Is Euthanasia Cruel

Years ago, when we were still living in a trailer and only dreaming about building a house a cat showed up at our door and kept tapping at it till, we let him in. It had to be before 2004 because we didn’t have a boy cat yet. It was dark outside, near bedtime. We were all sitting in the living room watching tv. My husband opened the door to see who was there. This skinny short haired grey cat cried for help and came right in. I took him to the bathroom set up a litter box and gave him food and water. I sat with him for a while. He was so loving, I named him Sweetie. We already had 4 cats. We really weren’t looking for another one, but he was so sweet, and he obviously needed help. He kept going in the litterbox and not doing anything. At first, I thought he didn’t like the litterbox, or he didn’t want to go in front of me. We kept him in the bathroom until we could get him checkout at the vet’s office.

By the next evening, it was clear that Sweetie couldn’t pee. We called the vet and she met us at the office. His urethra was completely blocked. She couldn’t get a catheter in him. He had probably been thrown out by his owner because when he could pee, he was doing it in the wrong place, or he had so many UTIs that they didn’t want to deal with him anymore. Untreated UTI can cause scaring and eventually blockage.

By the time Sweetie made it to us, it was too late for him. If he were not euthanized, he would die from a burst bladder and suffered a very painful death. If the vet could have done something for him, we would have gladly paid. Unfortunately, there was too much damage done already. We had her euthanize him.

There are many stories of animals who have been turned out or neglected and end up finding someone who is willing to help too late. For them euthanasia is a gift. There are also many healthy beautiful and loving animals who end up in the pound through no fault of their own. The cruel reality is that not all of them will be saved. The shelters only have so much room and so many resources euthanasia is inevitable for most who end up there. Is that better than a hard live on the street? What do you think?