Crazy animal lady thread - sperg about your pets here

[Android raptor]

Average Golden?

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Most big dogs tbh

My fav are when big stocky dogs like rotties, danes, or bullies are one-braincelled. Especially when they try to climb in your lap completely unaware of their size. Bless their hearts.

Snakes are the absolute most one-braincelled pets tho. Especially sand boas, hognose, and ball pythons. It's part of their charm.

 

[Thomas Eugene Paris]

I adopt cats who have feline leukemia virus. They are the best kitties.

Our two newest residents came home last week.

Meet Boris


and Guthrie.


Don't let their chill appearance deceive you; despite being adults they are total spastics who go crazy for any and every toy. They do enjoy quiet moments lying in each other's arms and watching the world through the front window.

 

[Sparkling Yuzu]

My 8 yr old pitbull rescue is currently dying of nasal cancer. We have her on gabapentin and CBD. We spent over 5k and haven't even gotten a definitive diagnosis but she has every symptom and catastrophic nosebleeds. I'm sure it's in her brain now. She could seizure to death or bleed out at any time. Our other rescued pitbull died of skin cancer at only 6 yrs. Not even geriatric in dog yrs.
My sister is taking care of her and the vet recommended she be put down a week ago. They are going to put her down when she has another bad nosebleed. She was already doing this weird "reverse sneeze" thing my dad thinks was seizures.
She was playing with a toy in the backyard yesterday and she normally doesn't like toys so she must feel good with the pain meds now. She still wants to walk and eat but our other pitbull was like that until the day before she was dying. They seem to be a highly food motivated breed.
I don't know if my sister is making the right decision or if this will end in suffering but she thinks it's her dog, but only when it's convenient. Not when you put your money where your mouth is. She never paid a thing or even bought her food and we were her daily caregivers for most of her life. She just adopts them, pays the fee and then we care for the dog until she feels bad and has a mental breakdown when they are dying.
I feel like my sister is stealing my last moments with her but I know she knows that I love her. I feel lonely when she's not there. The house feels empty. She used to do these funny Chewbacca whines whenever we'd play with the puppy. She loved her walkies even though she was a total dick to other dogs, she loved seemingly all humans.

 

[Mordecai "3 Finger" Brown]

My 8 yr old pitbull rescue is currently dying of nasal cancer. We have her on gabapentin and CBD. We spent over 5k and haven't even gotten a definitive diagnosis but she has every symptom and catastrophic nosebleeds. I'm sure it's in her brain now. She could seizure to death or bleed out at any time. Our other rescued pitbull died of skin cancer at only 6 yrs. Not even geriatric in dog yrs.
My sister is taking care of her and the vet recommended she be put down a week ago. They are going to put her down when she has another bad nosebleed. She was already doing this weird "reverse sneeze" thing my dad thinks was seizures.
She was playing with a toy in the backyard yesterday and she normally doesn't like toys so she must feel good with the pain meds now. She still wants to walk and eat but our other pitbull was like that until the day before she was dying. They seem to be a highly food motivated breed.
I don't know if my sister is making the right decision or if this will end in suffering but she thinks it's her dog, but only when it's convenient. Not when you put your money where your mouth is. She never paid a thing or even bought her food and we were her daily caregivers for most of her life. She just adopts them, pays the fee and then we care for the dog until she feels bad and has a mental breakdown when they are dying.
I feel like my sister is stealing my last moments with her but I know she knows that I love her. I feel lonely when she's not there. The house feels empty. She used to do these funny Chewbacca whines whenever we'd play with the puppy. She loved her walkies even though she was a total dick to other dogs, she loved seemingly all humans.

I'm sorry to read about your two pitbulls. Terrible suffering in dogs way too young.

What's your experience been with Gabapentin for your dog?

Have you seen any noticeable pain relief or improved quality of life? Any side effects?

We have a really docile 15-year-old female Black Lab. She's been suffering from progressively worsening osteoarthritis in her back ankles for years.

She's been on Meloxicam, an anti-inflammatory daily for 3 years. When she first started it, there was a noticeable improvement in her appetite (though she is a Lab after all).

