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Post by trixiecat on Aug 19, 2024 16:22:30 GMT
We have a 14 1/2 year old dog and a 15 1/2 year old cat. In the past we had 3 cats and we knew each and every time when it was "their time".
My dog has been a cardiac patient for 2 1/2 years, takes $1,600 worth of meds a year and I have to cook for him so he has a low sodium diet. I am not complaining about any of that. He now poops in our house 3-5 times a week because he can't hold it in. We could let him out and 30 minutes later there is diarrhea all over the floor. We put a diaper on him when we go out for his urine. Besides it being unsanitary, we have just had enough. He still will walk around and wag his tail some. This morning he has not moved off the couch since 7:30 am. I did get him some meds for his bowels and the doctor said if they work great, then if not it means something worse is going on. They didn't work.
The cat has been fine until the past 3 months. He was attacking food and constantly trying to eat the dog's food. Had bloodwork 2 weeks ago and it was normal except his thyroid was in the high, but normal range. He is on meds for that now. He now looks horrible and is barely moving. I started vacuuming the hardwood this morning and found he had peed all over two Ikea bags that were filled with pots and pans and the urine was in puddles in one of the bags. Not using the litter box with urine is where I think I have to draw the line. It will strip the finish off the hardwood and you and you can never get rid of the smell.
I think he also has peed outside his litterbox.
My daughter is so attached to this cat and is leaving on Saturday for grad. school. Of course I will get blamed for this because she says he is still walking around. She had bags on the floor two about 10 feet away and I told her if he would have peed in her stuff it all would have had to be thrown out.
In your opinion how much more do you tolerate? I love these animals, but they are ruining our house now. I have though with the dog what quality of life is he having. He still loves being with us. He can barely walk around a block and constantly has diarrhea. And he is still eating, but not everything. He has lost all of his muscle mass to the point he looks like a skeleton - you can see his ribs and everyone comments on his looks.
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Post by disneypal on Aug 19, 2024 16:27:00 GMT
It's often hard to know when its time. To me, if they are eating and walking pretty much ok, I'm not ready. But when they stop eating and you can tell they are miserable, then I feel like it might be time.
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nicolep
Drama Llama
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Post by nicolep on Aug 19, 2024 16:35:17 GMT
When their quality of life is no longer quality.
I'm involved in a local rescue where we rescue dogs and cats who are elderly with medical issues and foster them. I've had three in the past 3 years and letting them go when it's time is difficult but also knowing that they've been cared for, loved, spoiled and let go with dignity makes my heart happy.
Having said that, I miss all three of them incredibly much.
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Post by tampascrapper on Aug 19, 2024 16:37:36 GMT
For me even if they are still able to walk around some, I go by quality of life for them. With both of my bff’s pets, their quality of live had gone down so much, we didn’t want them to have to live like that.
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Post by workingclassdog on Aug 19, 2024 16:39:00 GMT
Each household is different and personally I don't judge what is best for 'you' (whoever is 'you'). If you feel like it's the end, then it is the end. They are old, they have problems, really would you want to go on life if you had those problems. I wouldn't. It's a hard thing to decide but in this case, for me, this isn't living their best lives anymore.
Good luck in your decisions... it is always hard but only you can decide. What is good for one person may not necessarily but the right answer for someone else.
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Post by Chips on Aug 19, 2024 16:48:02 GMT
I am so very sorry - end of life is so difficult.
On July 29th my son's and I crossed out beloved dog over the rainbow at home. This was one of the hardest decisions that I have made. She was so completely bended with me that I really struggled with the decision. That being said I should of been braver and made the decision a bit sooner. Her quality of life was so diminished. We had been doing all our and her favorite things but making the final call was hard.
When I had the thought that I would not want to live like this gave me some peace that I made the right decision but it was hard.
I told my sons, please do not go out and get me another dog since I need a break, my heart is broken.
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Post by lurker on Aug 19, 2024 17:01:36 GMT
Sometimes the kindest thing we can do for our pets is to let them go.
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Tearisci
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Nov 6, 2018 16:34:30 GMT
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Post by Tearisci on Aug 19, 2024 17:06:32 GMT
It sounds like their quality of life isn't what it was and likely won't get better. Having to make the decision is just tough but I know that for me, making the decision and giving them the love to let them go when it's time is what's most important.
