Feline Old Age Through to Bereavement - Euthanasia and Getting Another Cat

Very occasionally your vet will ask permission by telephone. This may happen if your cat is having surgery and euthanasia will be kinder than allowing him to regain consciousness, for example the vet discovers advanced inoperable cancers. Your vet is acting in your cat's best interest. You can refuse permission, just so you can see your cat alive once more, but ask yourself if this is fair on the cat? It will be stitched together and regain consciousness; despite veterinary attention it may be distressed, all for the sake of a few hours.

Sometimes a vet must euthanize seriously ill or badly injured stray cats for which the owner cannot be found. If this happens to your cat, please bear in mind that he has acted to prevent an already dying cat from suffering.

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 behavior; 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 anesthetic 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.