"A.J. Rivett" wrote in message
om...

I will probably opt for the vet visit
although when the initial sedative was given to one of my previous
cats, it was not appreciated by the cat. She couldn't figure out why
she was losing her coordination and she became agitated.

Either your vet is an asshole or he had no training in euthanasia.

Your vet should have used a catheter to ensure that your cat died
peacefully, without adverse effects. After the saline flush he should have
used a rapid acting barbiturate - like thiopental, which puts the cat into a
mellow state of relaxation and then anesthesia before the final drug.

Euthanasia should be conducted like a ceremony. Its the final gift that we
lovingly bestow upon our dearly loved cats. I make absolutely sure our
terminally ill and dying cats' euthanasias are conducted with the same
respect and reverence as my own. I have no tolerance for vets who simply
kill cats as part of a day's work.

"
A IM injection of a sedative and then a direct cardiac stick with the
euthanasia drug would be easiest on an animal that had hydration problems or
other issues with finding a vein. Unfortunately, most pet owners are more
upset by this procedure than repeated attempts to find a vein. A direct
cardiac stick on an already sedated patient is painless and exceedingly
quick. It's just not "pretty". I've participated in probably 200 animal
euthnasias by a veterinarian with me acting as a tech, and on the small
kittens or sick cats, this was the optimal procedure for shelter animals
because it was the most humane. The vet rarely offered this to any but the
most medically knowledgable pet owners however, because of the poor reaction
that most of them had to the image of a needle to the heart.

Thank you.

This is helpful.

"
A IM injection of a sedative and then a direct cardiac stick with the
euthanasia drug would be easiest on an animal that had hydration problems or
other issues with finding a vein. Unfortunately, most pet owners are more
upset by this procedure than repeated attempts to find a vein. A direct
cardiac stick on an already sedated patient is painless and exceedingly
quick. It's just not "pretty". I've participated in probably 200 animal
euthnasias by a veterinarian with me acting as a tech, and on the small
kittens or sick cats, this was the optimal procedure for shelter animals
because it was the most humane. The vet rarely offered this to any but the
most medically knowledgable pet owners however, because of the poor reaction
that most of them had to the image of a needle to the heart.

Thank you.

This is helpful.

"Phil P." wrote in message ...
snippy

I have no tolerance for vets who simply
kill cats as part of a day's work.

Unfortunately, that's how a lot of vets and techs approach it -
especially if the guardian refuses to be present. One of the most
upsetting things I witnessed was a tech euthing an 8-week old FIP
kitten all the while laughing and joking with another tech. It was
just so damn disrespectful. I silently wept.

-L.

"Phil P." wrote in message ...
snippy

I have no tolerance for vets who simply
kill cats as part of a day's work.

Unfortunately, that's how a lot of vets and techs approach it -
especially if the guardian refuses to be present. One of the most
upsetting things I witnessed was a tech euthing an 8-week old FIP
kitten all the while laughing and joking with another tech. It was
just so damn disrespectful. I silently wept.

-L.

"-L. :" wrote in message
om...
"Phil P." wrote in message
...
snippy

I have no tolerance for vets who simply
kill cats as part of a day's work.

Unfortunately, that's how a lot of vets and techs approach it -
especially if the guardian refuses to be present. One of the most
upsetting things I witnessed was a tech euthing an 8-week old FIP
kitten all the while laughing and joking with another tech. It was
just so damn disrespectful. I silently wept.

In my younger days when I volunteered in a municipal shelter, a vet tech
used an amphetamine to euthanize a cat - he thought it was funny to see the
cat bouncing off the walls of the cage until his heart exploded. Since the
tech thought it was so funny, I thought he would enjoy bouncing off the
walls, too, for about 20 minutes. I was wrong... he didn't enjoy it. I
don't think the tech will ever forget that cat.

"-L. :" wrote in message
om...
"Phil P." wrote in message
...
snippy

I have no tolerance for vets who simply
kill cats as part of a day's work.

Unfortunately, that's how a lot of vets and techs approach it -
especially if the guardian refuses to be present. One of the most
upsetting things I witnessed was a tech euthing an 8-week old FIP
kitten all the while laughing and joking with another tech. It was
just so damn disrespectful. I silently wept.

In my younger days when I volunteered in a municipal shelter, a vet tech
used an amphetamine to euthanize a cat - he thought it was funny to see the
cat bouncing off the walls of the cage until his heart exploded. Since the
tech thought it was so funny, I thought he would enjoy bouncing off the
walls, too, for about 20 minutes. I was wrong... he didn't enjoy it. I
don't think the tech will ever forget that cat.

On 16 Sep 2004 09:44:25 -0700, (A.J. Rivett)
wrote:

When the time comes and I have to euthanize my cat, I would like to do
it in the kindest way. I think this would be a nice meal of tuna
juice and tuna with some morphine in the tuna juice.

I have been told that 5 mg of morphine should be enough and that my
cat would just fall asleep after eating her last meal. She wouldn't
be traumatized at all and her last thoughts would be how nice the tuna
tasted and now just a long nap until her next life.

My question is whether 5 mg of morphine is about right. I don't want
to traumatize the cat by having someone give her a needle or by having
to take her to the vet (she hates the vet). I know that they don't
give morphine, they give potassium chloride or something like that and
I think morphine may be more expensive but it's a nicer way to go.


