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That's a tough one, and I don't know that I have an answer that would be satisfactory. In the past when I have had indoor-outdoor cats, I have had older cats wander off by themselves to die, but I don't know what their last moments were like, and it saddened me to know that they were alone somewhere, perhaps scared and in pain. Yes, they often choose that but in their younger years, we haven't always allowed our cats to make their own choices, so I don't know.
I lost a 23 year-old cat to cancer a few years ago. She had cancer in the mouth and, given her age and the type of cancer, it wasn't operable. At first, she was having some difficulty eating. Feeding her only wet food, she gained weight and a few months of relatively good health except, of course, for the cancer. Then she had trouble eating even canned food, and could no longer clean herself. I started feeding her baby food, but then I realized that I was keeping her alive for me, not her.
I made an appointment for her at the veterinarians. She too, wasn't fond of the veterinary office, particularly the dogs that were in the waiting room. I remained in the car with her while my wife went in to see if they could send someone out to get us when they were prepared to euthanize her, so that she didn't have to sit in the waiting room. The vet came out to the car and euthanized her while she was in my arms. It was so quick, and so easy, that I knew that it was the right thing to do. I asked how long it would take, and she told me that she was already gone.
Her last two kittens are with me now. They are twenty-four and, while one of them is remarkably healthy, except for some arthritis, her sister is very thin, and I am afraid she won't be with us long. At this point, she still plays, and even picks on a one year-old who we have here, but she doesn't put on a lot of weight. She used to enjoy being outdoors but it's been a very cold winter here, so they've been in for months now. On nicer days, I carry her out sometimes at night, so that she can listen to the night sounds.
I'm thinking that if she's not in pain, and doesn't appear to be suffering, a natural death at home might be a good thing, but I don't know.
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