Re: death process

[Wheezercat42]

would you recommend (assuming it's even possible logistically) euthanasia when the death howl is heard? I note that you say it may or may not indicate pain or anxiety, so I would think it better not to take the chance on having them suffer for 2 hours (which is after all, an eternity when pain is involved).   Absolutely - for exactly the reason you gave.  If it is from pain or anxiety, it would be worse for them to be made to stay.   Is there anything we can have on hand to make the transition easier?   Generally, we give humans that are near death liquid pain killers and liquid anti-anxiety meds - and sometimes diuretics if their breathing sounds wet.  Humans get roxanol (morphine sulfate), ativan (for anxiety) and levisin (or lasix - for congestion).  I'm not sure what the feline counterparts would be.  The main thing is to be with them - let them know you love them, you'll miss them, but it's okay to go when they're ready.  Even if they don't understand the words, they will understand the tone and the "feel" of what you're saying.  Also, be ready to take them to be euthanized if they seem to be in pain or really hating life now.  There's no point in allowing suffering just for a natural death.  I can't tell you how many times I've watched people go through a difficult natural death and wished that euthanasia was an option for them.    I've had a couple of my kids pass that I had major regrets about what I did for and with them before the end.  Now, when one starts to get bad, I start inventorying everything they liked to do that was special - lay in the sun on the bed, sit in the grass in the sun, play with a special toy, eat special food.  Legolas loved people food, and KFC in particular - he ate best if I shared a meal with him and when I tore up some chicken for him, he'd come up, watch what I was doing for a minute or two, come up to me and put his front legs around my neck and rub his face and forehead all over my face for a minute, then he'd go back to the lid of the take hope plate that I was using for his plate, and he'd chow down.  On Leggy's last day, KFC wasn't an option, but some honey ham lunch meat was (the next best thing to KFC).  He ate 1/2 a slice for me, then we snuggled in a sunny spot on the bed, and when the sun moved, and there was nothing more I could think of to do for him that was special (snuggling was his very favorite thing), I took him to be euthanized.  I would've loved to do what Michelle's doing for Simon - but I work 12 hour shifts, have to get there 15 minutes early, rarely leave exactly on time, and I have anywhere from a few minutes to 1 1/2 hours to drive one way to get where I'm going for the night.  Since I don't live with other humans, and I have to keep the bills paid, taking off work was not an option, and I wasn't going to leave and have him pass while I was with a stranger, or risk his having a difficult passing while I was gone and unable to help him through it.   I'm not against syringe feeding - I've done it for very sick cats - and other animals - too.  Some of them the vet didn't hold out much hope for, but they made a complete recovery.  But when someone's dying - regardless of species - force feeding can be cruel.  Especially if they're fighting it and they have other indicators that they are dying - like Carmel did.  That's why I say to offer food and let them decide.  When someone's dying, they deserve the right to refuse anything they want and have that choice/wish respected.  The hardest part of preparing for someone's death is wading through your own denial that it's happening.  Had I been better at that after Mom's stroke, I would've spent a LOT more time at the hospital with her than I did.  I saw her almost everyday - but generally it was for less than 30 minutes at a time.   Kathy "Every time you meet a situation, though you think at the time it is an impossibility and you go through the tortures of the damned, once you have met it and lived through it, you find that forever after you are freer than you were before." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt