Do all pets (dogs/cats) have to be put to sleep at the end?

[Dee*Jay]

Please forgive me if this is a stupid question (and I am not being my usual sarcastic snide self) but do ALL pets have to be put down at the end? I''ve had three friends recently who have had to send their pets to the great dog/cat run in the sky and it really got me thinking about The Demon and Oscar Trouble. Does death never come naturally to household pets? Do they ALL have to be put down? It seems when I was a kid dogs and cats went off into the hollow never to come back, and that was just the way it was, but it just seems different now...

 

[door knob solitaire]

DJ...it is usually the person who realizes something is awry...in you go to the vet...tests are ran...the diagnosis is given...you understand that their pain is greater than your desire to keep them with you and you make the decision to remove the misery.

Others like a few of our psers...had no clue, or indication something was wrong and happen upon their little body.

It is very similar I think in humans. So many that pass, have a long hospital stay or such ...gives you time to prepare. While others time ends and it is a shock to us as we thought they were so healthy.

People can complain and express they aren''t feeling well, while our fur babies will sometimes mask their pain as their excitement to see us or spend time with us is more important and they forget they aren''t well. They say a dog with a broken leg will chase a squirrel and forget the break.

Well that is my insight into the matter.

 

[Catmom]

DJ, it''s not a stupid question AT ALL! All pets do not need to be put down. I''ve never had to actually do that. Most of my cats have gone to the rainbow bridge from old age. One was 17, one was 18 and one was 19. All three were still pretty active up until the day they passed and they laid down their heads to take a nap and just never woke up. This is how I wish I could go in the end. I adopted two sister cats 4 years ago that were taken off the streets of Chicago and my vet and I both swear that they had to have been exposed to some noxious chemical as kittens. The one kitty didn''t make it a year before developing terrible abdominal cancer. When they were doing exploratory surgery on her they found that she was riddled with tumors all over every inch of her abdomen. We were advised to just let her go and never wake up from the surgery, which is what we did. Her sister made it three years and developed the same thing. She was put on prednesone to take care of the pain and even though she was losing considerable weight, she was happy, eating and going outside on her leash every day. She was outside on her leash on the day she died. That afternoon she curled up in a ball and went to forever sleep. I consider myself to be extremely lucky that my cats have passed that way. I know that I would do it if I had to but it just hasn''t happened that way yet.

 

[lumpkin]

DeeJay, I don''t know. I''ve never had a pet that I didn''t in the end have to take to the vet. It does seem like I only hear that the pets are taken in to die rather than dying naturally.

 

[lyra]

I have two old dogs, going on 13 and 11 this year. My fear is the opposite, and it bothers me often. I worry that they might die in their sleep and then I wouldn''t know what to do. The oldest is a giant of a dog. I don''t know how I''d handle that at all, or who to call, or anything. Maybe this is a normal fear also, I don''t know. Our last dog had to be put to sleep at 11 because she was in so much pain. That was so hard too. So I think about this whole thing quite often really, and wonder the same things you do.

 

[sumbride]

Sometimes it is a matter of comfort to both the human and the animal if you can alleviate the suffering before a natural death occurs. But natural deaths do occur, of course.

We always thought we would come in to find our old hound tucked into my parents'' bed, having died in her favorite spot. But in the end, she laid down under a tree and groaned. We called the vet who came to visit and sped things along. It hurt, of course, but she had clearly told us it was time.

I think it comes down to the cause of death, illness vs. old age. With illness you have better insight to knowing your pet isn''t well and can better monitor their progression, but with old age, it''s usually a surprise and a natural death.

And I hope both of your lovely fur-kids are a long time away from either.

 

[diamondfan]

I think if they get so ill they suddenly cannot eat or control bowel function it is done. It really might the most humane way for them, if they are going to be in pain or be suffering. If your vital and previously healthy pet suddenly cannot stand up or move around or eat or go to the bathroom, there is really not much for them. The thought scares the pants off of me. I cannot imagine Maya not racing around the yard and chasing balls and squirrels.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Putting a pet to sleep is a horrible thing to have to do, but it''s much better than watching a pet suffer. We put our cat Riley to sleep a few years ago after he was diagnosed with cancer. It was so sad to watch him sick but we waited a few weeks before taking him to the vet because we wanted to spend a bit of time with him.

