Why is this research useful?

This research helps to shed some light on the concerns and experiences of cat owners regarding the making of end of life decisions. I’m sure many of you were able to relate to a lot of the sentiments shared by the owners in this study, which should hopefully provide a little comfort during difficult times.

For me, the take home messages are that we need to be more aware of the potential for our cats to be in pain, unwell, or suffering, even when there may not be any obvious signs. In this regard, the opinions of our vet, in addition to those of friends and family (that see our cats infrequently), might be invaluable. Such individuals may be better able to detect an underlying issue concerning our cat’s health or highlight when our cat’s quality of life is compromised.

The relationship we have with our vet is very important and ideally, we should be able to find a kind and compassionate vet that will be able to treat our cat all the way through until the end. Additionally, many of us probably want our vets to give us ‘permission’ to consider ending our cat’s life, or at least reassure us that we are making the right call.

Personally, if I had a cat that had a condition with a poor prognosis, I would always want my vet to be comfortable with putting the PTS option on the table at the very beginning and to be comfortable discussing this process with me. I would also want them to be honest about how much my cat might suffer as their condition progressed and how long they might have left.This approach would help me to be able to start processing PTS as an outcome, enabling me to emotionally prepare myself (hopefully) a long time in advance of it becoming a reality.With this sort of vet, I would also feel much more comfortable asking about how and where the euthanasia would take place, so I could ensure that this could be made as gentle and least stressful for my cat as possible.

What was interesting was that many owners also talked about not feeling that their friends or family understood the importance of their relationship with their cat, making it difficult for grieving owners to reach out for support when necessary.

I can certainly relate to this experience and remember that it helped finding cat-loving people to talk to that had gone through a similar process.