euthanasia - anything I should know?

On Wed, 10 Sep 2003 20:33:14 -0400, "Cheryl"
wrote:

In ,
Cathy Friedmann composed with style:
"dgk" wrote in message
...

By the way, 14 really is a ripe old age for a cat. I know that many
cats live longer but the vast majority really are dead by 11 or so.

They *are*??? My first cat lived to be 17 (almost 18), my second
cat died at 16, I have one who's presently 11 & in excellent
health, & then there's my 4 yr. old - hoping & assuming that he
will make it way past 11.

I'm now on my fourth and fifth cats, and of the dead three, two
died before 12 and only Nico TWC made it to 16 or maybe 17. So it
goes.

Sounds like you've had some bad luck, the longevity of your
cats.

Cathy

I have the track record dgk does. With my own though. Marley (RB) at
13, Shadow is 11 now and not long to go but I do my best. Shamrock is
2 and already has dental problems and allergies. I hope I can find a
vet who can help me keep him healthy. Though my first family pet cat
lived to 21 and she had no special treatment/food/vet care and ate
tender vittles. But she was an indoor/outdoor cat. Go figure. I
hope Bonnie can have a long healthy life but she's already cursed with
having to have FeLV vacs until Shadow passes.


My vets told me about it. You hear lots about long-lived cats but they
see tons of cats and they say that most die by 12 or 13. Of course,
they could just be lousy vets, killing them off by mistreatment, but I
don't think that's the case.

The practice is run by three brothers, all vets, which allows them to
keep extended hours so I use them. And they do seem very good.

On Wed, 10 Sep 2003 22:15:43 -0700, "Kimble" wrote:


"Gary Warner" wrote in message
...

Hello - I'm a somewhat frequent Usenet user, but never here. My parents
have a cat that it's now time to put to sleep. He's about 14 years old and
over the last month (or less) has ballooned up with fluid in the abdomen.
The
vet did a blood test (negative for any diseases) and then an ultra-sound.
They found lots of cancer all over the body.

So far the cat does not appear to be in pain, but he's obviously
uncomfortable
being so big and each day can move around less and less. Up to now he's
been eating lots (as he always has) but yesterday and today he doesn't
really
want food.

So we are quite sure his time is near and we'd rather do this before he
is in real pain and or before it's the weekend or 2am or something and
then the cat gets in pain and we have to wait hours to do the right thing.

My question is: Is there anything special I should know. The vet they
go to has been good to them for years and seems very professional.
It seems clear enough. But, well, I'm always amazed at Usenet for
the great things people tell me that I never would have thought of
so if there is anything I should know or be thinking of or tell or ask
the vet, please let me know.


Oh: This cat has had THE life. Indoor/Outdoor cat that was saved
from being a "street" cat when very young. Since then has had the run
of a huge yard, had birds to watch and mice to catch. Had plenty of
human affection. It's sad, but it's as good as any being could hope for.

Thanks,
Gary


DON'T BE AN ACCOMPLICE IN MURDER!!!



Troll.

We're all going to die. The only questions are when and how. (well, I
suppose where and why but why quibble?) There is no need to suffer
when the end is inevitable anyway.

There is a column in my local paper written jointly by a Rabbi and a
Priest. I usually just laugh at it but they recently said that "Thou
Shalt Not Kill" actually is a mistranslation and that it should be
"Thou Shalt Not Murder". This, of course, opens the door to sanctioned
killing by the state (we call that one war and executions) and
religions (that would be the crusades and jihads and killing gay
kids). What is killing and what is murder is now subject to debate.

So, you see, God said that it's OK to kill. Just not murder. We're
simply killing our loved ones to prevent them from being in pain and
misery when they are going to die soon anyway. We're not murdering
them. Only a soulless rigid psychopath would allow a loved one to
suffer when it is clear to all that the loved one is dying anyway.
Oops, that's not exactly what I meant. Soulless rigid psychopaths
don't love anyone but themselves and thus don't really need this
discussion. But normal people are likely reading this so I write it
for them.

I didn't want to kill my cat, but the alternative was to let him
suffer from increasingly horrible seizures until he died anyway. Tough
choice? No, not really.

On Wed, 10 Sep 2003 22:15:43 -0700, "Kimble" wrote:


"Gary Warner" wrote in message
...

Hello - I'm a somewhat frequent Usenet user, but never here. My parents
have a cat that it's now time to put to sleep. He's about 14 years old and
over the last month (or less) has ballooned up with fluid in the abdomen.
The
vet did a blood test (negative for any diseases) and then an ultra-sound.
They found lots of cancer all over the body.

So far the cat does not appear to be in pain, but he's obviously
uncomfortable
being so big and each day can move around less and less. Up to now he's
been eating lots (as he always has) but yesterday and today he doesn't
really
want food.

So we are quite sure his time is near and we'd rather do this before he
is in real pain and or before it's the weekend or 2am or something and
then the cat gets in pain and we have to wait hours to do the right thing.

My question is: Is there anything special I should know. The vet they
go to has been good to them for years and seems very professional.
It seems clear enough. But, well, I'm always amazed at Usenet for
the great things people tell me that I never would have thought of
so if there is anything I should know or be thinking of or tell or ask
the vet, please let me know.


