The Hot Issue – quality of life in older pets

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I am asked this question by people almost on a daily basis: “How do you know when your pet’s quality of life is still good or not?” This is a difficult decision for anyone to make! What do YOU, the readers on this site think?

When has their quality of life diminished? — When does their quality of life diminish?

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12 Responses to "The Hot Issue – quality of life in older pets"

Cat Peeing says:

November 12, 2011 at 3:27 pm

Stop Cat Peeing…

[…]The Hot Issue – quality of life in older pets « « Your Own Vet Your Own Vet[…]…
Ness Dorig says:

November 1, 2011 at 4:37 am

My dog Rocky had a severe arthritis on his spine that affected his hind legs. Unable to walk; was prescribed with prednisone and was able to walk normal for about a year until as if the steroid stopped working. His back leg’s muscles degenerated and his skin were thin. Worse was his head sunked as if it was getting to become flat. He was unable to walk and lost control of his bladder. Quality of life was definitely below 5 on a scale of 10. Family wasn’t going to quit on him and wait until he quits on us, but Rocky’s condition was getting worse and unbearable. Our vet suggested dog euthanasia. Rock’ys quality of life was definitely bad, but we didn’t see any signs that he was ready to go.
dog handling says:

October 25, 2011 at 1:17 am

dog handling…

[…]The Hot Issue – quality of life in older pets « « Your Own Vet Your Own Vet[…]…
Unsure says:

July 27, 2011 at 6:01 pm

Thank you so much Mary. I will call her vet today and ask about your recommendations. When we discusssed it further, we decided we just weren’t ready. We did go out and buy diapers! We are also trying to make sure she goes out every two hours or so (when she’s indoors) even if she’s not giving off any signals. Thanks again.
Your own vet says:

July 25, 2011 at 3:26 pm

Hi there,

It does sound as if her diabetes is very hard to control. She may have insulin resistance, which means it doesn’t work properly, and her body becomes used to it. no matter how much you keep increasing it. You get different types of insulin – long, medium and short acting and from different sources – pigs, cows and artificial. What I would advise is this – a medium acting insulin given three times daily not two, and something like glargine insulin like lantus (trade name) or a synthetic medium acting insulin 3 times daily. Feed her diabetic food like hills w/d and water only and see if it makes a difference. Often the switch to lantus can drop the blood sugar down into the normal range. Leave cataract surgery etc for now, just see if her sugar is staying in the normal range – 3.5-5.5 mmol/l – take her in once w eek for the day for a glucose curve to make sure it does stay down. If the sugar stays in that level, she will stop drinking and wetting in the house, sorting out all those problems and she will gain weight again as well. If the blood sugar is still uncontrolled, or if the problem flares up again in a few weeks, then I would make the decision to put her to sleep. Then you know you have given her that last chance and you have done everything for you could do and that it is the right decision.

Mary Johnstone
Unsure says:

July 24, 2011 at 7:42 pm

We have a 13 year old pug who developed diabetes earlier this year. I have been giving her injections twice a day (in increasing amounts with the vet’s recommendations) for the last five or six months. She eats a lot but is getting thinner and bonier. She is nearly blind with cataracts and is starting to run into things. She sleeps most of the day, but is still fairly perky in the mornings. The biggest problem we are having is that she is very incontinent and will suddenly pee copious amounts without any warning to us, or even to herself I suspect. We have her on Proin, but it’s not working. She is ashamed and we are frustrated — she just peed on our couch today (after urinating on another couch earlier in the year) and our carpet is shot. She drank five bowls of water this morning and it all came out. She used to be a mostly indoor dog, but of course we are having to have her outside most of the time now, including sleeping outside instead of in our room because of her incontinence (she has soaked through her bed). She seems confused at the changes. We keep taking her to the vet and upping her medicines (insulin and Proin)– she usually has a plateau period of a few weeks and then goes back to drinking a lot and peeing a lot. We are now thinking maybe the time has come to put her down. We have two children who love her dearly — we are thinking maybe it makes sense to do it now before school starts, and before the cold and rainy weather sets in. Leaving her out in the garage all day seems cruel. But because she is not totally comatose in her behavior, we are unsure. The vet won’t advice yes or no. He just keeps upping her medicines and telling us what our options are (cataract surgery etc) while at the same time telling us she only has about a year left and how her life will deteriorate.
vetadmin2 says:

February 25, 2010 at 6:10 pm

Thanks Jenny for your insight!
Jenny Kromhout says:

February 25, 2010 at 4:28 pm

I agree with Melanie. Somehow you KNOW when it is time for your pet to leave. I have had various dogs over the years – my daughter and I watched Sally being unable to walk and drag her hind legs trying to reach the door. She had also lost control of her bladdar. We felt SO awful, we just scooped her up and took her to the vet and did the deed.
Maybe we were cruel to leave her so long, but we knew definitely when it was time.
vetadmin2 says:

February 22, 2010 at 2:12 pm

Dear Claudette,

The first thing that you should realize is that dogs do not think the same way that people do. Although many dogs do have the intelligence of a young child, their brains tend to focus on the “here and now” rather than the “what was and what will be” that people do. Dogs don’t dwell on the past. Angel is highly unlikely to blame you for abandoning her and will, instead, probably be ecstatic if you are able to visit her once in a while. Dogs also become accustomed to new situations, people and places far more easily than we give them credit for and most dogs will adjust to a change in household and situation. it takes them approximately three months to settle into their new situation depending on their age.

Hope that helps,

Claire Demmer

YourOwnVet.com
Claudette says:

February 22, 2010 at 11:06 am

Hello,

Hope you are well,

I got divorced and my ex kept my dog(my baby)that he bought for me to hurt me. I am heart broken and sad and I feel that she (Angel) thinks that I abandoned her and that I don’t love her anymore and that I didn’t want her and that is why she is not with me anymore. I need to know from you if that is possible? Can she think that?

Thank you,

Claudette Botha
vetadmin2 says:

February 21, 2010 at 11:30 pm

Thanks for your reply, Melanie! Very insightful.
vetadmin2 says:

February 21, 2010 at 11:29 pm

Melanie Sohn wrote at 06:45 on 20 February 2010

I think that once the animal does not do its ‘favorite things’, does not eat as well, and does not visit its ‘favorite spot’ in the home or garden then it is time to look at the animal’s quality of life. The biggest sign for me is when the animal’s ‘spirit’ is no longer there or in tact. Also, when the animal starts to loose its dignity by not being able to eat properly and does not have sufficient control over its bladder and tummy. I went away recently to a guest house and there was en elderly dog there who could barely walk, she moved around slowly, BUT her spirit was very much still there. She still enjoyed eating, and was not ‘ready’ to leave the earth. One can just see this.
Animals have a way of letting us know when they are ready to depart, i experienced this with my own cat, Chummy who was a part of my life for 17 years. She actually helped me make the decision to put her down. I don’t know how to explain it, but she let me know.

The signs are all there, we just need to read them properly. And when we are unsure, this can always be confirmed by the vet looking after the animal.