Have a vet come to the house, and you can sedate the kitty first,
before the vet arrives. If you can, get your regular vet to give you
medication for it. If not, the human antihistamine chlorpheniramine
(Chlor Trimeton) can really knock a cat out at a dose of 2-4 mg.

When we had to euthanize my kitty, who had a painful cancer, we had a
vet come to the house. Since we already had pain medication for him,
(torbutrol), I gave him an oral double dose before the vet arrived.

Then we set up a nice little pillow with a trash bag over it and a
towel over the trash bag. (bodily fluids can leak at death. In our
case they didn't, probably because poor Victor was not eating or
drinking.) It was nice to have it be like a special place and a
little ritual.

The vet then gave him a shot of sedation, which was very quick and
since Victor was already pretty out of it, he didn't react much to. I
held him in my lap, petting him during the shot. Once he was
unconscious, we put him on the pillow, the vet gave him a stick to the
heart and then it was over. We carried the body out to the vet's van
and he took care of all the cremation and getting the ashes back to
us. That was very helpful, not to have to deal with all that.

I kind of wish I hadn't watched the cardiac stick, though. It's how I
remember Victor now and that's hard on me. On the other hand, it DID
leave me absolutely sure Victor was dead, and so I didn't have the
fear that some people do that their cat was still alive, might have
woken up in the van all alone. (irrational fear, yes, but some people
go through all kinds of stuff as part of grieving.)

It's wasn't cheap, but it was done with love, respect, no fear and
virtually no pain. If I ever have to euthanize another cat, that's
how we will do it again.

BTW, is your cat already ill? We let one of our cats die of old age
(22 years old.) Some people act like you HAVE to euthanize your
animals but our old cat, who was in kidney failure, went very
peacefully during the night. Not all things that kill cats are
painful and she had a good quality of life up till the end.
__________________________________________________ _

Camilla Cracchiolo
Registered Nurse
Los Angeles, California

webpage temporarily down

On 16 Sep 2004 09:44:25 -0700, (A.J. Rivett)
wrote:

When the time comes and I have to euthanize my cat, I would like to do
it in the kindest way. I think this would be a nice meal of tuna
juice and tuna with some morphine in the tuna juice.

I have been told that 5 mg of morphine should be enough and that my
cat would just fall asleep after eating her last meal. She wouldn't
be traumatized at all and her last thoughts would be how nice the tuna
tasted and now just a long nap until her next life.

My question is whether 5 mg of morphine is about right. I don't want
to traumatize the cat by having someone give her a needle or by having
to take her to the vet (she hates the vet). I know that they don't
give morphine, they give potassium chloride or something like that and
I think morphine may be more expensive but it's a nicer way to go.


Have a vet come to the house, and you can sedate the kitty first,
before the vet arrives. If you can, get your regular vet to give you
medication for it. If not, the human antihistamine chlorpheniramine
(Chlor Trimeton) can really knock a cat out at a dose of 2-4 mg.

When we had to euthanize my kitty, who had a painful cancer, we had a
vet come to the house. Since we already had pain medication for him,
(torbutrol), I gave him an oral double dose before the vet arrived.

Then we set up a nice little pillow with a trash bag over it and a
towel over the trash bag. (bodily fluids can leak at death. In our
case they didn't, probably because poor Victor was not eating or
drinking.) It was nice to have it be like a special place and a
little ritual.

The vet then gave him a shot of sedation, which was very quick and
since Victor was already pretty out of it, he didn't react much to. I
held him in my lap, petting him during the shot. Once he was
unconscious, we put him on the pillow, the vet gave him a stick to the
heart and then it was over. We carried the body out to the vet's van
and he took care of all the cremation and getting the ashes back to
us. That was very helpful, not to have to deal with all that.

I kind of wish I hadn't watched the cardiac stick, though. It's how I
remember Victor now and that's hard on me. On the other hand, it DID
leave me absolutely sure Victor was dead, and so I didn't have the
fear that some people do that their cat was still alive, might have
woken up in the van all alone. (irrational fear, yes, but some people
go through all kinds of stuff as part of grieving.)

It's wasn't cheap, but it was done with love, respect, no fear and
virtually no pain. If I ever have to euthanize another cat, that's
how we will do it again.

BTW, is your cat already ill? We let one of our cats die of old age
(22 years old.) Some people act like you HAVE to euthanize your
animals but our old cat, who was in kidney failure, went very
peacefully during the night. Not all things that kill cats are
painful and she had a good quality of life up till the end.
__________________________________________________ _

Camilla Cracchiolo
Registered Nurse
Los Angeles, California

webpage temporarily down

Camilla Cracchiolo wrote in message . ..

BTW, is your cat already ill? We let one of our cats die of old age
(22 years old.) Some people act like you HAVE to euthanize your
animals but our old cat, who was in kidney failure, went very
peacefully during the night. Not all things that kill cats are
painful and she had a good quality of life up till the end.

My cat is on her third comeback. I don't know how many she has left
at 16 but to make a long story short, she has a better living
environment now and she is much happier and healthier than even a
month ago. I am constantly amazed at the recuperative power of this
little female. I'm going to give her every chance to live without
making her life a series of medical interventions. She still enjoys a
nice meal and stroking and she is still fond of the outdoors so until
she gets really unstable and unhappy, I'll let nature take its course.

I appreciate the suggestions of the stick to the heart after an IM
sedative even if it isn't 'pretty' as one writer noted. I hope that
she goes out on her own agenda but I won't let her get unhappy.