is painless, some cats may not be comfortable being gently held for the injection. This tends to be more common in old, arthritic cats, or cats with serious illness, such as breathing difficulties. In these cases, your vet may administer an appropriate sedative to help them relax. Some vets also prefer to do this in every case, to pre-empt any problems. This sedation takes effect gradually over about ten minutes and puts cats into a light sleep. You will normally be able to hold or cuddle them during this time. But once they are sedated they may not be aware of your presence.
If you feel you would rather your cat was sedated prior to euthanasia, speak to your vet as they will be keen to accommodate your wishes to do what they can to make the process as peaceful as possible.
Choose the right time
It’s not easy to make the decision to put your cat to sleep, and the choice of timing is sometimes out of your hands, but choosing the right time to let your cat go can make a big difference to how peaceful it is. In general, it’s best to err on the side of caution. Letting terminally ill cats go a few days early is better than leaving it a little bit late as a couple of days can make a big difference to how comfortable they are and how well they will tolerate the euthanasia process.
The time of day you choose to have your cat put to sleep can also influence the peacefulness. Ask your vet for an appointment at a quiet time, such as first thing, or at the end of the day. Give yourself plenty of time to get to the vets but if you arrive early, it’s best to wait in the car until the vet is ready for you. This minimises time in the waiting room which will reduce stress for you and your cat.
Should I be there or not?
Many people want to be with their cat during the final moments, but some will prefer to remember different memories and periods of their life. We’re all different, so there’s no ‘right or wrong’ way to approach having your cat put to sleep – only the way that’s right for you. The process of euthanasia will be exactly the same as just as peaceful whether you’re there or not so don’t feel under pressure to attend if you feel you might be overwhelmed by emotion.
If you decide you would like to attend, it is best for your cat if only one or two family members are with you. Cats are very sensitive to their owner’s emotions and they may get stressed or anxious if there are lots of emotional people around them. If possible, arrange for other members of the family to say goodbye at home, or in small groups.
Let yourself grieve
Cats may be small but they leave a big hole in our lives after they’re gone. They’re loved and special family members and it’s normal to experience feelings of loss and grief after their passing. We all deal with these feelings at our own pace and in our own ways. But some people may feel regret or remorse for deciding to euthanise their cat rather than letting them die naturally. This is understandable, but you do not need to feel this way. Your vet will only advise euthanasia when all other treatment options have been exhausted, but they cannot make the decision for you. Your cat trusts and relies on you to make the right choice for them.
Euthanasia is a brave and final act of love, compassion, and caring. In choosing to let your cat go, you are not depriving them of life but releasing them from untreatable pain and suffering. Talking with friends and family will help with these feelings. But if you are struggling to come to terms with your loss, your veterinary practice team can help direct you to an appropriate bereavement support service.
Discussion
My baby Pepper is just diagnosed with an aggressive large cell intestinal lymphoma. It all happened in the last 6-7 days and Pepper went from being completely fine to wailing in pain when lying down. She is a huge reason to keep my sanity and gave me unconditional love when no one else did. She made me forget my sufferings with her loving presence. She is just 9 yrs old but her pain n screams while laying down are making me extremely sad I can’t stop crying at her pain and at the thought of losing her. Please tell me if this is the time to let her go or should she be sedated with pain meds most of the day because of pain? What kind of life will it be to just be asleep and not eat or drink anything? Help me plz
I am so sorry to hear that – but I think you know the answer. If she can’t be made comfortable and still have a decent quality of life, then letting her go peacefully through euithanasia is by far the best option for her. I know it’s hard – but think about what’s best for her. All the best – and please accept all my sympathies.