She's definitely on her victory lap, but has always been healthy otherwise. She's become incontinent when she sleeps for the last few months. We stopped walking her a year ago because she would start limping and panting on the hills on the block. I'm carrying her up and down the two flights of stairs indoors because she can scale them but it's hard to watch.

She was at the vet this week for some grooming and the vet unsolicitedly recommended Gabapentin for her.

I have some background with Gabapentin in humans and have been pretty unimpressed with its researched and IRL effects, especially for arthritis pain.

We haven't chosen to start her own it yet as she doesn't express pain. It's more of an issue that her mobility is degenerating progressively.

 

[Sparkling Yuzu]

I'm sorry to read about your two pitbulls. Terrible suffering in dogs way too young.

What's your experience been with Gabapentin for your dog?

Have you seen any noticeable pain relief or improved quality of life? Any side effects?

Thank you. The side effects are not bad and the pain relief is very noticeable bc she is being playful. I had my spaniel on Melacam for osteoarthritis too. We put her down at age 12 bc she couldn't even hold herself up enough to go to the bathroom without me lifting her back legs.

I feel you on the evidence, I think it works mostly for nerve pain. I think vets should give out the good shit like benzos and morphine for dying dogs, just like a human in hospice but I guess they can lose their license just like a human doctor. I'd still say Gabapentin is worth a try. Ours was sleeping almost all the time and now she is being happy and wanting to run.

Sorry your dog is dealing with that but you must be a good owner to keep them alive so long.

 

[Mordecai "3 Finger" Brown]

Sorry your dog is dealing with that but you must be a good owner to keep them alive so long.

Thank you for the kind words. And thank you for the firsthand experience. It's nice to get anecdotes even if they are just that.

We've been blessed to have such a gentle, beautiful, healthy dog for such a long life.

The end is obviously coming, but it's hard to know what's providing comfort and what's being selfish.

Even though she's 15, she's still the same dog in my eyes.

She eats voraciously. She loves car rides. She's stuck to you like glue on the couch and the bed.

Her mobility is obviously on a steep decline, but we currently can still make it work.

Yet everyone I know off-the-cuff announces that we should put her down when they see her.

I'm sure there's some discomfort, but she's painfree as far as I can tell when she's resting.

It's hard to know when we are being personally selfish because we're not ready to let them go vs others being flippant because they wouldn't want to put in the work.

 

[Sparkling Yuzu]

Yet everyone I know off-the-cuff announces that we should put her down when they see her.

Wow, they're just being dicks. Find a vet who does in home euthanasia and hospice services. They will be more likely to get her the hospice care she needs. There's nothing wrong with choosing that hospice care for your dog.
Just bc they would put her down, doesn't mean you have to yet. Enjoy all your time with her. Labs are great dogs. We are only worrying about keeping our dog alive in our case bc the aggressive nasal cancer could lead to a nasty, traumatic death.

 

[Android raptor]

Yeah when an animal has zero quality of life and is obviously in pain and suffering, then it's time to euthanize it. My sister has to euthanize her cat at around 8 years old too, due to heart failure. He was diagnosed some time before he was put down and last I saw him he seemed OK, but I assume his QoL went down to the point it wasn't humane to let him suffer.

I know of an elderly blue tongue skink who is on liquid gabapentin for pain. I'm also on it for anxiety.

 

[Sparkling Yuzu]

Yeah when an animal has zero quality of life and is obviously in pain and suffering, then it's time to euthanize it. My sister has to euthanize her cat at around 8 years old too, due to heart failure.

