Did my cat suffer during her natural death from lung cancer?

First off, I'm so sorry you lost your cat to cancer! It is so hard to say goodbye, even if it's the best thing for them. It is normal that you feel so devastated. Cats are members of the family, they can be like children for people, and to lose them truly leaves a hole in your heart. Try to remember that you have given her a gift by putting her to sleep. You let her go peacefully without any further pain or suffering, which was the greatest thing you could give her. It will take time for the pain to ease, and while it will never fully go away, it will get easier. Be kind to yourself, look after yourself, and allow yourself to grieve. Time will help things get better for you. Hang in there.

I'm so very sorry for your loss of Rosie. There isn't any way to know what Rosie died from without an autopsy, but the most common cause of sudden death in young cats is heart disease. The signs you described seeing a month ago may have been due to an episode of heart disease that she recovered from. Unfortunately, there often isn't any way to know that a cat has heart disease without performing an ultrasound of the heart. Many of these cats never have any heart murmur or any other signs of disease until they die. I'm so very sorry for your loss of Rosie, but that type of heart disease is generally a very fast death and is not treatable even if caught early, so I don't think there is anything you could have done differently.

I am so sorry about Susie. It sounds like you loved her very much and you did what you could to help her. Cancer may have been in her chest as well causing the labored breathing. There is no way to know for sure if the tea tree oil caused any problems. However, we know that undiluted oil can cause liver problems and they can get very sick from it. Please don’t start self blaming - your sweet kitty was very sick before the oil, and I think you made a very humane decision with euthanasia. Be kind to yourself and let yourself grieve without blame. Take care, and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your cat. I am so sorry to hear of your loss. Based on the information you provided, I believe you made the correct choice. Bone cancer is extremely painful. If it was in the pelvis and inhibiting her ability to defecate, this would be even more painful. If bone cancer occurs in a limb, that leg can be amputated. This will provide the patient a few more months to live (even this is not a cure). This would likely not have been an option for the pelvis. You relieved her pain and suffering by electing to euthanize her. I know what a heartbreaking choice this is, but you should bravery by putting her needs above your own. I hope this information brings you some peace.

First off, I'm so very sorry had to say goodbye to Lucy! It's always hard to say goodbye to a pet, and it also sounds like it was a tough experience for you. When cats are old and sick, a lot of times extra medication is needed to get the desired effect. It's because their system isn't working as well as it used to, and you can find yourself in a situation where more drug is needed than expected. I work for a home euthanasia service, and I've unfortunately had this happen to a patient of mine before where I have had to use three times the normal amount of sedative to get the animal fully sedated. It doesn't mean Lucy was healthy, and the vet wouldn't have put her down if she was healthy. It simply means she was very sick and her body couldn't metabolize the drugs normally, leading to more being needed. It's still upsetting to see, and I'm sorry your family went through that, but it does happen and we as vets cannot predict 100% how a euthanasia will proceed. While we'd like it to be easy and smooth, it doesn't happen that way all the time. I'm sure the vet did everything in their power to make it as comfortable as possible for you and her. Again, I'm sorry for you loss and I hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If she really is doing this poorly, it is very important to have her seen by a veterinarian as soon as possible as I worry she may be unstable. If this is all confirmed to be due to her cancer and you are not proceeding with treatment of the cancer, euthanasia may need to be considered.

First off, I'm so sorry you found Emma passed away today! How horrible for you, please accept my condolences for your loss. I certainly hope that she didn't die in pain today, it's likely that her body couldn't handle the burden of the cancer anymore and it was her time to go. She simply reached a point where she could no longer survive with this malignancy, and her body wanted to stop fighting. Again, I'm so sorry for your loss :-(