When I was a teenager, my mom put our cat Marmalade to sleep and I''m still not sure what kind of illness he had, but I cried and told my friend and she laughed at me. It''s amazing how cruel people can be!

The other cats I''ve lost all left to die on their own.

 

[Lynn B]

Very interesting question.

Hmmmm... you know, all the pets we have had so far as a married couple/family (a dog, a cat, and a mouse) (not counting Boo, of course) have all been put down when they were old and/or very ill, rather than "dying naturally" or "on their own". But when I think back on my childhood, I don''t think my parents ever put a pet down... they just died "on their own", apparently.

I wonder if times have changed somewhat? It kinda looks to me like they may have.

And yes, you read that right -- we actually had a pet mouse put to sleep when it got a raging ear infection that spread throughout its whole little body. It was very traumatic for all of us, but particularly little DD, who was 6 at the time.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Date: 2/10/2008 9:14:18 PM
Author: Lynn B
Very interesting question.

But when I think back on my childhood, I don''t think my parents ever put a pet down... they just died ''on their own'', apparently.

I wonder if times have changed somewhat? It kinda looks to me like they may have.

You''ve hit upon exactly what I was thinking. When I was little our dogs and cats would live to some ripe old age and then just take themselves for a walk one night and never come back. But now, there seems to be a big lead-up and a traumatic trip to the vet... The Demon is only about 5 and Oscar Trouble just truned 1 and already I''m dreading it...

 

[Pandora II]

I had one cat who was very sick and we took him to the vets. They decided to operate, but there was little they were going to be able to do they thought but they did what they could. He never woke up from the anaesthetic which was probably a kindness but very sad at the same time.

I lost my Sophie in the autumn. She had had breast cancer for over a year and my parents decided a third operation would be too much for her as the tumours had grown back very quickly. My father is a doctor and he made sure that she got plenty of painkillers and was in no pain.

She was still going out and walking round the garden till the day she died, but was eating less and less and was very, very thin (which for a siamese is basically skin and bones.) My mother had bought her special soft blankets and bedding to lie on so that she was comfortable.

The day she died, she didn''t want to get out of bed in the morning for her breakfast and had drifted into a coma by lunchtime. Her breathing was going downhill by 11pm and she died at quarter past midnight in her basket on my mother''s knee. It was so much less traumatic and peaceful than the vet having to come to the house.

Oh god, now I''ve gone and made myself cry again.

 

[Sparkster]

If a pet is not taken to the vet to be put to sleep and it dies naturally at home and not buried in the backyard, what is the normal procecure for the pet''s body to be taken away?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Ours have pretty much become ill, lost bladder control, stopped eating, and we had to have them put to sleep. I think kidney faliure and congestive heart failure have been some of the diagnoses. I think sometimes we have waited longer than we should have. It is a dilemma, that''s for sure.

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 2/10/2008 9:22:45 PM
Author: Dee*Jay

Date: 2/10/2008 9:14:18 PM
Author: Lynn B
Very interesting question.

But when I think back on my childhood, I don't think my parents ever put a pet down... they just died 'on their own', apparently.

I wonder if times have changed somewhat? It kinda looks to me like they may have.

You've hit upon exactly what I was thinking. When I was little our dogs and cats would live to some ripe old age and then just take themselves for a walk one night and never come back. But now, there seems to be a big lead-up and a traumatic trip to the vet... The Demon is only about 5 and Oscar Trouble just truned 1 and already I'm dreading it...

I've been thinking some more about this.

One major difference, I think (at least for me), is that when I was growing up, our cats and dogs were all indoor/outdoor pets... and A LOT of them "ran away" or were killed on the road. I think that was more the norm "back then". Whereas now, most people seem to have totally indoor cats or outdoor-only-under-supervision dogs. I also remember losing a few pets during hunting season.

