Thoughts on At Home Verus Office Euthanasia

reba

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I hade this posted on someone’s rainbow thread and realized it was inappropriate - those are for support and condolences.

But I put my beloved cat to sleep today and was over here in the crossing thread. I came across a euth at home gone wrong story and it triggered what happened to my my friend. Circumstances dictated that mine was done at the vets office, which turned out to be a blessing and I think I would do it that way again. Anyway here’s what I had posted:

I have to tell you all about a friends experience with at-home euthanasia. Probably is worth it’s own thread and/or we should start collecting these at-home-euthanasia gone wrong stories. Vet shows up alone, she gets him sedated, but somehow doesn’t get the needle into his vein properly. So they all sit there for 45 minutes and they cat’s heart won’t stop beating. As you an imagine, this is tortuous for my friend, who is watching her cat twitch and now has the hell of thinking his end was painful. Oh and he flinched when they put the sedative in so she worries about that burning. As far as I know there are no standard protocols for AH Euthanasia, no certifications or exploration as to why it is a different skill set.

So revisit some of these stories before you immediately reject an office visit for euthanasia. Below is my experience at the office:

I had my cat put to sleep at the vets this morning. First they took him for a minute or two and put a catheter in his arm. Then they brought him back to a an examining room that was solely for that purpose, couch, low light, etc., asked me how much time I wanted and then left me to hold him and talk to him. Then they came back and they had put a long tube onto the catheter so I could hold him while the vet stood a few feet away administering the drugs. It was peaceful and he died in my arms. It wasn’t home, but he was comfortable and safe on my lap as he could be.
 

susanm9006

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I have had to have several cat euthanized at the vet office and with my last senior girl I chose To have it done at home. The experience was very positive and supportive. The vet gave me all the time I needed to say goodbye. We have discussed the at home experience at length on the Next Door site in my area and all the stories were equally positive.
 
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reba

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I have no doubt. I’m not against it at all. Just food for thought that be vigilant about finding someone experienced. It just wasn’t as clinical as I thought in the office. They didn’t have put-to-sleep rooms when I was young.

Money isn’t an issue for me, but the cost with the cremation from the at-home vet was $590 versus $178 at the vets.
 

Maria Bayote

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If in case it happens, I would also opt to do it at home.
Gosh, just thinking of this makes me cry. :(
 

di and bob

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I opted for the vet's office, and the reason I had was that although it was surely more stressful, it also is where the experience could be done with minimum struggling and panic. When my cats are home they struggle and panic way too much,
 

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First of all I'm so sorry for your loss; it's good to read that you got to spend one last peaceful moment with your cat ❤
Was the story you mention posted in my thread? If so, don't worry. Other people have brought up some not-so-nice experiences and it brings some relief to know I am not alone.
It's not a bad idea to discuss experiences, but I'm not sure if this related to the euthanasia being done at home or at the clinic. After that moment, I started researching everywhere bc I wanted to understand why this could have happened, and I came across this page: https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/care/pet-euthanasia-gone-wrong
The article only mentions 2 cases, but there are hundreds of comments of people describing euthanasia procedures gone wrong, many of them at a clinic. It's awful, some experiences are much worse than what I went through. 45 minutes is an awful long time, I'm really sorry for your friend and I really hope her cat wasn't in pain. I believe that in my cat's case, it lasted about 10 minutes, but of course it could have been longer if he kept trying to find a good vein instead of doing the intra-cardiac injection.
As much as I hated the whole situation, I have to say that this vet was always there for my cat and also provided a lot of emotional support, even hugging me as I sobbed non stop. He answered all of my messages no matter the time or day of the week, I believe he really loves his profession and cares about his patients. It's unfortunate that the transition wasn't the peaceful moment I hoped it would be, but going to a random vet on a Sunday morning wouldn't have guaranteed a different outcome.
This was my first experience with euthanasia (of any kind) and even though I don't want to think about it, I would probably choose it again if I need to. My other cat gets extreme anxiety when in unfamiliar environments. However, I will probably look for another vet for that - people from the funerary home were also really supportive and when I told them about the ordeal, they said that the vet probably administered a very high dose of the sedative, which lowered her BP. They said that they work with a vet who is an anesthesiologist so he is very used to dealing with veins, catheters, etc., so I'll probably ask for his contact number next time. Again, I really hope I won't have to euthanize another cat soon but for every bad experience, there are thousands of people who are glad that they chose to do it at home. I guess it comes down to what's most comfortable for your companion :)
 

Meowmee

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I hade this posted on someone’s rainbow thread and realized it was inappropriate - those are for support and condolences.