Our beloved marmalade tabby Brookland has an appointment tomorrow afternoon to end his suffering. Brooke found ME. He was so scared he had bardged his way through dense. lilac branches of an old tree and began crying when he saw me. He was rail thin with three puncture wounds in his neck from which I used forceps to extract three huge blow fly larva. He has been by my side for a decade and a half always offering love and comfort as I went through years of an abusive marraige. Brooklyn has been struggling with IBD his entire life. He is once again rail thin and screams in pain hours after eating. The only nourishment he will now take is fish broth. Through the years I have given him everything from probiotics to prednisone. I nic named him Buddy shortly after ours lives together began because no matter what….he purred and gave his love through everything. Buddy never purrs anymore and the only thing I have left to show him my love is to be with him as a vet releases him from his life of constant pain. I read someone’s comments here about how “barbaric” euthanizing is. To you I say barbaric is turning a blind eye and ear to a loved one when there is no hope left and nothing but pain. I will be 69 in a few weeks. I would like to hope that if I were in the same circumstance as my sweet Buddy someone who loves me would do the same.
I have had several cats that when their end of life was near, I didn’t want to hasten it with euthanasia and then later regretted it. Each cat looked like they would go peacefully until the very end. They each had seizures before they died and were crying out. It was horrible to see my beloved furbabies experience this suffering but I could not reach a decision to euthanize them because I felt like I was taking their lives. We like to think that they will go off in a corner and go to eternal sleep but that’s not always the case. Also, when they are in the throes of pain and suffering when dying, they become confused and extremely restless & don’t seem to know who you are. Now I have a cat with advanced oral cancer and am choosing in home euthanasia because his quality of life has decreased considerably and I don’t want him to suffer like my other ones did. Still, euthanasia is an incredibly hard decision to make but no one wants to feel like they let their pet suffer in their final days either.
We had to put our cat down a few weeks ago, she was suffering from oral cancer and had stopped eating. She had not eaten in four days. She would still drink and otherwise seemed OK, but we knew the end was near and did not want her to get to the point of major suffering. They are very good at hiding pain and symptoms and will seem OK until suddenly they are not. It was a hard decision but we knew it was coming and steeled ourselves for it over the course of two months. It went well, our vet was excellent and very compassionate. She helped us through the entire palliative process, keeping her and comfortable and as good a quality of life as possible, and gave Kitty a peaceful end to a very good life.
This is complete bullshit… thinking that taking a life is EVER OK and speaking of it as if you are doing an animal or animal parent a “favor” is completely barbaric. You have all lost your MINDS! GREED is not a justification of killing life.. every good pet mother and father would choose LIFE had you vets not become so GREEDY. There is no justification to this in the eyes of our creator. Its complete MADNESS.
Youll feel the pain of every action at your end of life review. You should NOT be a veternarian of you vouch this. Too many vets cry “terminal illness” because of greed and pure laziness. Ive seen it time and time again.
To allow your pet to suffer days or even weeks is inhumane; certainly not in your pets best interest. People that have come across this article are pet parents reaching out for advice as they unfortunately, are having to make one of the hardest decisions of their life. To have to then read your obscure comment below hasn’t made it any easier. I just hope & pray you never own an animal that requires a mature adult to make the kind & compassionate decision of putting them out of their misery.
[r]
omg … thank you!!! i have felt so sad my old man was very sick i had him put down after 18 yrs its heart breaking indeed i am torn still i guess only time will make it less painful or does it even get better
There comes a time as a responsible and compassionate pet owner when you know their time is up and anything else is prolonging needless suffering. It’s a horrible decision to have to make, no doubt. But to let them drag on and on for perhaps days, only to end with thrashing and writhing in pain in their final moments, I think is far worse.
Ending an animal’s suffering is an act of pure compassion. Many animals cannot be fixed – that is the harsh reality. You are of course entitled to your opinion, but I disagree fundamentally with your ethics (and your vision of creation theology, but that’s a different debate).
