How Will I Know When It’s Time?

This question—How will I know when it’s time—is a source of great anguish for many pet owners. It’s the question we wish our pets could verbally answer for us.

As a Veterinarian I am here to help you make this decision, I feel it part of my work to take the burden off your shoulders, and help you know when is the right time.

In my experience most owners have a sort of gut instinct when the time is right, and I’ve learned to honour this. Sometimes I am just meeting the pet for the first time, and the owner knows their pet much better than me, but I know from seeing thousands of pets and helping many hundreds of owners make this decision, how to help reassure them that the symptoms they are seeing are in fact a signal that it is time to say goodbye.

Many pet owners hold onto a kernel of hope that the end will happen naturally with sleep. We imagine that our beloved pet will curl up in bed at the end of a beautiful day, fall asleep, and simply pass peacefully without intervention. Though this scenario has certainly happened before, more often than not, the end is more complicated than that. Nature is not always so kind.

One day your pet might seem like themselves; the next, they might be feeling quite unwell. Sometimes we will have a gut reaction, a visceral sense that tells us, “This is it. It’s time.” But the love, and joy, and life in our pet’s eyes is at odds with the state of their physically declining body.

“But maybe tomorrow they’ll be better?” you might think.
“Maybe I’m overreacting?”

This is where the Vet can help to reassure you whether your pets symptoms can be helped, or if it might be time to start planning for a goodbye.

Some of the common questions that I ask people about their pet have been complied into a list of “Quality of life indicators”. Below you’ll find an abbreviated version we’ve made for your reference and read more about Quality of Life here.

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Quality of Life Indicators

• Social interaction, and affection with loved ones

  • Does my pet still wag his tail?

  • Does he/she still lift their head to greet me?

  • Does my pet still have a look of joy in his/her eyes?

  • Does my pet like being touched or does he/she want to be alone?

  • Are there things that once brought my pet joy, but are no longer interesting to them?
    

• Engagement with surroundings

  • Does my pet have a sense of where they are?

  • Does their home environment confuse them?

  • Does my pet still get enjoyment from what is happening around them?
    

• Meals and enjoyment from food

  • Has my pet stopped eating and drinking?

  • Does my pet have nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea that cannot be treated?
    

• Mobility and physical comfort

  • Is my pet able to move around without pain?

  • Does my pet still seem to enjoy going for walks or is my pet lethargic, having a hard time breathing, or suffering from weakness?
    

• Ability to go to the toilet comfortably and keep themselves clean

  • Can my pet still urinate and defecate without trouble or do they show significant discomfort?

  • Is my pet frequently incontinent in the house?

  • Is my pet defecating on him/herself?
    

• Ability to sleep and rest without discomfort or agitation

  • Does my pet awaken frequently with discomfort or agitation?

• Good Days v. Bad Days

  • Is my pet having more bad days than good days?

Remember, pets often don’t vocalize their pain unless it’s sharp or acute. In cats and dogs, you are more likely to see excessive panting or heavy breathing. Because animals exist more constantly in a state of “survival mode,” they will try to continue going on even in the midst of discomfort.

With such a difficult decision ahead, we are here to help you make the right decision at the right time.

If you would like to talk to us before the visit or have any other questions for the Vet, please text us on 0480022231, send us an email at info@loyalandloved.com.au or get in touch with us here.

Read more about Quality of Life of pets here.