There is NO WAY I would ever let a pet of mine outside when there are men out in the woods with guns... but I think my parents were just much more casual about their pets than we are about ours. So maybe a lot of them just never made it to a nice, ripe old age. ????

 

[Dee*Jay]

Date: 2/10/2008 9:27:14 PM
Author: Pandora II

Oh god, now I've gone and made myself cry again.

Pandora, I'm so VERY sorry! I didn not mean to upset you, or anyone. I was just thinking about the pups and all that's gone on with our friends' pets lately and it really made me wonder. So so sorry. (Now I'm crying too.) Please forgive me for upsetting you.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 2/10/2008 9:40:47 PM
Author: Dee*Jay

Pandora, I''m so VERY sorry! I didn not mean to upset you, or anyone. I was just thinking about the pups and all that''s gone on with our friends'' pets lately and it really made me wonder. So so sorry. (Now I''m crying too.) Please forgive me for upsetting you.

Oh please don''t apologise - it''s not your fault in any way at all. I''m just horribly sentimental. I still cry about animals I lost 20 years ago!

It''s a really reasonable question to ask - and I was happy to post my reply. I''m someone who feels much happier when my animals die without intervention - painfree of course - I''m not religious, but I feel that their time has come to an end. Whereas when they are put to sleep I kind of feel it''s not yet reached that point (very silly as I would never leave an animal to suffer.)

 

[somethingshiny]

We (my family) bred St. Bernards for several years. All the puppies were sold, the sire eventually got stolen, and the dam eventually died of old age. (We moved to TX, and she lived with my grandparents until she passed.)

We also had many hunting dogs, one of which had to be put down (by my dad).

We had two dogs that were ran over by cars and died. And, one dog that was run over by a car and got better. He ran off one day when he was pretty old. We assume he went into the woods to die.

So, out of dozens of dogs, we''ve only had to put down one (due to injury he sustained during hunting).

DH''s family is a cat family. They''ve had around a dozen cats over the years. They had to put down 2 or 3 all at the same time due to feline lukemia. The rest died of old age.

I can''t imagine what it''s like to have to put down a pet, and my heart goes out to anyone who has.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 2/10/2008 9:32:02 PM
Author: Sparkster
If a pet is not taken to the vet to be put to sleep and it dies naturally at home and not buried in the backyard, what is the normal procecure for the pet''s body to be taken away?

You can have a pet cremated. That has never been done to one of my pets. . . my cat was buried in the yard of the house we owned a the time, BUT, a friend of mine recently lost his cat and he had it cremated. I''m not sure of my opinion on that, but it''s his business.

 

[mrssalvo]

oh goodness deejay. i was just thinking about this last week b/c I read where deb said they put her sweet biscut to sleep and described all the wonderful last minute treats they gave him. then I had to take zoe to the vet for her biannual comprehensive exam and she HATES going to the vet. she gets so scared that she just starts shaking b/f we even get into the building. i then started thinking about when that time comes that i really hope and pray she goes naturally b/c i don''t want her last moments to be shaking and trembling at the vets office. She won''t even eat any treats we offer her when she''s in there and zoe LOVES treats. i too get so sad just thinking about it

 

[sumbride]

Date: 2/10/2008 9:54:44 PM
Author: MC

Date: 2/10/2008 9:32:02 PM

Author: Sparkster

If a pet is not taken to the vet to be put to sleep and it dies naturally at home and not buried in the backyard, what is the normal procecure for the pet''s body to be taken away?

You can have a pet cremated. That has never been done to one of my pets. . . my cat was buried in the yard of the house we owned a the time, BUT, a friend of mine recently lost his cat and he had it cremated. I''m not sure of my opinion on that, but it''s his business.

We did this with Max. It was a tough decision. As a kid, we always buried our animals in the back yard... there are probably dozens of animal skeletons there, including the cat my mom thought was ours when she picked it up off the road, but luckily wasn''t. But where I live now we have only a concrete patio for our yard, and I don''t have any family here, so we looked into cremation because the alternative was essentially the landfill. I couldn''t do that with my cat. I just couldn''t. There are several options with cremation, including group and individual. With group, it''s just a sanitary disposal, and they may do multiple animals at the same time. You usually don''t get the ashes back. With individual, they do just your animal and you can get the ashes back.

