Carbon Monoxide other euthanesia

I have a cat that is fearful of strangers.
He has cancer and will need to be put to sleep soon.

I read that some vets place an IV for this. I think
this would prolong the process and be stressful to
both the cat and me. Will a simple injection be tramatic
to the cat? He is not real weak yet, but the cancer is
inoperable and his quality of life is poor.

I will probably call a mobile vet to come to my place
and do it, but what can I do to minmize the stress to
this loveable little creature? Has anyone been in this
situation that can give me some tips on how to make this
easy for the cat?

Can carbon monoxide be used as a gentle euthanesia?

stevej111 writes:

I have a cat that is fearful of strangers.
He has cancer and will need to be put to sleep soon.

I read that some vets place an IV for this. I think
this would prolong the process and be stressful to
both the cat and me. Will a simple injection be tramatic
to the cat? He is not real weak yet, but the cancer is
inoperable and his quality of life is poor.

One of our cats had to be put down that way.
We were not in the room when the IV was put in
but were there when the injection was given.

The cat was calm through the part we saw.
She never seemed to know what happened.
No change of expression or anything.

I will probably call a mobile vet to come to my place
and do it, but what can I do to minmize the stress to
this loveable little creature? Has anyone been in this
situation that can give me some tips on how to make this
easy for the cat?

Can carbon monoxide be used as a gentle euthanasia

I've never heard of Carbon Monoxide being used this way, so I googled it,
and found this:
http://www.freewebs.com/ncche/medicaleffectsofco.htm

"The same report states that animals exposed to CO during euthanasia suffer
convulsions and muscular spasms"

also

" Most major humane organizations advocate a move toward more humane
euthanasia for sheltered animals, citing the dangers and health effects of
carbon monoxide... It is unacceptable to use CO for animals who are old,
sick injured, pregnant, or under four months of age. "

Really doesn't sound like a good way to go.

With regards to euthanasia via injection, I've been on hand for many
euthanasias, both canine and feline (I'm a first year vet student, and I've
worked in a vet clinic for the past 3 years). I can tell you that they seem
to be almost uniformly without incident, and the animals pass on with a
minimal amount of distress. Most of them don't mind the needle, which is
really all they feel.

On occasion, if difficulties are expected, we will sedate the animal prior
to administering the injection to make sure everything goes smoothly.
Generally with cats, this is with the use of a gas anesthetic (isofluorine),
you might want to inquire about this possibility if you're concerned about
the needle (particularly if they have had difficulty drawing blood from your
cat in the recent past), that way if anything goes awry, your cat won't be
aware of it.

Dale

On Sun, 28 Sep 2008 04:41:25 GMT, Dale Atkin wrote:
I will probably call a mobile vet to come to my place
and do it, but what can I do to minmize the stress to
this loveable little creature? Has anyone been in this
situation that can give me some tips on how to make this
easy for the cat?

Can carbon monoxide be used as a gentle euthanasia

I've never heard of Carbon Monoxide being used this way, so I googled it,
and found this:
http://www.freewebs.com/ncche/medicaleffectsofco.htm

I've heard of using CO2. Kitty in cooler with dry ice.

I would never do it. An injection of something to stop the heart seems like
the way to go.

On Sun, 28 Sep 2008 11:30:06 -0500, AZ Nomad
wrote:

On Sun, 28 Sep 2008 04:41:25 GMT, Dale Atkin wrote:
I will probably call a mobile vet to come to my place
and do it, but what can I do to minmize the stress to
this loveable little creature? Has anyone been in this
situation that can give me some tips on how to make this
easy for the cat?

Can carbon monoxide be used as a gentle euthanasia

I've never heard of Carbon Monoxide being used this way, so I googled it,
and found this:
http://www.freewebs.com/ncche/medicaleffectsofco.htm

I've heard of using CO2. Kitty in cooler with dry ice.

I would never do it. An injection of something to stop the heart seems like
the way to go.

Using CO2 is a very, VERY bad way to 'euthanize' any animal.

Your body, and your cat's body, recognizes an excess of CO2: it burns
your throat and lungs when you breathe it, and unlike carbon monoxide,
the cat would KNOW it was dying, in a most horrible way: by suffocating.
It would be very painful, and very cruel. It it would not happen nearly
as quickly as you might think.

Euthanizing a cat is best done by a vet; using methods and drugs they
are, unfortunately, good at.

The cat really does 'go to sleep', from an overdose of one or more
sedatives; one is always a barbiturate.

Some vets will come to your home, so cats that are scared of going to
the vet don't have to go through that, when they are old, sick and/or in
pain.

If your vet doesn't do this, start calling vet clinics and find one who
does.

There is no 'easy' way to euthanize a beloved pet.