Now she's putting it off til Friday... this is like the 4th time she's put it off. She has to do the right thing. The vet recommended she be put down three weeks ago. I don't want her to die either, she's a great dog. But I don't want her to suffer and have a painful death.
I was babysitting her today and she did two big sneezes and it looked like someone had been stabbed in the kitchen. She's restless and pacing, can barely stand to sit down. She's doing her gurgle/reverse sneeze/panting/gasping for air thing over and over. Like she wants to sneeze but can't. I can't bear to see her like this.
My sister is a control freak and won't even let us be there for our own dog when she gets euthanized and she is hardheaded. One day she is going to need my parents to talk sense into her; just like they had to when she wanted me, her and my mom to take out multi-thousand dollar high interest loans for testing and treatment for likely cancer that a vet already told me is usually untreatable.
I knew she would pawn off her loan parents on me and my parents so I emphatically told them it was a bad idea and they agreed and she had a tantrum about it and texted my mom cute pictures of her with captions like "please don't put me down!!". Her white trash BPD gf also jumped the divider and lunged at my mom and screamed "WHY DO YOU HAVE TO PUT HER DOWN?!"
How are you going to explain the suffering of chemo to a dog who just wants to play and have fun? How many more thousands, just to find out what we already know? The vet said she could have bled out months ago and she is strong to have lasted so long. She needs to run on the Rainbow Bridge with her sisters.

 

[Android raptor]

Now she's putting it off til Friday... this is like the 4th time she's put it off. She has to do the right thing. The vet recommended she be put down three weeks ago. I don't want her to die either, she's a great dog. But I don't want her to suffer and have a painful death.
I was babysitting her today and she did two big sneezes and it looked like someone had been stabbed in the kitchen. She's restless and pacing, can barely stand to sit down. She's doing her gurgle/reverse sneeze/panting/gasping for air thing over and over. Like she wants to sneeze but can't. I can't bear to see her like this.

Ugh yeah, that sounds horrible. Poor girl. I guess just try to keep her as comfortable as possible, and try to have as much of her family around as possible. If she's restless it sounds like she might be in pain or otherwise uncomfortable. She doesn't deserve to suffer like that

Worst part of pet ownership by far.

 

[Stan]

I adopt cats who have feline leukemia virus. They are the best kitties.

Good on ya. FIV isn't that bad of a prognosis. I got to have a cat when I was 12 (large orange tiger-stripe cat named Milo) and he was lived a great life until I was three years out of college; I think he made it to ~14 yo. We didn't medicate him with anything special for it. He died pretty suddenly from cancer; it had spread all over his body, but from his behavior Mom didn't have the slightest hint that anything was wrong. He acted like he was just fine until he collapsed on the floor one day and the vet said "he might last the weekend."
What a great cat he was. My mom loved him too; he was very vocal and liked to be held like a baby.

 

[Android raptor]

Yeah so many animals hide their illnesses until it's too late. Reptiles and birds especially are notorious for it.

I know my local zoo had to euthanize one of their tortoises a few years ago who seemed fine until one day she couldn't move. They did a scan and discovered she had a giant, untreatable tumor in her abdomen so the decision was made to euthanize so she wouldn't suffer any longer. Not the only story I've heard like that about reptiles either (which is part of thr challenge of caring for them).

One of my friends lost one of her snakes recently due to kidney failure. She had guilt over being worried how long the snake was suffering, even though there's no way she could've possibly known and she did everything she could

 

[General Disarray]

Reading about all these heartbreaking end-of-life situations, I just wanted to share our story of Ella, our blue tick hound that started going downhill when she was around 15 give or take (I moved in when she was well past puppydom but I don't know her exact age). The breed is prone to fatty deposits here and there, but she had some growths on her leg joints and one large one under her neck so we got them removed. Then, we noticed that she was limping a bit, and couldn't get up the stairs as easily. We have all hardwood floors so my SO started sleeping on the large couch downstairs to sleep next to her since she couldn't join him up in bed.

It's about that time we got her on CBD, gabapentin and Meloxicam as well as giving her special squooshy treats for joint health. Then she started having problems with her walks, she couldn't go as far and was struggling. She started slipping on the floor getting down from the couch, her long legs and lack of muscle control made it difficult so we put carpet non-slip runners down on the floor all around the couch and put her food and water next to the couch. Then came the incontinence. Her embarrassment over making a mess was the saddest thing I ever did see. I hate even thinking about it to type this up.

We paid multiple thousands over two additional vet visits since her growth removals (which were NOT cheap in and of themselves) for blood work, etc. etc. and we finally decided no more, we are not putting her through this. She absolutely hated car rides, and putting her through that alone was not worth it since nothing could really be done. She was just getting old and shutting down.