But I put my beloved cat to sleep today and was over here in the crossing thread. I came across a euth at home gone wrong story and it triggered what happened to my my friend. Circumstances dictated that mine was done at the vets office, which turned out to be a blessing and I think I would do it that way again. Anyway here’s what I had posted:

I have to tell you all about a friends experience with at-home euthanasia. Probably is worth it’s own thread and/or we should start collecting these at-home-euthanasia gone wrong stories. Vet shows up alone, she gets him sedated, but somehow doesn’t get the needle into his vein properly. So they all sit there for 45 minutes and they cat’s heart won’t stop beating. As you an imagine, this is tortuous for my friend, who is watching her cat twitch and now has the hell of thinking his end was painful. Oh and he flinched when they put the sedative in so she worries about that burning. As far as I know there are no standard protocols for AH Euthanasia, no certifications or exploration as to why it is a different skill set.

So revisit some of these stories before you immediately reject an office visit for euthanasia. Below is my experience at the office:

I had my cat put to sleep at the vets this morning. First they took him for a minute or two and put a catheter in his arm. Then they brought him back to a an examining room that was solely for that purpose, couch, low light, etc., asked me how much time I wanted and then left me to hold him and talk to him. Then they came back and they had put a long tube onto the catheter so I could hold him while the vet stood a few feet away administering the drugs. It was peaceful and he died in my arms. It wasn’t home, but he was comfortable and safe on my lap as he could be.
That sounds great. My various dvm do not have a special room and only one let me hold kitty. That was at an er dvm where they used to have internist treatments. Syb was there also after she went in on emergency. They let us spend time with her but it felt rushed. It was peaceful though. She stood up a bit with the sedation and looked like she was walking/ running to the bridge etc. No distress.

I have never done it at home. The few who do are never really available at odd hours and it can happen emergently frequently. I also read a review of a former dvm who I know to be a liar now which said dvm arrived at the house and spent 2 hours trying to convince them not to euthanize and to do more expensive treatments for doggie who had an ongoing severe chronic condition with bad life quality which was going to end life. But dvm did eventually euthanize after causing unneeded stress.
 
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reba

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I put my 8 y.o. ”kitten” (I bottle fed him from one day old) to sleep in July at the emergency vets. He had had PU surgery just over a year before and had blocked 3 times before that. After the surgery he still was getting UTI’s regularly. When he was young he had horrible IBD, which I seemed to get under control though. He also had a bad fall that destroyed his knees. And he was angry a lot, which I think was because he didn’t feel well from a very young age. So anyway, I felt him start to go downhill again to the point where you couldn’t get near him without him swatting and spitting and I thought he was blocked again. I took him to the e-vet (and any time he goes there they can’t get near him without sedation). They examined him and were able to pass a catheter, but at that point he couldn’t go a month without some serious problem and the vet put some pressure on me “we’re talking euthanasia”. He’d spent at least a week every year (over 2 weeks for the PU surgery) hospitalized. But the vet couldn’t see that, not to mention that every time they pass that catheter means more scar tissue. I was willing to put him through the PU surgery if it was largely successful, but it seemed the window between him not feeling well was getting shorter and shorter. The decision to put him to sleep was much more difficult than the one I made last Monday, where there was no choice because half his jaw had been eaten away by oral cancer. Another vet tried to talk me out of the PU surgery because she thought the outcomes didn’t support it. I was hoping it would extend his life by 3-4 years and decided it was worth the risk. But it was not to be.
 

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I have always had it done at the vet's office. This last time when I called for the appointment, they did tell me that they had a vet they could recommend for it to be done at home. The vet that I go to has a room just for this and I have been fortunate in that they have gone as they were supposed to. It's a personal decision. I think for me when I make the decision that it is time I want it done quickly. I switch to the mode of thinking that my companion is suffering, I need it to end as soon as possible. I can get it done at the vet's office much quicker.
 

Tik cat's mum

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I've always gone to the vets office with both dog's and cat's, and have been lucky that mine went peacefully. But for one of the boy's I have now I would consider getting the vet to my home, just because of how worked up he gets at the vets. I suppose it would depend on if it was a emergency or not.
 
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