We did the individual cremation with Max because I just didn''t like the idea of multiple animals at the same time. It cost a fortune. Something like $300. But the "funeral director" (as his card said) met us at the vet on the day of his passing and took the body with him so we didn''t have to deliver him. He sent us letters about how to deal with grief and then contacted me to find out what his epitaph should be (yes, really) and then about a week later, he came to our house with a wooden box containing Max''s ashes, sealed, with a plaque with his name, dates, and the epitaph. He showed us how we could open it if we wanted to, but we haven''t, and told us what it would look like. I hadn''t expected to really want to keep the ashes... that wasn''t why I had it done, but I can''t really figure out what to do with it. "Max" is still sitting on a shelf in my living room now.

The whole process was very traumatic, but the "funeral director" really did have a calm way about him and spent a lot of time with us, explaining the process and that of course, the ashes were just his "physical remains". I still can''t believe I spent $300 on it, but I will probably do it again for the next cat. There are pet cemeteries in some areas, but those are expensive too, and I don''t think we''ll be in this area forever, so it doesn''t feel right to leave him here.

I know it sounds silly. I know.

 

[Fancy605]

I''ve had pets simply die of old age. We had a cat live to be 20+ years old when I was a girl (my parents had her long before me I guess). She was an outdoor cat too. I remember the last night we had her, I''d brought her in to drink some tuna juice (we always feed the left over juice to the cats), and brushed her and petted her. It was a real treat for our outdoor kitties to come in. Anyway, the next morning, we found her curled up peacefully in her box. She had passed on from sheer old age. We''ve had others go that way too.

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Not a stupid question at all! While we have had to put some of our loved pets to sleep, we have had others just die on their own.

 

[Linda W]

Not a stupid question Dee Jay,

Our three Lhasa Apso''s that we had long ago we had to have put to sleep. They were very old and they lost their sight, their hearing and bodily functions. They also stopped earting. One of them, did not know who we were anymore. Our vet said it was the kindest thing we could do for them, even though it broke our hearts.

Our vet came to our house and put them to sleep their, when it was each of their time. My eyes tear up just talking about it.

Linda

 

[Kaleigh]

I had to put my precious Maddie to sleep. She was a Bichon and had Lupus. Who knew dogs could get Lupus. She fought a brave fight, but it was the right thing to do, to end her suffering. It was so hard to explain it to the kids, they were very little then. My oldest Bichon is 13 almost 14 so am dreading the day he gets sick, or dies in his sleep. This dog has been with us through everything, and is such a love. OY, I can''t think about it.

 

[Haven]

Sadly, our very best friend''s dog passed away in her home yesterday. He was a 13-year-old yellow labrador, Woody, and he was playing with her 5-month-old soft coated Wheaton Terrier pup when all of a sudden Woody started to cough and gasp. He started to struggle, and she didn''t know what to do so she called my parents to come over and help her get him to the emergency vet. Woody died in her arms within minutes; we think he had a heart attack.

I''m crying as I write this right now, it was so sudden that it''s still shocking. And I miss him very, very much. He was such a lamb.

Anyway, when my parents got there they took Woody to the emergency vet and the vet cremated his remains. They made a clay pawprint for her to take home first, which I thought was nice.

He was my handsome big boy, Woodrow, I miss him so much.

As for what to do with the remains, it''s standard for the vets around here to offer two types of cremation--one where you get a jar of the remains, and a group cremation where they take care of the remains.

So, to answer your question, some pets pass away at home and some don''t.

 

[risingsun]

We had to put our elderly dog to sleep several years ago. She suffered from congestive heart failure and medical intervention was not an option at that point. There is a cemetary that has a section for pets and we had her taken there for burial. She has a headstone and they provide perpetual care. This may be unusual, but it has been our way of coping.