But don't do it yourself, using some method that is far slower, and more
painful, than the method used by a vet.

Really. Think about it.

Using CO2 is a very, VERY bad way to 'euthanize' any animal.

It's not euthanasia ("painless death"). CO2 is murder.

In article ,
says...
I have a cat that is fearful of strangers.
He has cancer and will need to be put to sleep soon.

I read that some vets place an IV for this. I think
this would prolong the process and be stressful to
both the cat and me. Will a simple injection be tramatic
to the cat? He is not real weak yet, but the cancer is
inoperable and his quality of life is poor.

I will probably call a mobile vet to come to my place
and do it, but what can I do to minmize the stress to
this loveable little creature? Has anyone been in this
situation that can give me some tips on how to make this
easy for the cat?

Can carbon monoxide be used as a gentle euthanesia?


The intravenous method involves a few steps. One of the first is
tranquilization of the cat. Then they use another IV to basically do a
potassium overload that shuts down the heart.

I hate putting down cats but I think the IV method isn't very painful
for them.

The intravenous method involves a few steps. One of the first is
tranquilization of the cat. Then they use another IV to basically do a
potassium overload that shuts down the heart.

There are different protocols with different areas and different vets. What
I've seen (mostly) is an IV barbiturate (brand name euthanyl) overdose that
seems to be fairly common around here. I've heard (indirectly) about some
vets using a potassium overdose, but never seen it.

Dale

On Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:29:02 GMT, Gandalf wrote:
On Sun, 28 Sep 2008 11:30:06 -0500, AZ Nomad
wrote:

On Sun, 28 Sep 2008 04:41:25 GMT, Dale Atkin wrote:
I will probably call a mobile vet to come to my place
and do it, but what can I do to minmize the stress to
this loveable little creature? Has anyone been in this
situation that can give me some tips on how to make this
easy for the cat?

Can carbon monoxide be used as a gentle euthanasia

I've never heard of Carbon Monoxide being used this way, so I googled it,
and found this:
http://www.freewebs.com/ncche/medicaleffectsofco.htm

I've heard of using CO2. Kitty in cooler with dry ice.

I would never do it. An injection of something to stop the heart seems like
the way to go.

Using CO2 is a very, VERY bad way to 'euthanize' any animal.

Your body, and your cat's body, recognizes an excess of CO2: it burns
your throat and lungs when you breathe it, and unlike carbon monoxide,
the cat would KNOW it was dying, in a most horrible way: by suffocating.
It would be very painful, and very cruel. It it would not happen nearly
as quickly as you might think.

Euthanizing a cat is best done by a vet; using methods and drugs they
are, unfortunately, good at.

The cat really does 'go to sleep', from an overdose of one or more
sedatives; one is always a barbiturate.

Some vets will come to your home, so cats that are scared of going to
the vet don't have to go through that, when they are old, sick and/or in
pain.

If your vet doesn't do this, start calling vet clinics and find one who
does.

There is no 'easy' way to euthanize a beloved pet.

But don't do it yourself, using some method that is far slower, and more
painful, than the method used by a vet.

Really. Think about it.

No argument here. Considering that over the life of a pet one is going to
spend at least ten thousand times as much just for food, it makes zero sense
to perform home euthenization.

Euthanizing a cat is best done by a vet; using methods and drugs they
are, unfortunately, good at.

Just for clarification... I don't think anyone in this thread was
contemplating doing it themselves.

The cat really does 'go to sleep', from an overdose of one or more
sedatives; one is always a barbiturate.

I'm not so sure about one 'always' being a barbiturate, although that does
seem to be the most common around here. As per another post, I've heard of
potassium being used to euthanize animals, but I'm unfamiliar with the
details, other than it stops the heart, presumably by mucking with the
potential for the formation of action potentials, but I'm just guessing....
I don't imagine this alone would be a good idea, as it would seem to be
similar to having a heart attack and dying, hence the sedative first.

Some vets will come to your home, so cats that are scared of going to
the vet don't have to go through that, when they are old, sick and/or in
pain.

If your vet doesn't do this, start calling vet clinics and find one who
does.

Just a comment about this. Make sure that whatever vet you call to do the
job is in fact set up to do 'in home' euthanasia. Ask how/if they sedate the
cat prior to the final injection etc. I know we don't generally like to
euthanize cats in home, as we like to have the anesthetic machine on hand in
case of difficulties (and our anesthetic machine isn't overly portable). In
ideal situations, one could simple give a a single injection, and they'd go
peacefully, so any vet *could* do it at home, but they aren't necessarily
set up for the 'what if' scenarios (also understand if your vet doesn't do
euthanasia at home, there may be a good reason why they don't)

Dale