Lethal dose of morphine for a cat
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. |
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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. One thing to consider is that morphine is a controlled substance. You won't be able to get it yourself. You will probably have to ask your vet to get it and come to the house to administer it legally. I've been told that morphine overdose is a good way to go if administered properly. They get very high and feel great, then get unconscious then their organs stop. You just don't want the organs to stop while they're conscious. That might be scary and painful. Generally the vet gives valium to calm the animal, sets up an IV then gives pheno to stop all organs. It's almost instant. I think they should give enough valium to get the cat unconscious first, then the pheno. |
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. One thing to consider is that morphine is a controlled substance. You won't be able to get it yourself. You will probably have to ask your vet to get it and come to the house to administer it legally. I've been told that morphine overdose is a good way to go if administered properly. They get very high and feel great, then get unconscious then their organs stop. You just don't want the organs to stop while they're conscious. That might be scary and painful. Generally the vet gives valium to calm the animal, sets up an IV then gives pheno to stop all organs. It's almost instant. I think they should give enough valium to get the cat unconscious first, then the pheno. |
Kathryn Stein wrote:
(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. The most humane euthanization, imho, would be to have the vet make a house visit. I've had that done and it was very peaceful. Agreed. In the drugged-tuna scenario, there's no way to be sure the cat wouldn't vomit the drug, or if he would eat enough of it mixed in food in the first place. Opiates cause vomiting in a percentage of humans, I would expect the same in cats. A semi-conscious cat aspirating vomit could turn this idealized scenario into a nightmare. -- jamie ) "There's a seeker born every minute." |
"A.J. Rivett" wrote in message om... 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. The problem with administering it orally is that it slows the sytem down and by the time you get a fatal dose in them, the organs don't work enough to process it, leaving the animal more or less in a coma situation for hours or days on end. (You don't even want to know why I know this.) Depending on your animal's underlying health issues that make this a necessary decision, some organs might not even work enough to get even a sedative dose of a drug into the system and certainly won't process it enough for death to occur. That's not humane. There's also the issue of regurgitation, which can happen, and with the cat sedated enough that the gag reflex is disabled, the cat could choke to death on the vomit. Also not humane. Really, the only effective way to euthanize an animal is through injection. Most vets will come to your home and do this for you and it's much less stressful than you packaging up and going to their office. It's far more peaceful than you may think, and you can be there at the end after their last supper and hold them while they pass. It's quick, and painless, which an oral dose of any drug is NOT. If you love your cat, give her the final best gift any owner can give, which is a quick and painless death--from your veterinarian. |
"A.J. Rivett" wrote in message om... 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. The problem with administering it orally is that it slows the sytem down and by the time you get a fatal dose in them, the organs don't work enough to process it, leaving the animal more or less in a coma situation for hours or days on end. (You don't even want to know why I know this.) Depending on your animal's underlying health issues that make this a necessary decision, some organs might not even work enough to get even a sedative dose of a drug into the system and certainly won't process it enough for death to occur. That's not humane. There's also the issue of regurgitation, which can happen, and with the cat sedated enough that the gag reflex is disabled, the cat could choke to death on the vomit. Also not humane. Really, the only effective way to euthanize an animal is through injection. Most vets will come to your home and do this for you and it's much less stressful than you packaging up and going to their office. It's far more peaceful than you may think, and you can be there at the end after their last supper and hold them while they pass. It's quick, and painless, which an oral dose of any drug is NOT. If you love your cat, give her the final best gift any owner can give, which is a quick and painless death--from your veterinarian. |
"A.J. Rivett" wrote in message om... .... I think morphine may be more expensive but it's a nicer way to go. Normally, I just killfile these types of posts, but I'm curious how you know 1. that morphine may be more expensive, and 2. that it's a nicer way to go. |
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