Oh: This cat has had THE life. Indoor/Outdoor cat that was saved
from being a "street" cat when very young. Since then has had the run
of a huge yard, had birds to watch and mice to catch. Had plenty of
human affection. It's sad, but it's as good as any being could hope for.

Thanks,
Gary


DON'T BE AN ACCOMPLICE IN MURDER!!!



Troll.

We're all going to die. The only questions are when and how. (well, I
suppose where and why but why quibble?) There is no need to suffer
when the end is inevitable anyway.

There is a column in my local paper written jointly by a Rabbi and a
Priest. I usually just laugh at it but they recently said that "Thou
Shalt Not Kill" actually is a mistranslation and that it should be
"Thou Shalt Not Murder". This, of course, opens the door to sanctioned
killing by the state (we call that one war and executions) and
religions (that would be the crusades and jihads and killing gay
kids). What is killing and what is murder is now subject to debate.

So, you see, God said that it's OK to kill. Just not murder. We're
simply killing our loved ones to prevent them from being in pain and
misery when they are going to die soon anyway. We're not murdering
them. Only a soulless rigid psychopath would allow a loved one to
suffer when it is clear to all that the loved one is dying anyway.
Oops, that's not exactly what I meant. Soulless rigid psychopaths
don't love anyone but themselves and thus don't really need this
discussion. But normal people are likely reading this so I write it
for them.

I didn't want to kill my cat, but the alternative was to let him
suffer from increasingly horrible seizures until he died anyway. Tough
choice? No, not really.

On Wed, 10 Sep 2003 22:15:43 -0700, "Kimble" wrote:


"Gary Warner" wrote in message
...

Hello - I'm a somewhat frequent Usenet user, but never here. My parents
have a cat that it's now time to put to sleep. He's about 14 years old and
over the last month (or less) has ballooned up with fluid in the abdomen.
The
vet did a blood test (negative for any diseases) and then an ultra-sound.
They found lots of cancer all over the body.

So far the cat does not appear to be in pain, but he's obviously
uncomfortable
being so big and each day can move around less and less. Up to now he's
been eating lots (as he always has) but yesterday and today he doesn't
really
want food.

So we are quite sure his time is near and we'd rather do this before he
is in real pain and or before it's the weekend or 2am or something and
then the cat gets in pain and we have to wait hours to do the right thing.

My question is: Is there anything special I should know. The vet they
go to has been good to them for years and seems very professional.
It seems clear enough. But, well, I'm always amazed at Usenet for
the great things people tell me that I never would have thought of
so if there is anything I should know or be thinking of or tell or ask
the vet, please let me know.


Oh: This cat has had THE life. Indoor/Outdoor cat that was saved
from being a "street" cat when very young. Since then has had the run
of a huge yard, had birds to watch and mice to catch. Had plenty of
human affection. It's sad, but it's as good as any being could hope for.

Thanks,
Gary


DON'T BE AN ACCOMPLICE IN MURDER!!!



Troll.

We're all going to die. The only questions are when and how. (well, I
suppose where and why but why quibble?) There is no need to suffer
when the end is inevitable anyway.

There is a column in my local paper written jointly by a Rabbi and a
Priest. I usually just laugh at it but they recently said that "Thou
Shalt Not Kill" actually is a mistranslation and that it should be
"Thou Shalt Not Murder". This, of course, opens the door to sanctioned
killing by the state (we call that one war and executions) and
religions (that would be the crusades and jihads and killing gay
kids). What is killing and what is murder is now subject to debate.

So, you see, God said that it's OK to kill. Just not murder. We're
simply killing our loved ones to prevent them from being in pain and
misery when they are going to die soon anyway. We're not murdering
them. Only a soulless rigid psychopath would allow a loved one to
suffer when it is clear to all that the loved one is dying anyway.
Oops, that's not exactly what I meant. Soulless rigid psychopaths
don't love anyone but themselves and thus don't really need this
discussion. But normal people are likely reading this so I write it
for them.

I didn't want to kill my cat, but the alternative was to let him
suffer from increasingly horrible seizures until he died anyway. Tough
choice? No, not really.

In article ,
enlightened us with...

DON'T BE AN ACCOMPLICE IN MURDER!!!



DON'T BE A MORON.

-------------------------------------------------
~kaeli~
Press any key to continue or any other key to quit.
Who is General Failure and why is he reading
my hard disk?
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace
-------------------------------------------------

In article ,
enlightened us with...

DON'T BE AN ACCOMPLICE IN MURDER!!!



DON'T BE A MORON.

-------------------------------------------------
~kaeli~
Press any key to continue or any other key to quit.
Who is General Failure and why is he reading
my hard disk?
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace
-------------------------------------------------

In article ,
enlightened us with...

DON'T BE AN ACCOMPLICE IN MURDER!!!



DON'T BE A MORON.

-------------------------------------------------
~kaeli~
Press any key to continue or any other key to quit.
Who is General Failure and why is he reading
my hard disk?
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace
-------------------------------------------------