Sedation for euthanasia?

Dr. Marie replied:

First of all, I'm so sorry to hear about Sammy. I had a very similar case as my first appointment today. It was an elderly kitty with a chest cancer and he was really having serious breathing issues. Today was the day for euthanasia and it was quite sad.

I'm surprised that none of the vets in your area do sedation or place an IV catheter before euthanasia. In our practice that is pretty much standard. I am guessing that the main concern with not sedating Sammy is that, sometimes, when a cat has respiratory problems, when we give the sedation, it can cause a cat to have even more breathing problems. When I had my case this morning, I instructed my technicians to give half of the regular dose of sedation because I was worried that the cat would not handle it well. I have to tell you that even with that half dose, he had some respiratory distress. It's a tough call in cases like this because if I did not give sedation it may have been difficult for me to hit his vein. (After he was sedated we put a catheter in place.)

It's important to know, though, that every vet has their own procedure when it comes to euthanasia. In every case, the ultimate goal is to make the procedure happen as smoothly as possible, with the least amount of discomfort to the animal. If your local veterinarian does not routinely use sedation or an IV catheter, the reason may be that they have a routine that works better for them. Often, for cats, it can be easier to give an IV injection by using the vein on the inside of the back leg. It is often easier to inject directly into this vein than putting a catheter in.

I would really advise against letting Sammy die at home. We all hope that our animals will quietly pass away in their sleep and unfortunately that is not usually what happens, especially if there is a lung issue. From experience with dealing with clients who have waited to have their animals die at home, the final experience can sometimes be awful. If a cat is in respiratory distress, then this can end up causing severe panic for both the cat and its owners. It would horrible for it to be 3 a.m. and for you guys to discover that Sammy is struggling to breathe. A sudden trip to the emergency clinic in this state would be awful.

I understand your fear that things won't go well at the vet clinic. Remember though that your vet does many euthanasias a week and really should be able to make things go smoothly.

I'm so sorry that you and your family are going through this tough decision, but it does sound like the time is coming soon.

I hope everything goes ok.

Dr. Marie.


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