 

[strmrdr]

In the old days it was very common for the man of the house to take the animal out for a walk and do what had too be done then tell the kids the dog ran away or went off too die.
In some parts its still done that way in others its off too the vets.

Going back further the old animals were often killed on the hunt by wild creatures.

But all the way back too the domestication of animals I think you will find that the sick and infirm were helped along to a pain free end.
It was a matter of survival, resources could not be spent on the animal.

 

[monarch64]

My in-laws actually had a dog who died of natural causes finally... two years ago. His name was Rocky, he was a sweet little cocker spaniel who they''d rescued from a shelter out here in LaGrange, IL. He''d been having some health issues, and my IL''s knew that he could go at anytime but he didn''t seem to really be suffering. One night my DH got a call on his cellphone from his mom and dad (who live 10 min. from us) saying that Rocky had passed and asking if he could come over and help. Turned out that Rocky had died in the backyard, he went very peacefully, just lay down and didn''t get back up. Of course there was much sadness surrounding his death...

I personally had a wonderful Australian Shepard dog, Muffin, who was 17 when she died, naturally and gracefully, on the farm I grew up on when I was 18. She lived a very long life of service and sweetness to our family, mostly dedicating herself to my older brother who loved her very much, and to the farm, where she was best known as a herder of cows, and lover of our horse Cricket. She befriended many animals and was somewhat of a surrogate to many new calves, etc. , and still came back into our house and was affectionate with us humans. She did become very arthritic in her older years, and stopped straying away so far on our 65 acres of land and started staying closer to home...yes, my parents knew it was time for her but back then you just didn''t call up the vet to come put a dog down. She seemed happy enough and she was treated well to the end. I still have construction paper books with snapshots glued into the pages that i wrote when I was 8 years old, describing what a great friend she was. She just died one day, there was no drama, she was just gone. My mother and father had anticipated her death enough to have talked to me and my bro about it and my dad and bro went and dug a grave for her on our property, where she was buried.

I''m crying now remembering Muffin, she was a wonderful, loyal being who protected us kids, hated thunderstorms, loved to herd cattle, and was ever obedient and just an all around good dog. but the fact that she died naturally and me wondering if our current doggies will have to be put down just doesn''t matter. Either way, you have to say goodbye to them at some point and whether you are prepared or not, there is never a good time, and you''re really never prepared. Grief will still follow, unfortunately. Sorry DeeJ, I got a little carried away.

 

[Lorelei]

It seems to me that natural death is less common than having to have a pet PTS, but I had a beloved cat die from a stroke immediately at home. In the end I was glad he was able to leave this way, as he had to go to the vets a lot for treatment for a chronic condition and he hated it. So although it was terrible for me and such a shock, I am glad he was able to go this way so quickly and painlessly, and that he didn't have to visit the vets which he detested in the end.

I think things have come along way and that now, pets are living longer and are able to be treated for many things which wasn't the case or feasible in the past. Along with that comes the sad fact that although the average lifespan may have increased, that too brings it's own problems and that unfortunately, we may have to decide when enough is enough.

Case in point with horses, a disease called equine Cushings was relatively unheard of years ago. This condition can be age related, as horses are now in some cases being permitted to live out their lives in happy retirement ( whereas they were often slaughtered if unfit for work

) as it wasn't economically viable to keep them, incidences of this disease was uncommon and even if a horse was developing the symptoms, it wasn't recognized as an actual medical condition. Nowadays as we see horses living well into their twenties and even thirties quite happily, equine Cushings is being seen more frequently.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/10/2008 9:32:02 PM
Author: Sparkster
If a pet is not taken to the vet to be put to sleep and it dies naturally at home and not buried in the backyard, what is the normal procecure for the pet's body to be taken away?

You can take your pet to your vet and they can either arrange for your pet's remains to be taken care of, or you can choose mass cremation ( in some cases you can request a token bit of ash back, but this will be mixed with other pets) or you can choose individual cremation. I have used the individual cremation option several times and I also chose it for my beloved horse, it isn't a cheap undertaking, but it was well worth it for us.