Should I put down a pet just because he is old?
I have a cat who is 20 years old. I give him special food for his kidneys and a feline joint health gel I add to his food. He walks very slowly doesn’t seem to be in any kind of pain because I carry him often and he doesn’t complain. I have had him all my life and the only problem is that he is blind and he pees all over my house. He does #2 outside in the back yard or in the litter box but #1 he wants to do anywhere around my house. So the smell is horrible and I constantly have to watch him when he is inside and cleaning up after him. So my question is should I put him down already. He is very old but he gets around and still walks, eats, etc. The problem is with the peeing since he is blind. And I can’t fill the floor up with pads because I don’t know where he will pee next. I also have used a lot of cleaners that say that the cat won’t come back to same area again but that doesn’t seem to work. Has anyone had this problem? Should I keep trying or just put him down already after all he has had a full life.
Filed under: Pet Insurance
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Has your cat had his thyroid levels checked? Peeing all over the place can be a symptom of a thyroid condition. If he is able to find the litterbox for #2 then this rules out the fact that he can’t find the litterbox due to his blindness. I would have geriatric testing done by my vet to rule out any possible health conditions.
I’m presuming that the person who feels that animals lives are extended too long due to medications also believes that humans should live shorter lives for the same reason!
This is a very personal decision which I would discuss with my vet. I probably wouldn’t put my cat down unless I felt he was suffering. Could you place him in a large cage when you’re not around to watch where he’s peeing?
At 20 he has had a good life and at the moment still enjoying life he isn’t in pain by the sounds of it,but they do start to mess everywhere as they age,and the reason is a combination of incontinence and forgetfulness so with being forget full that’s why the sprays to discourage him have no affect as he simply forgets,
my cat was 15 when she started to forget what her litter was for so i was following her about a lot then place her in the tray when i could see she was about to do something,so i placed her tray nearer to where she spent a lot of time as with a weakened bladder of an older cat they cant hold on and get to the litter in time,
as for having him put down only you know if you can bear to part with him,he is simply old and forget full, i chose to keep trying with my cat and did so for the last year of her life as she was happy and not in any pain,but try keeping him in the one area if you can to save messing everywhere up,
that’s what i did with mine and she coped better as being forget full having the whole house was too much i don’t mean confine him from you just give him a smaller area so it will be easier for him to use litter and things,less open space then he has less to remember my cat coped well,
she had less accidents and because of it she seemed much more happier as she knew her litter was close by.
Don’t put your cat down just because it’s old.
What the vet told me when I had I had to make the decision was if he’s in pain you will know. Like if he won’t jump up on anything. I would watch my cat and I knew he was in pain when he had a hard time just getting into the liter box. That hurt me to watch as much as it hurt him. However he never verbaly complained. When you make the decision you will know it in your HEART. Remember it’s not selfish it’s out of Love for your Pet!!!! If it helps just spend extra time with your cat talk to him or her, look and watch your cats eyes they to will tell you alot. Take pictures so you will have them for memories to cherish. My Cat is in my heart always,
I wouldn’t. The only way I’d put my 16 year old dog down or my 10 year old half-blind cat would be if they were in pain and pain pills didn’t work, or if the cost was more than we can afford and our vet wouldn’t accept payments.
But that’s just me. Other people might feel differently. There’s no wrong answer – everyone has their own breaking point. Do what you feel is best both for you and your cat.
You say nothing about if he’s enjoying life, is purring and is happy.
OR about you caring about him enough to spend time daily with him giving him petting and physical touch to help brighten his day.
Euthanasia is not an option generally decided by the age of the animal, so no. You should not put down a pet JUST because he is old.
However, with age comes several factors that do impact most owners’ decisions about euthanasia. Your cat may not seem to be in pain, but that does not mean his quality of life is high enough to be enjoyable. If he is blind, tottering around slowly, and forgetting to use the litter box, he may be miserable. The litter box issue is not fun for you, but could also point to an underlying health problem for him, or just be his way of expressing discomfort by "acting out".
20 years is a wonderful long life for a cat, and if you feel that his life will only deteriorate from here, it might be kinder to let him go before he suffers. It is ultimately your decision, though. Consult with family members and your vet. They’ll give you better insight than we can on Yahoo.
Good luck with your tough decision.
Buy an old play pen at a thrift shop. He can hang out out in there when you are unable to watch him. That way you can cover the bottom with piddle pads and take him outside when you can.Of course it is your decision weather or not to put your pet to sleep, you have to listen to what your conscience and heart tell you. I feel for you and dread the day when I have to make this decision for my old friend.
It would be cruel to him not to. I put down my dog when he was sixteen after he lost all of his teeth. Pets’ lives are already extended far too long with modern medicines, it was not meant to be this way.
I would have a problem with an animal controlling my life like this.
What ever you decide, stay with him when the time comes.
Most animals develop this kind of pee problem when they get old. I would say as long as your cat is happy and not in any pain, I would keep him until his condition deteriorates or other medical issues develop. Of course that is just how I would handle it as the pee in the house has already happened and probably cant be much worse than it is. But, nobody can make this decision but you. I would keep my pet as long as it wasnt in pain and could still get around.
It is a completely personal decision. People usually put pets down because they HAVE to, or because the animal’s quality of life is poor. From what I can tell, your cat isn’t in pain. However, you must consider the factor of the cat peeing around your house. If you are comfortable with cleaning that up, buying the special food, and truly believe that the cat is not in any pain, then I see no reason to put it down.
This is really a question for your own ethics. I suspect the random repeated peeing is probably due more to having no sense of smell rather than being blind (which is why the "no return visits" cleaners don’t work.
If I were in that state I would be hoping for euthanasia. You are apparently not too selfishly attached to your cat to insist on keeping him going regardless, and if you were to ask a vet I think the response would be to terminate his life now before he really starts to show signs of suffering. Remember that animals naturally put up with pain more than do humans, but that doesn’t mean they like it.