After waffling for about a week (those good days sure do give you hope!), we finally made an appointment for the in-home euthanasia. Those people are angels, I swear hand to heart when she arrived (way out back in the alleyway), Ella popped up off the couch and actually limp-trotted to the side door and met the vet tech there. It's like she knew she was going to be taken away from the pain and be on her way to peace. We spoiled her in every conceivable way the days leading up to the appointment, and crying was a regular sporadic random event as well.

We were by her side, trying very hard to put on brave faces while we comforted her until the very end. The tech and my SO took care of putting her on the stretcher to be placed in their transport for cremation. We got a clay pawprint as a keepsake.

It's the hardest, yet the best thing you can ever do for your pet and I am so sorry for all of you that are going through this. Please don't put it off when you know deep down it's time. That's what caring pet owners do for their animals; more importantly, it's what responsible pet owners do.

 

[Septictic]

Veterinary medicine has advanced so much in the last decade. I'm sure it is very interesting science, but not so sure it's to the benefit of our pets. We keep them in our homes solely for our benefit. The least we owe them is a pain free life and a dignified death.

 

[glioblastoma multiforme]

I'm sure it is very interesting science, but not so sure it's to the benefit of our pets.

its a really hard call to make and impossible for owners to ever be objective, because its their beloved family members.

my mum thinks that my older cat doesn't benefit enough from the meds she's on for the trauma of extra vet visits (even with gabapentin to make them more tolerable) to be worth it. i have observed that it increases her mobility and will therefore slow the general age-related decline and improve quality of life. because we can't just ask the cat, its impossible to know who's right.

all we can do is try to interrogate our decision making to make sure we're being honest with ourselves about why we do what we do. if, during that process, we find selfish motivations, we should have the integrity and humility to change tack in the best interests of the animal.

 

[Thomas Eugene Paris]

What's your experience been with Gabapentin for your dog?

Have you seen any noticeable pain relief or improved quality of life? Any side effects?

I'm not who you asked, and my experience is with a cat, not a dog, but I will say that when my guy experienced a urinary blockage this past winter, I felt like gabapentin helped him relax. I'm not convinced it actually helped his pain, but he seemed less aware of it, if that makes sense. Urethral blockage in cats is a medical emergency, and cats with it are in agony, so anything that helped him even slightly was worth it.

Fair warning, though: gabapentin is extremely bitter. Even the compounded chicken flavored suspension he was prescribed made him foam at the mouth and drool like crazy after a dose. Some people suggest following the liquid medication with a syringe of honey water to help wash away the taste, but in my cat's case there was no way he would have let us give him anything else immediately after the gabapentin; he'd always book it while frothing at the mouth and glaring at us. There are compounded pill formulations that have a special coating to block the bitter taste. Anyway, if you have nice things in your house, maybe give the gabapentin somewhere that's easily cleaned up, like on a linoleum or tile floor.



Here he is chilling out.

 

[Sparkling Yuzu]

Finally put the baby to sleep yesterday. We got her a hamburger right before. I hope she is playing with her sisters who are already gone at the Rainbow Bridge.

 

[Android raptor]

Finally put the baby to sleep yesterday. We got her a hamburger right before. I hope she is playing with her sisters who are already gone at the Rainbow Bridge.

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Sorry for your loss, but relieved that she is no longer suffering and is at peace with her sisters.

It's an incredibly hard thing to do, but you did the right thing. It sounded like she was really going downhill and needed to rest.

 

[Sparkling Yuzu]

Sorry for your loss, but relieved that she is no longer suffering and is at peace with her sisters.

It's an incredibly hard thing to do, but you did the right thing. It sounded like she was really going downhill and needed to rest.

My sister was unsure and needed a lot of reassurance even the day before but I knew she didn't want to suffer anymore.

 

[Android raptor]

My sister was unsure and needed a lot of reassurance even the day before but I knew she didn't want to suffer anymore.

Yeah and I would trust the vet as well. They have to go through about as much schooling as human doctors. They also don't want animals to suffer unnecessarily.

I have the feeling she is at peace, free from any pain and suffering, and reunited with her sisters.