Is it time to put my cat to sleep?

by Tiffany

My 16 year old cat has not been well for well about 2 years. About a year ago, she had thyroid surgery and did well after. She gained weight, stopped vomiting all the time, stopped crying all the time, and stopped peeing outside the litter box. For the past few months, she's been going downhill again. It's been gradual, but I've really noticed it lately. She barely eats, has lost a lot of weight (she is very boney when I pick her up). Her fur is spiky and seems dirty. Now she is hiding all the time and not using the litter box. It really seems like it's time to let her go because, to be honest, it seems to me that any treatment will just be prolonging the inevitable without adding much quality of life. The vet even said that it gets to a point when it becomes reasonable to say good bye even though she could be kept alive. It's the whole quality vs. quantity dilemma and I don't know what to do. Help!

Answer by Kate
Hi well I can answer this question from personal experience. The exact same thing happened to my cat, she was fine after surgery but about year later started to loose weight again. We went back to the vets who said that this was not unusual as the other thyroid often starts to pack up about year after. He put her back on medication as she was fine in all other ways, she was 17.
Now she would have been fine on the medication but unfortunately we had left it too long before we had visited he vet for the second occasion and she had lost so much weight that she had become weak and not able to jump so well (we did not know this a the time as she was fine in every other way) Anyway she fell and broke her leg and it was so bad that she had to be put to sleep.

What I am saying is that if she has not lost too much weight then putting her medication would help to prolong her life and she should be able to lead a normal life. However if her overall condition has gone too far then yes it would be kinder to let her go now.

I know how you must be feeling and it is never an easy decision but at the end of the day only you can make the final decision based on as you say what her quality of life is and would be even if the medication worked and she put weight back on.

Your vet should be able to help you with this decision,

thinking of you at this difficult time
best wishes Kate

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