We are going through much of what I have read here with our sweet baby cat who is 11. He was diagnosed with mast cell tumors a year and a half ago and had two surgeries to try to remove them. However, they kept coming back. We took him to an oncologist who thought we could try some oral chemotherapy which we did but after he had taken it for a while and he was tested we were told it wasn’t helping him.. in fact, it was getting worse, and all of his bloodwork showed that it had spread throughout his blood. We have been doing palliative care as we just wanted him here as long as possible however, he is not eating he can barely walk and has lost so much weight.. the oncologist, and vet both said it was our decision, but that he would not ever survive the cancer. we have bought him every kind of food snacks we give him antinausea medication and everything that we could possibly do to keep him comfortable, but we now see it in his eyes and his body.. we do not want to lose him, but we also do not want him to suffer, and we feel that he is as we see it and hear it and we feel like now we are just being selfish because we don’t want to lose him. I will be calling on Monday to have another discussion with the vet and the oncologist as heartbreaking as it is.. no one wants to lose their pet. They are part of our family, but we shouldn’t want him to suffer either..
I just wanted to thank you for the grace and compassion your showed in the writing of this article. We are currently making the difficult decision and wanting to provide our terminally ill cat (cancer) with the most possible dignity and comfort. I found great solace in your words. I think most of us do know, in some respect, when it is “time” – but we so desperately want an outside source to reconfirm what we already know on some level. Thank you!
I have a 16 yr old cat (Ellie Mae) that I’m very conflicted about as far as whether to put her to sleep or not yet. She moves slowly due to arthritis & seems disoriented at times. I have heard her cry on a couple of occasions. I administer Gabapentin every 24 hrs. She eats & drinks fine but can no longer jump up on the sofa or bed. I have purchased pet stairs to help her get to the sofa & window especially. She sleeps in a strange position either on her side or stomach but always with her head towards the sky. Is this position a sign she’s in pain despite that’s she’s asleep & seems at peace? She does not vomit or have diarrhea but does have accidents outside her Litterbox. Am I being selfish by not having her euthanized at this time? I think of her as my child & have a very strong bond with her as I am single; have never been married or have actual children of my own. These factors are making the situation very difficult for me to think clearly & see things as they might truly be. Thank you in advance for your thoughts & opinion.
Garry, my cat has all the same issues as yours. The arthritis is not as bad, but makes his life difficult. In addition to those problems, I have also been treating him for diabetes for over two years now. Recently, the vet told me he is developing cataracts as well. I have gone way beyond what many people would have to help him, but at this point. Due to the diabetes he needs injections at 8am and 8pm every day so I cant go on a vacation overnight and always have to be home by 8pm. He doesnt play anymore or do what he used to. He still looks good, but at what point do I make a difficult decision? He has to be put in a separate room a lot because if he is not sleeping he walks around screaming day and night. I know he is suffering in ways, but I am suffering too. This has caused me anxiety, and clinical depression. At some point I will need to decide who is more important, him or me? I dont mean to sound insensitive, but I have done everything I can for him. I love him dearly, but what quality of life is this for him? Any words of advice would help. Thank you.
What did you end up deciding to do? Have you gained any peace? I am in a similar situation
I think it sounds like she’s coming towards the end of the road, but nothing you’ve said makes me think you’re definitely out of options. I do think that a pain review from your vet would be a really good place to start: gabapentin alone isn’t usually enough to control arthritic pain, and if she’s moving slowly, hobbling or shuffling, that does suggest that she still is in substantial discomfort. There are nowadays a wide range of painkillers that are available for cats, so finding one that suits her would really be a good idea. And while I doubt you have many years left together, she could still have many more comfy months ahead of her, or even longer.
Will a veterinarian put a cat to sleep if the owner is going to die soon and the owner doesn’t want the cats to end up in a shelter or worries they could end up in abusive situation? Or if the cats are very bonded to the owner but are scared of other people?
It will depend on the vet, but in general, the vet will try and find a suitable forever home for the cat first. If that doesn’t work, then many vets will, but it is a conscience matter: some vets will not euthanase a healthy animal in this situation because they believe it to be morally wrong, while others are willing to do so.
I didn’t want to put my 16-year-old cat to sleep
I’m sorry to hear that, and I am really sorry for your loss.
I had to remove your other (defamatory) comment; however, keeping a cat in suffering is far crueller than kindly ending the pain and the suffering.
Personally, I would say that the vet who ends an animal’s pain is doing a good and righteous act, especially when the underlying disease processes are incurable or unmanageable.