I'm so upset.

[farthing]

I was asked a while ago to call an old lady who was worried about her cat when she went into hospital, whether I would take him, short term or permenantly, and I said i would.
However whatever I said, she came up with a reason why he would not adapt- he was an elderly cat who had moved in as a stray.

I got a call from the vet yesterday asking if I would take him because she was talking about having him PTS, I said I had already told her I would take him.
I got into work today to find out he had been PTS, he was prefectly healthy but she thought he would stress in another home. I spent ages on the phone trying to persuade her he would settle and be well cared for, and thought I had won her round, but she told the vet I hadn't got back to her and even when they said again I would take him, she still decided he would be better off dead.

[angieh]

Oh poor cat, no wonder you are upset farthing. Some old people are not to be reasoned with. I can't begin to think why she acted like that.

[Mags]

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear this ...... that must be so upsetting for you Farthing:(

[Elaine]

OMG, that is so upsetting and distressing. I dont know what else to say.... So sorry and R.I.P. old fella xxx

[dandysmom]

That is awful! Poor boy, I cannot fathom how she could decide dead was better than a loving home!! I'd be upset too; but you did your best. RIP, little cat.

[alexgirl73]

At a loss for words farthing :( but you could have done no more xx

RIP little cat x

[yola]

That's very sad to read, poor cat. However this elderly lady must really have managed to persuade herself her that her cat would not be happy anywhere but with her. I'm sure it was not an easy decision for her to make.

A horrible situation all around :(

[Shelley123]

I'm so sorry to hear this, how absolutely awful.
You did your best and could do no more.

[sarah5]

OMG how awful :( I also can't believe a vet would put a healthy animal to sleep!! Sorry to hear about this, I would be so upset too x

[farthing]

Most vets will do this, not only because they should do what the owner requests, but it is also a welfare consideration. If they do not PTS an unwanted animal what happens to it- they take it to another vet, they dump it or they dispose of it in a less humane way!

My vets will always offer to rehome and give options but if the owner insists they will PTS.

I can't stop crying over it, don't need another cat, but he was a healthy animal and wasn't even given a chance.

[Elaine]

Sadly, what choice do they have.

[sarah5]

good grief call me naive but I had no idea :( how very sad

[Amber_Leigh1]

I'm so sorry to hear this! My personal view is it shouldn't be allowed if the animal is healthy even if it's what the owner wants - that decision should be made by the vet in assessing it's health - Big hugs to you xx :(

[EmmaG]

Sorry to hear this Farthing but you have done as much as you could have, try not to beat yourself up.

xxx hugs to you.. x

[Kim]

I can understand why you are so upset, I would be too. Poor cat, can't understand her reasoning at all, not sure how she can live with herself. RIP little cat. :(

[JBalways2000]

I'm so sorry to hear this! My personal view is it shouldn't be allowed if the animal is healthy even if it's what the owner wants - that decision should be made by the vet in assessing it's health - Big hugs to you xx :(

I completely agree. IMO if the kittie was healthy then it should not have been PTS-the vet should have contacted a rescue or even RSPCA to have the poor kittie taken off the woman. Im in utter shock that he was pts when you had repeatedly offered a home and your vets knew that :( poor little guy, can definately see why you are so upset :(

Sleep well little man xxx

[farthing]

Legally there is nothing the vets can do if the owner won't sign the animal over- I'm pretty sure unless the police are involved in a cruelty case the RSPCA/SSPCA cannot even remove an animal without an owner's consent.
I do not blame the vet, they did all they could to persuade her to rehome- but if they had removed him it would have been theft!:(

I have already been it that situation with 2 rabbits.:shock:

[Elaine]

I'm so sorry to hear this! My personal view is it shouldn't be allowed if the animal is healthy even if it's what the owner wants - that decision should be made by the vet in assessing it's health - Big hugs to you xx :(

I completely agree. IMO if the kittie was healthy then it should not have been PTS-the vet should have contacted a rescue or even RSPCA to have the poor kittie taken off the woman. Im in utter shock that he was pts when you had repeatedly offered a home and your vets knew that :( poor little guy, can definately see why you are so upset :(

Sleep well little man xxx

In an ideal world, I would agree but we all know just how over stretched rescues are and how hard it can be to rehome an older cat. It is very sad and I cannt think why the old woman wouldnt have wanted to rehome the cat instead of pts. Maybe she felt that no one would care and love the cat as much or as well as she has done and would rather pts than risk her cat being shunted from home to home. Who knows...

Legally there is nothing the vets can do if the owner won't sign the animal over- I'm pretty sure unless the police are involved in a cruelty case the RSPCA/SSPCA cannot even remove an animal without an owner's consent.
I do not blame the vet, they did all they could to persuade her to rehome- but if they had removed him it would have been theft!:(

I have already been it that situation with 2 rabbits.:shock:

I think you are right there.

[JBalways2000]

Its a real shame that vets dont have more power when it comes to this sort of thing, i would hate to be put in that situation as a vet of someone asking me to euthanise their animal for no other reason then because they dont want it anymore:( this is such a sad story, i do wish the world were different.

[Elaine]

It wasnt as simple as the woman not wanting the cat any more, she was going into hospital. Sadly, Louise wasnt able to convince her that the cat would settle with her and for what ever reason the woman thought it best to have the cat pts.
I dont agree with the womans decision but it was her's to make.

[farthing]

I suppose we must remember this doesn't happen often if the animal is given an option- this is how we ended up with- Deli (dog), Cirrus ( horse), Pippin (horse), the Kintore 5 ( sheep) Misty, Spice, Candy, and Sooty ( cats). Sooty was in a very simliar situation, except that the family of his owner knew of us and persuaded then to let him come here rather than PTS.

[dandysmom]

Bless you for what you do; you've saved so many. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be this time.

[lisa01uk87]

poor cat R.I.P little one