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Post by monklady123 on Aug 19, 2024 17:09:39 GMT
Our sweet girl (the dog in my avatar photo) was 15. She couldn't walk anymore and I struggled to get her up and down the four steps in front of our house. She would often poop in the house overnight. By that time we had confined her to an area in our living room where I'd put down blankets and towels, and we'd enclosed with one of those fence things. She was always happy to see us, still ate well as long as it was soft food, didn't even take medications. But she had no life beyond us. She used to love going on long walks, playing with her friends, rolling in the grass, etc. We just decided that it was time, so that we could have someone come to the house to euthanize her. She was SO petrified of the vet, and she was declining fast enough that I was afraid we'd have to take her in for an emergency vet visit. That would have been so much stress for her last hours of life.  So we opted to schedule Lap of Love, so she could spend her last bit of time eating chicken and peanut butter with her people. Sometimes I still wonder if we should have waited. But if we had waited and then had to take her to the vet in an emergency then I'd feel guilty about that now. So I just have to remember how peaceful her last minutes were. Not sure that helps you much, but that was our experience. |
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Post by Linda on Aug 19, 2024 17:21:27 GMT
(((Hugs))) I think when one starts asking that question...it's probably time. Such a hard call to make but I will say that I've never regretted making it. I have regretted NOT making it.
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Post by ScrapbookMyLife on Aug 19, 2024 17:57:12 GMT
For me it was when there was a change in her quality of life and was at risk of getting seriously hurt.
She began having seizures.
After discussion and counsel with the Veterinarian, we opted to not give her seizure meds. The side effects can (for some, but not all) cause a whole other set of issues.
When she was having a seizure, she would flop, flail and move around, with no control over it when it was happening.
If it happened when I was not home, and she was up on a higher surface (chair, bed, etc...)..... falling the wrong way >> landing hard on her head and body could cause her serious injury.
I could not take that risk of her being home alone....and seriously hurt and in pain if she fell while she was having a seizure. I am often away from home for hours at work and errands.
I made the difficult decision to let her go. I was with her until the end. The Vet's office was so kind and compassionate during that difficult time.
As hard as it was, I know I did the right thing.
She had a long and wonderful life with me, and we shared many moments and memories.......and that brings me comfort.
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Post by peasapie on Aug 19, 2024 18:54:17 GMT
The thyroid meds should help the cat quite a bit. We've been there and it truly does make a difference.
It sounds like your pup has reached a ripe old age and isn't enjoying his life anymore. I'm sorry. We just went through this with our senior dog two weeks ago and it was so hard to make the decision, but once we did, we knew it had been the right thing to do.
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edie3
Drama Llama
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Post by edie3 on Aug 19, 2024 20:16:19 GMT
When we had to decide about our 17 year old dog, someone directed us to this site.. I am sorry you are going through this. |
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Post by trixiecat on Aug 19, 2024 20:41:02 GMT
Thanks everyone. I think if it weren't for our kids not wanting us to do this, the decision would be easier (obviously not easy, but easier to make). But we are the ones taking care of them. Funny thing my son was visiting this past weekend and woke up to having to clean up poop and he was not happy. It would be so much easier if the dog wasn't walking, stopped eating, seizures like someone mentioned, etc. I told my daughter we are going to give the cat a few days to see how she is doing with her litter box or lack thereof.
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Post by trixiecat on Aug 19, 2024 20:42:18 GMT
The thyroid meds should help the cat quite a bit. We've been there and it truly does make a difference. It sounds like your pup has reached a ripe old age and isn't enjoying his life anymore. I'm sorry. We just went through this with our senior dog two weeks ago and it was so hard to make the decision, but once we did, we knew it had been the right thing to do. Meds for cat are working it seems, but not sure why he is lethargic and peeing on my stuff. |
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Post by hop2 on Aug 19, 2024 23:08:15 GMT
My older dog was on diarrhea medication for the last 18 months of his life. He looked much like you describe your dog as he had lost so a much weight. Besides the meds he a very strict no deviation diet. He did have accidents in the house and a couple of time fell in it and couldn’t get up. I waited until he was so bad he was walking in circles until he physically collapsed with exhaustion. He did that twice and I called the vet - vet said that was a symptom of 2 things either dog dementia or a brain tumor. She said she would not poke & prod him at 16 1/2 to determine which. She offered pain meds if we wanted to keep him going until after the holiday or when the kids could be home as it was December - kids both said no that’s not fair to the dog so my ex arranged the whole thing they came here so he didn’t have to go in the car. He had been getting slowly worse all fall long but I just didn’t want to terrorize him with a car ride to the vet. I think if I’d have known that it could have been done at our house with just a few phone calls I might have reached that decision sooner. I don’t know. I know that right up until that week he was still enjoying going out on the porch to see & smell things. Once we made the appointment everyone said I should feed him chocolate or a burger or steak but I didn’t think he’d want to have painful diahrea his last day on earth so I just kept it all the same even gave him his diarrhea med that morning. He spent a peaceful last day with me & my ex and was sleeping when the vet arrived. Barely woke up for her to do what she had to do. Anyway what had kept me from making the decision was the car ride which he had come to hate and when we found out we didn’t have to we decided pretty quickly.
