“Drop off euthanasia” is almost worse than hearing “We have a D.O.A.” A drop off euthanasia is a sad situation no doubt and I would never pass judgement on an owner that is unable find the strength to stay with their pet in their last moments. It is such a devastating time how can you blame them? Hopefully I know the patient and I can do all of the loving kisses, and goodbyes for Mom or Dad. I will not let them go alone. 🙂
“Drop off euthanasia” is almost worse than hearing “We have a D.O.A.” A drop off euthanasia is a sad situation no doubt and I would never pass judgement on an owner that is unable find the strength to stay with their pet in their last moments. It is such a devastating time how can you blame them? Hopefully I know the patient and I can do all of the loving kisses, and goodbyes for Mom or Dad. I will not let them go alone. 🙂
Then you have a horse, or should I say a cat “of a different color”. Young healthy cats that unfortunately and inadvertently destroy their owner’s home by means of inappropriate urination. A whole other can of worms. When an animal is visibly sick, suffering from cancer, or experiencing pain, euthanasia can be a welcome relief for both the owner and pet. When an otherwise completely healthy cat comes through your doors to be put to sleep for urinating or spraying where he shouldn’t, you immediately try to find an escape route for this animal. It’s not biting anyone, maiming the kids, spreading around the bubonic plague, it’s just not peeing in the right spot!
So what can we do to help? This is a tough thing because as a technician you are trained to save animals. I always find myself wondering if the owner tried “everything” before this ultimate, final decision. Was Valium tried or other anti-anxiety med? Did we perform a complete examination, blood work, urinalysis, etc.? Are there enough litter boxes in the house or are there too many cats? Can the cat be shipped to Florida and just live outdoors from now on? Florida’s nice right? Unfortunately this is usually a waste of time, effort, and emotions as the end result is usually the same. 🙁 This is wildly frustrating and yet there doesn’t seem to be very many solutions for these poor cats. Our clinic has seen our fair share of these cases, a lot of them are from shelters where these cats were either dumped by their fed up owners or were adopted and returned due to spraying, etc. Many times our clinic has “adopted” these unwanted guys and find that they do well and hit the litter box every time when in a more dedicated, confined space. However a shelter we are not and certainly can’t do this with every scenario. And so to the lock box we go, dragging our feet, hoping that the governor will call to no avail.
Has anyone had any luck in cats with a certain drug, treatment, special litter box, hormone therapy, something, anything? I would love for this to be something treatable and not a death sentence.
Comments
No answer yet, and as a
No answer yet, and as a behaviorist/trainer in my previous life, I’ll take a shot. I will not accept drop off euths. They are too hard on me. Clients are informed that a consult should be expected. We spend some time talking about what they’ve tried, where they’re at mentally, whether the cat can be rehomed, confined, retrained, etc.
As someone who has euthanized a cat for this exact reason, I certainly empathize.
My magic bullet is fluoxetine. 90% of these cats are anxious, most of the time secondary to either intrahousehold intraspecific interactions (other cats bullying or preventing access to litterbox) or anxiety related to new cats strolling by the windows etc. So, we start prozac, and I start it on the first visit, because by the time the owner brings the cat in, *usually* they are already on their last straw. I start at 0.5 mg/kg for a week then increase to 1 mg/kg for a few weeks. If no improvement, we go up from there to a max of 2 mg/kg. Sometimes one of the other ssris works better, but I rarely go with a benzodiazepine due to the short half life, risk of hepatic injury (valium) and common idiosyncratic agitation.
Combine that with the typical confinement and kitty litter bootcamp, and usually we are successful. Many many times, clients say, “I had no idea that (other cat) was such a bully but he won’t let (pee-er) into the litter box!”
Liz
No answer yet, and as a
No answer yet, and as a behaviorist/trainer in my previous life, I’ll take a shot. I will not accept drop off euths. They are too hard on me. Clients are informed that a consult should be expected. We spend some time talking about what they’ve tried, where they’re at mentally, whether the cat can be rehomed, confined, retrained, etc.
As someone who has euthanized a cat for this exact reason, I certainly empathize.
My magic bullet is fluoxetine. 90% of these cats are anxious, most of the time secondary to either intrahousehold intraspecific interactions (other cats bullying or preventing access to litterbox) or anxiety related to new cats strolling by the windows etc. So, we start prozac, and I start it on the first visit, because by the time the owner brings the cat in, *usually* they are already on their last straw. I start at 0.5 mg/kg for a week then increase to 1 mg/kg for a few weeks. If no improvement, we go up from there to a max of 2 mg/kg. Sometimes one of the other ssris works better, but I rarely go with a benzodiazepine due to the short half life, risk of hepatic injury (valium) and common idiosyncratic agitation.
Combine that with the typical confinement and kitty litter bootcamp, and usually we are successful. Many many times, clients say, “I had no idea that (other cat) was such a bully but he won’t let (pee-er) into the litter box!”
Liz
Drop off euths are quite
Drop off euths are quite terrible. The whole staff seems to be knocked off kilter and some owners have even refused us just taking the cat for rehoming purposes. I’ve had people want to see the body to make sure! Creepy. On a side note I appreciate the suggestion of Prozac right out of the gate, why not grab your bigger gun when it is a possible life or death situation. It is hard being a tech in a practice that does except these type of situations, but we don’t want the animal to possible suffer via the hands of the owner or turned loose on the streets to fend for themselves, especially declawed cats. It is such a fine line to tread. Thank you Liz.
Drop off euths are quite
Drop off euths are quite terrible. The whole staff seems to be knocked off kilter and some owners have even refused us just taking the cat for rehoming purposes. I’ve had people want to see the body to make sure! Creepy. On a side note I appreciate the suggestion of Prozac right out of the gate, why not grab your bigger gun when it is a possible life or death situation. It is hard being a tech in a practice that does except these type of situations, but we don’t want the animal to possible suffer via the hands of the owner or turned loose on the streets to fend for themselves, especially declawed cats. It is such a fine line to tread. Thank you Liz.