What is the best way to put a cat to sleep?

[The Chickens' Maid]

We have a 17 year old cat. He seems to be in a lot of pain right now. He needs to be put to sleep, but we don't have the money to take him to a vet. Can anyone help? We want to put him to sleep as peacefully as possible.

 

[Elite Silkies]

Can you contact the Humane Society? They may do it alot cheaper. Ours goes off of income. Sorry, but the only other way I know is to have someone shoot him. I know that sounds bad, but I don't any other way.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

If hes a pet, the only humane way would be euthanasia at a vets office. Call the vet and explain your situation. Or contact your local cat rescue/humane society.

 

[CrazyChickieMama]

We put one of our ferrets to sleep with ether before...quick, and he just went to sleep. I don't know where you can get it though. My FIL had it in his barn.

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

take him to animal control, release him to them, make a donation if you can. You cant be with him, or anything but at least its a humane way to do it.

 

[colby318]

Human sleeping pills. I gave my cat two of my phenergan (spelling?). We didn't have the trauma of taking her to a strange place where her last moments were in fear. She gently went to sleep...

 

[Akane]

Technically a bullet or bolt gun has been found more humane than chemical euthanasia provided it's done right. That last part is the problem with it. If you don't know where to shoot and aren't experienced with guns it's a bad idea. I do know many people though who request their livestock vet shoot the animal (including pet cats and dogs) because the death is quicker and brain activity stops immediately. More traumatic for us but eeg's have shown brain activity spikes the same as if an animal were panicking for a surprising length of time before death when using chemicals. Particularly true with shelters and other places that don't have the money to sedate the animal first. Some places it's not legal to perform chemical euthanasia without anesthesia.

All of that being said if you don't have someone knowledgeable with a gun then discussing chemical euthanasia with a shelter or seeing if your vet will do it free is the next best thing. Some vets will do it without charge if you explain that you really can't pay and they know the animal is definitely suffering. I do mean truly knowledgeable when it comes to putting animals down and not your local hunter. Knowing how to kill something and knowing how to do it as quickly and painlessly as possible are 2 different things. It always reminds me of the story where someone's horse slipped off a trail and down a hill breaking it's leg in the process. Being in the middle of nowhere prior to common cell phone usage they put the animal down with a bullet to the head. They apparently did not do it properly though because a few years later while riding through that same area they find the horse grazing amongst the trees. Definitely a freak occurance but obvious that person didn't have a clue what they were doing both as far as veterinary knowledge about the leg and where to point a gun.

 

[Bec]

You can take him to the local SPCA, they will do it for a small fee.....I had to do it 3 years ago with a pitbull rescue I had, she started going after my children and other people. Loved me, but not anyone else.

I still miss her to this day, but for my kids' sake, she had to go somewhere that was safe for everyone, not just my kids.

 

[SarahBeth9394]

Uh any vet that would charge more than $20 to euthanize your kitty should be kicked in the groin repeatedly. Surely you could come up with that in a months time. The humane society would do it cheaper than that. Just call them. You can donate all your kitty supplies (left over food, box, and litter... even a stack of newspaper).

 

[onthespot]

If you have any horsey friends, they may have some Ace Promazine sitting around, and could inject him with a couple cc's intramuscularly and he will just drift off peacefully.