Have any of you had situations where a vet discouraged you from trying to rescue a cat or dog (i.e. euthanasia)? About a year and a half ago, one Friday night, I found this stray black & white cat at my apartment complex and decided I would take her to the vet and find her a home or take her to a no kill shelter. She was such a sweet cat, very affectionate
but I could tell something was wrong by the way she ate the dry food I left out for her. She had a difficult time eating it, so on Saturday I bought her some can food which she seemed to do okay with. So, Monday afternoon I took her to the vet. Well, he estimated she was about 9 months old and she tested fine for feluk/fiv but then I told the vet about her having difficulty eating. So, he opened her mouth and we saw that she had no top teeth and very few bottom teeth. The bottom teeth that were left were cutting her upper gums raw. He felt around her head and jaw and discovered that her jaw had been broken a while ago and had already completely heeled, but it didn't heel properly. His prognosis was not good. He said that the bottom teeth would fall out eventually and that from moving her jaw around he could tell it caused her pain (even eating would cause her pain). Well, he suggested she be put down! The main reason he gave was the pain issue and the other he said would be finding her a home. He said it would be difficult finding a home for her because she would need special care for the rest of her life. I agreed to have her put down. I couldn't bear to think she would be in pain for the rest of her life. Oh how I cried
Since that day I have wondered if I made the right decision. I keep thinking maybe there is some kind of pain medication that she could have been put on or maybe if she could of had surgery done on her jaw, then she wouldn't be in pain and I then could find her the loving home she deserved. Could there have been other options that the vet kept from me and if so why would he have done that? She was such an affectionate little purr motor! I still fight with myself wondering if I did the right thing!