# My cat broke her leg, I had her euthanized, and I feel like shit **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 24, 2026, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-broke-her-leg-i-had-her-euthanized-and-i-feel-like-shit/1034124 "2026-10-24T14:56:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-broke-her-leg-i-had-her-euthanized-and-i-feel-like-shit/1034124/21 "2026-10-25T08:43:18Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > She trusted me. And I didn’t fight for her The long and short of it is: she trusted you, and you came through for her. Though the cost to yourself was an enormous grief, you gave her what she needed: an end to pain. It will be a long time before you can look at it like that, I know. We put our beloved dog (also named Lucy) to sleep in June, and I’m blinking back tears as I type. I know you did right by your cat. She wouldn’t have had any decent quality of life, and probably had pain she was hiding, right up until the shots took effect. Losing a loved one is awful. Facing it all of a sudden and feeling a loss of control is overwhelming. But you did what you had to for your Lucy’s sake. Hang onto that fact. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-broke-her-leg-i-had-her-euthanized-and-i-feel-like-shit/1034124/22 "2026-10-25T11:13:49Z")
Sometimes the best thing we can do for them is the one thing that tears us apart. She had a good life! Given enough time and surgeries time her body would have healed, but there was no way you could explain to her that she couldn’t be free to do as she pleased anymore. If I remember rightly, she wanted no part of being a housecat. Forcing her to spend the rest of her life longing to be out and about would have been far worse than a quick and caring end. I’ve had a LOT of animals in my life, and been the decisionmaker for their deaths for most of them. It shreds me every time. I know it’s best for them (and frankly I wish people had the same “easy” option), but it never, ever doesn’t suck. You did what you needed to do for her. She knows she was loved and that’s all that really matters. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-broke-her-leg-i-had-her-euthanized-and-i-feel-like-shit/1034124/23 "2026-10-25T12:15:23Z")
I thank you all for your kind words. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-broke-her-leg-i-had-her-euthanized-and-i-feel-like-shit/1034124/24 "2026-10-25T13:12:30Z")
Even when doing the right thing really, really sucks…it’s still the right thing to do. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-broke-her-leg-i-had-her-euthanized-and-i-feel-like-shit/1034124/25 "2026-10-25T13:28:05Z")
Lucy’s middle name was _Fur_ I always thought _Lucy Fur_ was a perfect name for a rambunctious cat. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-broke-her-leg-i-had-her-euthanized-and-i-feel-like-shit/1034124/26 "2026-10-25T14:12:33Z")
Nice. Was she black, too? ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-broke-her-leg-i-had-her-euthanized-and-i-feel-like-shit/1034124/27 "2026-10-25T14:17:12Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > Was she black, too? Nope. [![](https://i.ibb.co/ycRVVN0g/IMG-2119.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/ycRVVN0g/IMG-2119.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-broke-her-leg-i-had-her-euthanized-and-i-feel-like-shit/1034124/28 "2026-10-25T14:19:44Z")
What a pretty girl! She obviously knew she was home, safe and loved. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-broke-her-leg-i-had-her-euthanized-and-i-feel-like-shit/1034124/29 "2026-10-25T14:26:48Z")
Indeed. Very comfortable cat. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-broke-her-leg-i-had-her-euthanized-and-i-feel-like-shit/1034124/30 "2026-10-25T15:39:06Z")
Rough day. We had to send both our dogs to the big sleep around this time a couple years ago. One for useless knees, the other for end stage ears. Messed up the household energy for a while. I hate euthanizing pets, but if you’re a good pet parent that’s how they usually make their exit. Between a controlled painless nap, and any of the diseases, processes, and injuries that normally take the life out of living things, I know which I’d prefer for my animals. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2026, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-broke-her-leg-i-had-her-euthanized-and-i-feel-like-shit/1034124/31 "2026-10-25T23:30:34Z")
I could type a whole essay but this is way better, [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-broke-her-leg-i-had-her-euthanized-and-i-feel-like-shit/1034124.md?page=1)