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I'm sorry for your loss. My cats are getting older and every once in a while I get pangs of anxiety about how the heck I'll be able to handle it when they pass,

I'm sorry for your loss. My cats are getting older and every once in a while I get pangs of anxiety about how the heck I'll be able to handle it when they pass, whether they'll be in pain, how I can make it better, etc. I find it difficult to even imagine being able to move on from it. I also wonder about whether putting a pet to sleep is really as painless as everyone claims or if they just say that to make the owners feel better, and try to prepare for the practicalities of it to make the process as comfortable as possible for them when it comes to that.

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theck01 5y ago
I don’t know how painless it actually is, but putting an animal to sleep is a quick and dignified death compared to what I have seen happen to most people. If I could choose I’d like to have something similar happen to me some day. You go in the span of a few minutes surrounded by the ones who love you most. Nevertheless it is still very hard to say goodbye. I hope you still have lots more time with your cats.
wholinator2 5y ago
I'm no expert but I'd imagine it's similar to getting put under for surgery, the drugs are similar at least, and the most painful part of that is the needle. Once the IV is in, there's no pain, just a slow and warm dark moving over everything. I watched my mom slowly lose all faculty as she was reduced to a muttering, unintelligible, bed ridden shell. Over the course of a month she lost the ability to move all of her limbs except her left hand. She quite abruptly began having trouble finding and forming the right words and I never got to have the final conversations I wanted to, I was going to interview her about her life but one day I came back and it was already too late. She lied in that bed for weeks, stuck in the now permanent reality that she was going to die, slowly, as everything was ripped away from her one by one. The cancer took over the rest of her body. Nobody knew it was going to happen, we all thought she'd come home and be okay but she never walked again. It was distressing in a way I cannot communicate. She deserved the warm dark, and it had been far too long by the time it finally came for her. One needle prick is nothing compared to the potential suffering at the end of life afforded by our current medical advancements.
possiblydrunk 5y ago
It appears painless - I'm convinced it was. But life is precious and death is irrevocable. Either way is hard and terribly sad.

deleted 5y ago

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theck01 5y ago

I don’t know how painless it actually is, but putting an animal to sleep is a quick and dignified death compared to what I have seen happen to most people. If I could choose I’d like to have something similar happen to me some day. You go in the span of a few minutes surrounded by the ones who love you most. Nevertheless it is still very hard to say goodbye. I hope you still have lots more time with your cats.

wholinator2 5y ago

I'm no expert but I'd imagine it's similar to getting put under for surgery, the drugs are similar at least, and the most painful part of that is the needle. Once the IV is in, there's no pain, just a slow and warm dark moving over everything. I watched my mom slowly lose all faculty as she was reduced to a muttering, unintelligible, bed ridden shell. Over the course of a month she lost the ability to move all of her limbs except her left hand. She quite abruptly began having trouble finding and forming the right words and I never got to have the final conversations I wanted to, I was going to interview her about her life but one day I came back and it was already too late. She lied in that bed for weeks, stuck in the now permanent reality that she was going to die, slowly, as everything was ripped away from her one by one. The cancer took over the rest of her body. Nobody knew it was going to happen, we all thought she'd come home and be okay but she never walked again. It was distressing in a way I cannot communicate. She deserved the warm dark, and it had been far too long by the time it finally came for her. One needle prick is nothing compared to the potential suffering at the end of life afforded by our current medical advancements.

possiblydrunk 5y ago

It appears painless - I'm convinced it was. But life is precious and death is irrevocable. Either way is hard and terribly sad.