Euthanasia debate: Vets helping pet owners decide when their cat’s nine lives are up – Manawatu Standard

KAROLINE TUCKEY

Last updated05:00, July 16 2017

Warwick Smith/Stuff

Jeanette Parsons veterinarian with Totally Vets, Feilding talks about cat health and euthanasia.

Deciding when to send Fluffy to the hereafter is not a pleasant prospect, but many Kiwis drag their heels too long when it comes to euthanasing their elderly cats.

Massey University's Kat Littlewood is studying how her fellow vets can offer better guidance, sayingmany owners put off the decision and regret it later.

"It's such an emotional time, they can see their animal going downhill and they just don't want to make that decision.With animals we can make that decision."

KAROLINE TUCKEY/STUFF

Massey University veterinary researcher Kat Littlewood with her own cat Malibu. She hopes to provide better guidance to vets helping cat owners decide when to euthanise their pet.

The questions are similar to those forMPs debating Act leader David Seymour'sEnd of Life Choice Bill.

READ MORE: *He's NZ's top cat * Euthanasia: How is it done *A friendly cat leads two separate lives

Is medical technology prolonging life beyond natural life expectancy? And at what point does a life become so painful and miserable doctors should be allowed to end it?

WARWICK SMITH/STUFF

Veterinarian Jeanette Parsons, of Totally Vets in Feilding, with Sam the cat.

Lisa Poulson, of Feilding, took her cat Sam for a senior cat vet exam on Friday. Sam passed muster, but she saidthere is some trepidation as he gets older.

"He was sick a few years ago, and the vet said if we have to come in again for that treatment then we'd really have to think about euthanasia.

"They are not human, but they are such a huge part of your life."

WARWICK SMITH/STUFF

Cat owner Lisa Poulson with Sam, the family cat.

Palmerston North vet Malcolm Andersonsaidmakinglife and death decisionsfor a pet wasnot something any owner wasprepared for.

"I had to say goodbye to my cat recently, and it was still pretty hard."

His catMillielived to 17 years, and still hadquality of life, but on balance he felt the decision had to be made.

"You're ending your pet's life, but you're still helping them. People think they are terminating a life, so you have to help them with that too."

"Euthanasiadoesn't have to be scary. They just gently go to sleep".

Chief SPCA scientific officer DrArnjaDalesaid if an elderly cat was suffering unnecessarily and veterinary advice was not followed, including for euthanasia, it could be an offence under the Animal Welfare Act.

Feilding senior vet Martin Aldridgesaid most owners wanted the best for their pets, but the number bringing elderly cats in for regular check-ups was"relatively low".

"Sometimes there's a lack of knowledge. Some people are quite proud their pet's never been to the vet, or they feel we're going to push them towards euthanasia when there's a lot more we can do.

"A lot of people feel guilty about ending the life of an animal, and that's part of what we do we offer advice and talk people through it."

Littlewood agrees owners want to feel they've tried their best, and can vieweuthanasia as betrayingtheir pet.

But pain is particularly hard to spot in cats, and owners often miss signs a cat's quality of life is going downhill.

"Asa vet I found it was really hard to advise owners about the right time, and other vets I spoke to find it difficult."

For her study,Littlewoodhopes tointerview ownerswhohad an elderly cateuthanisedin the past six months to ask about the vets role in their decision making.

Where there is no strong conclusionthe animal is suffering, it is no longer consideredgood practiceto authoritatively tell owners when to put a pet down, she said.

Kiwi vets now try to offer information and advice so owners canmake an informed decision.

International score systems are used tomeasure a cat's quality of life. These take into account physical indications such as whether a pet is eating and drinking well, pain and mobility, but don't consider wider factors, she said.

"I think a vet'srole is to look at the animal itself, but if we know the reason why an owner might be reluctantwe can help them realise or look more at the animal.

-Sunday Star Times

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Euthanasia debate: Vets helping pet owners decide when their cat's nine lives are up - Manawatu Standard