All that to say, I’m thinking if you’re asking then you’re almost there.
Hugs I am so sorry you are dealing with this choice possibly for both of them. Hugs
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Post by crazy4scraps on Aug 20, 2024 0:13:04 GMT
Our vet told us to make a list of the dog’s ten most favorite things when he was in his prime and cross off anything he was no longer able to enjoy. When the list is more than half crossed off, it’s time to consider how good the dog’s quality of life really is. I waited a little too long with my Jack Russell. It’s hard no matter what.
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Post by peasapie on Aug 21, 2024 18:26:17 GMT
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Post by snugglebutter on Aug 21, 2024 23:08:36 GMT
We made the decision to put our elderly cat down earlier this year and it was so hard to figure out when. He had some manageable difficulties for several months, but the last week or so it got much harder. The day he couldn't walk straight and started urinating in his sleep was what decided it for us. We made an appointment at a clinic with Saturday hours because we didn't want to risk a middle of the night emergency while waiting for Monday with our vet.
I heard a phrase from some vet on social media once about "better a few weeks too early than a few days too late" and that really stuck with me. The morning of his appointment I woke up in a panic, and I could understand too why people put it off. My kids were very sad and I cannot imagine how much harder it would be if they were begging us not to do it.
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Post by littlemama on Aug 22, 2024 0:06:42 GMT
Your pets do not want to be soiling in the house. They do not have quality of life. It is time.
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carhoch
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Post by carhoch on Aug 22, 2024 0:14:40 GMT
I was asking my vet once about the timing of end of life and he said not to wait that every moment is a bad moment for the pet or for the owner.
It’s all about quality of life for both of you and if your pet soils the house regularly then I believe it’s time .
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blue tulip
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Post by blue tulip on Aug 22, 2024 14:30:47 GMT
for me, what you have described would be enough. just existing without pain isn't a good life. enjoying life, having joy.. that's a good life for an animal. when they are just lingering and their bowels are letting go everywhere.. it's time IMO.
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scrapngranny
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Post by scrapngranny on Aug 22, 2024 14:39:02 GMT
When there is absolutely no quality in their life. When they are existing, not living.
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jimmysgirl
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Jun 15, 2015 4:32:58 GMT
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Post by jimmysgirl on Aug 22, 2024 17:57:18 GMT
Do you have videos of your pets from a year ago? Two years ago? Even six months ago? Go back and watch those videos again.
When you are nursing older pets, sometimes day-to-day life just becomes about getting through each day. You love them where they're at (which is wonderful, of course), but because you are knee-deep in just maintaining life for them, you forget what life used to look like for them. You may not notice how much they've lost.
I had to do this with my last dog. I looked back at videos I had of him and I was shocked at how much had changed and I didn't even realize it.
I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this. It's such a tough decision but so many of us have been there before and completely understand where you're coming from.
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Post by trixiecat on Aug 23, 2024 11:25:54 GMT
Thank you everyone. You have made me feel so much better. We are in a holding pattern with both. I think the reason the cat urinated on my stuff was because the door to his litter box got closed somehow. He has been fine since. We will monitor our dog. If the situation gets worse (more accidents, etc.) then we will know. We will not be waiting until he deteriorates and suffers.
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Post by hop2 on Aug 23, 2024 12:45:51 GMT
Do you have videos of your pets from a year ago? Two years ago? Even six months ago? Go back and watch those videos again. When you are nursing older pets, sometimes day-to-day life just becomes about getting through each day. You love them where they're at (which is wonderful, of course), but because you are knee-deep in just maintaining life for them, you forget what life used to look like for them. You may not notice how much they've lost. I had to do this with my last dog. I looked back at videos I had of him and I was shocked at how much had changed and I didn't even realize it. I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this. It's such a tough decision but so many of us have been there before and completely understand where you're coming from. I agree 100% about going back to look at videos or even pictures. The difference of 6 months for mine is obvious in hindsight. But I never saw it day to day. |
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Post by hop2 on Aug 23, 2024 12:46:40 GMT
Thank you everyone. You have made me feel so much better. We are in a holding pattern with both. I think the reason the cat urinated on my stuff was because the door to his litter box got closed somehow. He has been fine since. We will monitor our dog. If the situation gets worse (more accidents, etc.) then we will know. We will not be waiting until he deteriorates and suffers. I’m sorry you’re even facing the question. It’s so very hard Hugs |
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Post by gramasue on Aug 23, 2024 13:36:02 GMT
So often, pet owners put off saying goodbye to their beloved pets because they, the owners, are 'not ready'.
It's not about us, it's about this animal that we have loved for so long. End of life can be a blessing.
My heart goes out to you. I know how hard this can be.
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So we opted to schedule Lap of Love, so she could spend her last bit of time eating chicken and peanut butter with her people. 
