He was walking in circles and behaving oddly, so my mom took him to the pet hospital. No issues, seemed fine so she went on a trip. Then I noticed he seemed dopey, and it got worse as time went on. He wasn’t eating, seemed sluggish, so I took him to the vet a few days later. They said he seemed fine too, but he kept getting worse. Yesterday mom came home and we took him back to the hospital, and decided with the vet’s advice to have him put to sleep today. My poor dopey boy who somehow managed to climb into bed with me last night. I genuinely think it was my fault, because they said his blood sugar was very high, and I kept giving him his insulin at mealtimes even when he didn’t eat. I should have known better, because I’m diabetic too, and though I don’t need shots I know the general idea.
Saying goodbye to a beloved animal is so difficult. They are family, do not make this harder on yourself. Take comfort in the fact that you gave your cat a loving home, and you received love in return. There is no pain or discomfort now for your cat. It’s hardest on the living, don’t make it harder. My thoughts are with you.
If the vet kept telling you he was fine and he wasn’t, I think any blame would seem to rest on the vet.
And if you’d accidentally given him insulin when he didn’t need it, wouldn’t that have made his blood sugar too low, not too high?
It reads to me that you did the best you could. There is no way to make them immortal. I’m very sorry for your loss; and glad he got that last night in your bed.
It’s so easy to feel guilty. We put a beloved cat to sleep in January, and I’m still second-guessing the decision even though, by all objective standards, it was the best one for him. The vet said so, we watched our cat declining, and we finally made the choice to give him his rest rather than to make him continue to suffer because we needed to keep him around.
You loved your kitty, you did the best you could, and everything you did was out of love for him. He loved you, and I’m sure his end was peaceful. Please don’t tear yourself up about it. Remember the good times with him, and remember that you gave him the last, and hardest, gift pet parents have to give.
I feel this. We put 2 dogs to sleep. I often wonder if I waited too long on the first (I was the hold out in the family), and if, perhaps we should have given the second some more time. It’s never an easy choice,
I feel guilty about the decision to put my own cat down in 2020. The circumstances were very messy. I had just given birth three days prior, and I couldn’t be there to say goodbye.
After so much suffering over it, I’m wondering if guilt is just part of the deal. I miss him so much, and I’m sorry you’re struggling with this. I don’t know what to say except even if you made some kind of error (and I doubt you did), but even if – you’re allowed to be imperfect. You’re joining a very large group of people who also had beloved pets and also wonder if we did all we could. And that’s how you know you really loved him. If you didn’t really love him, you wouldn’t be second-guessing yourself.
Several years ago one of my cats was diagnosed with diabetes, and I had to give him insulin shots twice a day. I was able to do this when he was being fed - he had no problem with me pulling up the skin at the back of his neck while he was eating and sticking him.
Until one day he didn’t. I would put his food bowl down but as soon as I came over with the needle he would run off. Usually I was able to pin him down later in the day to give him his shot, but it threw off his schedule. This went on for a few weeks, and then he suddenly decided he was okay with me sticking him at mealtime.
He was obviously getting better - putting on weight and coming into bed with me. Then, a few days before I was going on a trip he stopped eating entirely. I had already made arrangements to board him at the vet’s while I was gone, so when I brought him in I told them of this. The day after I had arrived at my destination the vet called and told me that kidney failure had set in, and considering his age there was nothing to be done. I authorized the necessary. Not being able to be with Mischief in his last moments was heartbreaking, but I was with friends which helped.
Out of my last two dogs, one I definitely waited too long (sorry Buster) and on the next, maybe he should’ve had another month (sorry Hank). Both happened in deep of winter with a lot of snow. It all makes me cry thinking about (I’m doing that right now). I’m sorry @Love_Rhombus . You made the right choice. Hugs.,
Everybody feels guilty about putting a pet down. We usually wait too long. Cat’s are notorious for not showing how bad off they are.
My guilt was seeing one of my cats put down. He was in bad shape and needed to be put down. The Vet assured me the first drug would put him to sleep and the second would stop his heart. When he got the second shot he woke up (probably from the adrenaline of his heart stopping) and looked right at me, the person he trusted. I know I did the right thing and it only took about a second but I still feel I let her down.
It sounds like you did the right thing. Taking care of a diabetic cat takes a special kind of person and your cat did well by you.
