Some friends of mine have a cat who is very ill. The cat first started having health issues around her first birthday, prompting several visits to the vet and emergency vet to get things stabilized. Daily medication managed the condition for a while… but the balance is starting to shift.
These friends of mine have done everything in their power to figure out what’s causing the illness and find a way to treat it. They’ve been to the vet many times, had to learn how to give subcutaneous fluids, and more. They really love this cat, and want her to have the best life possible. (It breaks my heart to compare that to some pet owners I’ve met who — at the first sign that they’ll have to do something “uncomfortable” like give insulin — choose to surrender or euthanize their pets rather than deal with chronic health issues.)
Friend D. and I were talking the other day about balance — basically, are the good days still outnumbering the bad days? Or is the balance starting to go the other way? When the scales tip too far onto the bad side, it’s time for some hard decisions.
Even before the signs are too big to ignore, we think about it. My dog Moose (despite his accident-prone adventures) is reasonably healthy. It will probably be years before I have to worry about the pain from hip dysplasia forcing me to make a hard decision. But I still think about it every time he struggles to get up in the morning or limps when we’re out walking.
I realize now how lucky I was that Miko was healthy right up until the morning he just didn’t wake up. I never had to watch the number of good days dwindle as the bad days rose. His quality of life didn’t change. I never had to choose the time to let go.
We had several clients from the boarding facility pass away recently. One was battling a spreading disease — his owner chose to let him go before his body caused him too much pain. One was elderly and in decline, and passed away peacefully at home.
It seems like it all comes back to balance. What you can handle mentally and emotionally; what your pet can handle physically. There’s no easy answer, and it may feel like there’s no “right” answer sometimes. But as pet owners, the balance is something we all may have to consider.