I talked to a cat yesterday who was having a hard time walking. She didn’t tell me that. Instead she said she was in a little pain but she was handling it okay. She didn’t want any more treatments. She just wanted to be left alone.
It turned out she had hurt her back a few weeks ago—she thinks from jumping and twisting. Her vet was using acupuncture on her, but the last treatment had been painful and she didn’t think it was doing any good anyway.
Her human could see that the cat was unhappy, and asked her if she would like to be put to sleep because her quality of life was so bad.
The cat was shocked at the suggestion.
She agreed that she was unhappy and her life was very limited, but she couldn’t see that as a reason to end it.
This cat could be a great spiritual teacher. She said to her human that just because she’s unhappy and in pain doesn’t mean she wants to end her life. She is okay being miserable.
Of course, it’s tough on the human to have a cat who hides under the bed or in a cupboard and won’t be petted.
The cat agreed to get another acupuncture treatment and a shot of anti-inflammatories that might help her walk. She would like to walk, but if she can’t, that’s okay. And it hurts her to be touched—similar to fibromyalgia pain—I think all her nerves are hypersensitive from the back injury.
But she said she loves her human, and is not ready to leave her yet. And if that means she will have a pain and immobility, she’s good with it.
The human will talk to the vet about increasing the pain killers and anti-inflammatories to help ease the cat’s discomfort. And the cat will continue to stoically endure because that’s what she wants to do.
The cat was not afraid of death. She just wasn’t ready to do it.
As human companions, we take on a huge responsibility when we invite an animal to live with us. Part of that responsibility runs to end of life decisions. Each animal has their own vision of how they want to go—their own fears or intentions that run along with it.
Having a discussion with your animal friend about end of life questions is a way that everyone can get on the same page.
Pain Management
I talked to a cat yesterday who was having a hard time walking. She didn’t tell me that. Instead she said she was in a little pain but she was handling it okay. She didn’t want any more treatments. She just wanted to be left alone.
It turned out she had hurt her back a few weeks ago—she thinks from jumping and twisting. Her vet was using acupuncture on her, but the last treatment had been painful and she didn’t think it was doing any good anyway.
Her human could see that the cat was unhappy, and asked her if she would like to be put to sleep because her quality of life was so bad.
The cat was shocked at the suggestion.
She agreed that she was unhappy and her life was very limited, but she couldn’t see that as a reason to end it.
This cat could be a great spiritual teacher. She said to her human that just because she’s unhappy and in pain doesn’t mean she wants to end her life. She is okay being miserable.
Of course, it’s tough on the human to have a cat who hides under the bed or in a cupboard and won’t be petted.
The cat agreed to get another acupuncture treatment and a shot of anti-inflammatories that might help her walk. She would like to walk, but if she can’t, that’s okay. And it hurts her to be touched—similar to fibromyalgia pain—I think all her nerves are hypersensitive from the back injury.
But she said she loves her human, and is not ready to leave her yet. And if that means she will have a pain and immobility, she’s good with it.
The human will talk to the vet about increasing the pain killers and anti-inflammatories to help ease the cat’s discomfort. And the cat will continue to stoically endure because that’s what she wants to do.
The cat was not afraid of death. She just wasn’t ready to do it.
As human companions, we take on a huge responsibility when we invite an animal to live with us. Part of that responsibility runs to end of life decisions. Each animal has their own vision of how they want to go—their own fears or intentions that run along with it.
Having a discussion with your animal friend about end of life questions is a way that everyone can get on the same page.
HealAdmin
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