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Does My Cat Know What is About to Happen?
How is it Done?
How Quick is it?
If you are agitated
or upset, your cat detects this and becomes upset
himself. However, he does not know why you are
upset and he does not know that this visit to the
vet is any different from other visits e.g. for
vaccinations. However upset you are, stay calm and
reassure your cat. He reacts to your behaviour; he
does not understand the word
"euthanasia". He may sense that his time
has come, but as far as we can tell, cats are not
upset at the prospect of their own death.
In pet cats,
euthanasia is performed by an anaesthetic overdose
injected into the vein of a foreleg. Some fur will
be clipped from his foreleg first. In some cases,
the vein can be difficult to locate and
occasionally a couple of attempts may be needed to
find it. In elderly or sick cats where the veins
have collapsed, the injection may be made into a
kidney or the heart. A veterinary assistant, or
you yourself, gently restrains your cat while the
injection is given. If he is held firmly, but
gently, this causes little or no distress. If he
is extremely difficult to handle, he may have to
be placed in a 'crush cage' with sliding sides and
sedated first; this is less stressful than trying
to corner and restrain an agitated cat.
Most owners want to
know how quickly it happens after the needle has
been inserted. It happens very quickly. The cat
loses consciousness within seconds of the
injection starting and death follows a few seconds
later. If you are holding him, you will feel him
exhale, relax and become heavier in your arms.
Urine may trickle from his bladder as the muscles
relax. The vet will check for a pulse or
eyelid-flick reflex and if there is any chance at
all that the cat is deeply unconscious, he will
give a second injection into a kidney or the
heart. Your cat will not be aware of a second
injection if it is needed.
Most vets place the
cat into a natural looking sleeping position (he
will look as if he has fallen asleep) and close
his eyes since animals do not always close their
eyes when they die. Because all the muscles of the
face have relaxed, his lips may pull back into
what looks like a grimace. This is simply due to
relaxation of the muscles and to gravity and is
not a sign of pain, but can cause concern if you
did not expect it.
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