CHF and Euthanasia experience

denice

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I am so sorry this happened. I have heard that this can happen especially with very sick cats. I know they are two very different species but I grew up on a farm. We didn't have horses but many people that lived in the area did. This is actually very common with horses that have a compromised circulatory system. It could well be that no one did anything wrong and you still did the best thing for your beloved companion.
 

MoxZig

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I'm sorry for what you had to go through with your kitty.
I had to euthanize more than a cat with different diseases, but it has never been that long or traumatizing. All the times I had to have a pet euthanized, the procedure was quite quick and painless.
In my past experiences, only two shots were administered, one as a sedative and one final. The final one is usually in the heart, but lately I have seen that it is administered in a vein and it is very quick even in the weakest cat.

I don't know what to think in your case except that the vet migh thave screwed things up.
I'm very sorry... :sigh:
This is an older post so not sure if anyone will see this, but my kitty was pts yesterday and they also administered the final sedative to the heart but recommended I not be in the room which I took the advice & now extremely regret not being there. Why would they recommend me not be there? They said most parents don't stay in the room.
 

Antonio65

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I'm sorry you had to live this experience, I'm sorry for your cat.

I don't know why they recommended you not to be in the room at the end. All the times I had to do such a thing I was asked if I was willing to attend. I think it's a right of yours to decide whether to stay.
The only thing that comes to my mind is that they had experienced times when the pet's owners were too emotional and felt sick, and the vets had to deal with them too.
I don't know what else reason there might be.

I would never leave any of my pets alone in their last minutes.
 

MoxZig

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Hi. So sorry for your experience. Mine had nothing to do with CHF, but rather with FIP - and, it was many, many years ago. I am sure that in hindsight, I waited too long, but...

When we took Tawny in to have him put to sleep, he was very weak - and, obviously dehydrated. The vet could not find any viable injection site - it was heartbreaking - the few blood vessels they tried each collapsed. I guess they could have forewarned us of all the possible things that could go wrong but when you are in that situation, I am sure they don't want to go down the litany of possibilities.

They told me that they would put him to sleep with gas and then render the final injection that was needed. I didn't get to be with him, because we weren't allowed to be in that area of the hospital. I don't know if processes/procedures have changed since then, given this happened in 1991.

But, he hung on for us for so long, and I was crushed that I couldn't be there when he finally had to let go.
I'm in that same situation also, I wasn't there with my girl and I am only taking comfort knowing I am not alone in that it does happen. But it broke my heart so much & I am still struggling with it.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi MoxZig MoxZig . So sorry for your loss. You could start your own thread and ask your questions, if you want to.

It depends on what was wrong with your cat. When we had to let Tawny go (and, we waited too long - he had FIP), they eventually said they needed to take him to a backroom. They had tried at least a couple of times to administer via injection and his veins were so dehydrated that they said they were only hurting him. They used gas on him, and needed to do it in another area. That was over 25 years ago, I was much younger and very much distraught as it was my first cat. In our case, if gas has to be administered, I don't even know if they would allow the cat parents to be in the same room - I have never asked. Again, so sorry.

Edit: Didn't even realize that I had previously posted to this thread. Sorry for the redundancy.
 

MoxZig

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I'm sorry you had to live this experience, I'm sorry for your cat.

I don't know why they recommended you not to be in the room at the end. All the times I had to do such a thing I was asked if I was willing to attend. I think it's a right of yours to decide whether to stay.
The only thing that comes to my mind is that they had experienced times when the pet's owners were too emotional and felt sick, and the vets had to deal with them too.
I don't know what else reason there might be.

I would never leave any of my pets alone in their last minutes.
Maybe because I was so upset. They said Moxie was giving them a hard time when they put the catheter in, but gave her a sedative to relax her. She was very chill when they brought her back to me for goodbeys & all I hope is that her look of confusion when they took her away wasn't because she knew I was no longer there... but if she did know I hope she knows how much I wanted to be, they really made me think it would'v been in my best interest not to be there. Maybe also because they had to administer the last injection in the back where other animals were, but I just don't know.
 

FeebysOwner

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Maybe because I was so upset. They said Moxie was giving them a hard time when they put the catheter in, but gave her a sedative to relax her. She was very chill when they brought her back to me for goodbeys & all I hope is that her look of confusion when they took her away wasn't because she knew I was no longer there... but if she did know I hope she knows how much I wanted to be, they really made me think it would'v been in my best interest not to be there. Maybe also because they had to administer the last injection in the back where other animals were, but I just don't know.
The sedative they gave her probably made her unaware of what was going on around her - that might have been the look of confusion that you saw. Not so much the idea that she was confused by you and she separating, but more so because she really wasn't able to comprehend anything at that point. She is free of pain now, and that is what you need to focus on. That is what I did with Tawny - as much as I missed him - and still do.
 

MoxZig

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The sedative they gave her probably made her unaware of what was going on around her - that might have been the look of confusion that you saw. Not so much the idea that she was confused by you and she separating, but more so because she really wasn't able to comprehend anything at that point. She is free of pain now, and that is what you need to focus on. That is what I did with Tawny - as much as I missed him - and still do.
Thank You, that is what I am hoping in my heart.
 

Meowmee

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This is an older post so not sure if anyone will see this, but my kitty was pts yesterday and they also administered the final sedative to the heart but recommended I not be in the room which I took the advice & now extremely regret not being there. Why would they recommend me not be there? They said most parents don't stay in the room.
So sorry for your loss😿 run free sweet kitty🌈💕

I don’t know why they would not let you be there, that has never happened with mine. And they were all very ill, sometimes in trauma. It was just understood I and my family would be there with them in their final moments here, no matter what. It is hard to plan these things out ahead but it is a good idea to discuss with the dvm if possible. I was only not there for my childhood dog, not allowed, and cat, away at school, which I deeply regret even now.
But your girl knows you were there, she saw you there and in a way you were there anyway.
Big hugs to you❤
 
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