This is the most difficult question we are asked. The answer varies depending on the pet and the disease. Because our pets cannot clearly express to us their level of pain, it can sometimes be difficult to know when to help them move on. This decision is very individual, and best determined by you and your family. Sometimes, they need relief more than we may realize. When we choose euthanasia, we do so because our pet’s poor quality of life cannot be overlooked any longer or even before obvious suffering begins. The following is a list of changes you may notice in your companion at home:

• Dramatic changes in appetite or drinking
• Loss of interest in activities that once brought joy to them
• Confusion, mental distress, increased vocalization, depression, aggression
• Unable to stand on their own, falling down stairs, collapse
• Becoming urinary and/or fecal incontinent (accidents in the house), or the inability to go to the bathroom without falling down
• Having fewer “good” days
• No longer greeting you at the door
• Lack of grooming (cats and some dogs)
• Isolating themselves in the home or the back yard
• Chronic or acute pain – animals rarely cry out in pain, rather, they shift their weight, pant more, appear unsettled, lick joints, and more.
• Breathing becoming more of an effort

Your regular veterinarian and the doctors at Senior Paws are available to help answer any questions you may have regarding your pet’s condition. Consultations can be done either over the phone or in your home. Here are a couple of links you can click on that will help you assess pain in your companion. They are pain-scoring scales to help you determine the level of pain your pet may be experiencing. A common saying in veterinary medicine is “I would rather help my friend a month too early versus an hour too late.”

Feline Pain Canine Pain

The articles found online at the Veterinary Wisdom® Resource Center: Kids and Grief help you teach your children how to express grief in emotionally healthy ways.