Feline Old Age Through to Bereavement - Knowing When to Let Go

Find out about your cat's illness or condition. Ask your vet to explain it in simple terms and ask sensible questions. Write down your questions so you don't forget any. Treatments you see on the internet may be offered in one country or locality but not be available elsewhere, or not be feasible due to lack of expertise. Some treatments are not affordable. Your vet may give you information leaflets produced by veterinary associations or welfare associations. He may know of specialists offering experimental treatments. They may be situated some distance away which means a lot of traveling or leaving your cat as an in-patient. The word 'experiment' does not mean vivisection - it is more like an advanced hospital offering experimental treatments. Whether the treatment is successful or not, your cat will not be made to suffer unnecessarily. Lessons learnt from treating it may help other cats in the future.

If you have any misgivings about experimental treatments, then discuss these. If the veterinary hospital offering the treatment is some distance away, you may decide that travel and separation will distress your cat or that you simply cannot afford it. As the owner, you know your cat better than anyone else and a good vet respects your decision if you decide against further treatment and will help make your cat comfortable using treatments his clinic can offer. Choose what you believe will cause your cat least distress.

When faced with the difficult choice of whether or not to attempt life-prolonging treatment with no guarantee of success, I sometimes have to say, "He's had a good life, I will not prolong it just because I can't bear the thought of losing him."

What is My Cat's Life Expectancy & Life Quality?

• What sort of life expectancy does my cat have with/without treatment?
• Will treatment prolong life or merely prolong suffering?
• Will the treatment or side-effects cause distress for either of us?
• Do my other cats risk being infected or can they be inoculated?

Having learnt that your pet is cannot be cured or is deteriorating, you will probably ask 'how long has he got?' Some conditions begin slowly but the rate of deterioration speeds up as the effects become cumulative. Other conditions progress rapidly after symptoms first appear. Many cats reach an advanced stage of their condition or illness before showing symptoms. Cats also differ in the way they cope with illness and respond to treatments. There may be no hard and fast forecast about life expectancy, just general guidelines and knowing what signs signal further deterioration. Knowing whether the cat has days, weeks or even years of relative health will affect your decision.

Vets give estimates of life expectancy depending on the normal rate of deterioration according to textbooks and their own experiences, the stage of illness/deterioration the cat is currently at, the cat's age and its general condition. They normally advise as to what sort of quality of life the cat can expect and for how long. I've had elderly cats live very comfortably on "borrowed time" for 3 times the estimate while others managed only a third of their estimated "good quality life expectancy".