Euthanization of a pet

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I have recently been faced with choosing to euthanize my cat or wait and let the cat starve itself to death. I debated with myself about the best thing to do. Is it morally right to play God and choose when the cat will die? Or is it worse to let the cat suffer a death of starvation when it could be ended? I chose to have him euthanized because I was worried he would pass away while I was at work and my other cat would start cleaning him or something and get himslef sick. But now I feel horrible. What do u think the best thing to do would be?
 
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mia001:
I have recently been faced with choosing to euthanize my cat or wait and let the cat starve itself to death. I debated with myself about the best thing to do. Is it morally right to play God and choose when the cat will die? Or is it worse to let the cat suffer a death of starvation when it could be ended? I chose to have him euthanized because I was worried he would pass away while I was at work and my other cat would start cleaning him or something and get himslef sick. But now I feel horrible. What do u think the best thing to do would be?
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It’s a cat. It does not have an immortal soul over which God is sovereign. Allowing an animal to suffer needlessly by starving to death would be cruel. Willful cruelty to animals is sinful.
 
You did the right thing. To let her suffer and starve to death would have been cruel. You’re feeling bad because you’re grieving over the loss of a beloved pet.
 
I think euthanizing your pet was a wise decision, albeit a painful one. I had to euthanize my cat last year under similar circumstances, my diabetic cat stopped eating and because of her temperament it was difficult to have a feeding tube put in. I think if she was cooperative and younger I may have had the feeding tube inserted if there was a chance she’d recover. .

I think there comes a time in every pet owner’s life when they have to make those difficult choices. I did not want my cat to suffer any more. Clearly she did not like the life she had and I can’t and won’t let any animal starve to death. Animals live in the present and do not forsee the future or review their past, so why would you want their present state of consciousness to be one of continuous suffering? As far as being morally right or wrong, God made us stewards of His creation. If you have done what you could to give your cat a good life and thats all that matters.
 
Poor kitty. I used to work at a vet’s office and euthansias were very hard for me to deal with and the pets didn’t even belong to me. I think you did the right thing. There is no sense on allowing a poor animal to suffer like that. Some people go through extraordinary means to keep their pets alive, while it is done in good will, it delays the inevitable and I think money can be spent on better things. We had a cat at the vet hospital who was hit by a car. He broke many bones and had to have a tube inserted into his “male organ” in order to pee. After about 5 weeks of that, the owner put him down. I understand it was hard for her, but that poor cat was in so much pain.
 
You did the right thing. I’ve heard it said that animals don’t fear death, but they do fear pain. Suffering has no redemptive value for an animal, and when its life has been reduced to nothing but pain, it’s a kindness to let the vet peacefully end that suffering.

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mercygate:
It’s a cat. It does not have an immortal soul over which God is sovereign. Allowing an animal to suffer needlessly by starving to death would be cruel. Willful cruelty to animals is sinful.
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i have trouble believing and accepting this. my german shepard is the most loyal, loving animal you will find. he places my safety and well-being above all else in his life. it is his sole purpose in this world to guard and bond with me. i cant reconcile the fact that such love simply “blinks out” when he dies.

“energy may neither be created nor destroyed…” as the 1st law of theromo says, so where does Odin’s love go? where does his unfaltering devotion to me go?

"Near this spot are deposited the remains of one who possessed Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, and all the Virtues of Man without his Vices. This praise, which would be unmearing Flattery, if inscibed over human ashes, but is just a Tribute to the Memory of BOATSWAIN, a Dog. "

John Cam Hobhouse

“He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world…When all other friends desert, he remains.”

George G. Vest
 
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BioCatholic:
i have trouble believing and accepting this. my german shepard is the most loyal, loving animal you will find. he places my safety and well-being above all else in his life. it is his sole purpose in this world to guard and bond with me. i cant reconcile the fact that such love simply “blinks out” when he dies.

"energy may neither be created nor destroyed…" as the 1st law of theromo says, so where does Odin’s love go? where does his unfaltering devotion to me go?

"Near this spot are deposited the remains of one who possessed Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, and all the Virtues of Man without his Vices. This praise, which would be unmearing Flattery, if inscibed over human ashes, but is just a Tribute to the Memory of BOATSWAIN, a Dog. "

John Cam Hobhouse

“He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world…When all other friends desert, he remains.”

George G. Vest
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Only the affectionate memory of your pet remains:

From Frank Sheed’s book “Theology for Beginners” 1958, 1976, 1981 (Nihil Obstat, Imprimatur):

“This mingling of spirit and matter in human actions arises from a fact which distinguishes man’s spirit from all others. Ours is the only spirit which is also a soul–that is to say, the life principle in a body. God is a spirit, but has no body; the angels are spirits, but have no body. Only in man is spirit united with a body, animates the body, makes it to be a living body. Every living body–vegetable, lower animal, human–has a life principle, a soul.” (pp. 10).

“The souls, the life principles, of plants and animals produce no vital activities which rise above matter. They are marvelous enough, they animate the body. The soul is not in space at all; it animates the body by superiority of energy. There, then, stands man. Hissoul**,** because it is a soul**,** animates his body, as the soul of a lower animal animates its; but because man’s soul is a spirit, it has faculties of intellect and will by which it knows and loves as the animal cannot. Animal knowledge is only a faint parody of human knowledge. And so, with all its pathos, is animal love.” (pp. 60-61).
 
You did the right thing, animals do have feelings. They feel pain
and they can tell when you hurt (or at least mine do). Never let a
animal starve to death, be humane and just let them go to sleep
peacefully. By the way I have 3 cats and 2 dogs. They are all my
kids. God Bless you and all the animals in the world.
 
Euthanising a pet is not a sin just as hunting (and fishing) is not sinful. Jesus didn’t tell Simon Peter to stop fishing because he was killing the lives of innocent fish.
 
Hi Mia… I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved cat.

I currently have 3 cats, and in the past 20 some years have had to put 2 down due to devasting illnesses… one of the hardest, heart breaking things I have needed to do.

My one cat, was suffering from feline leukemia and his kidneys had shut down.

If we didn’t agree to put him down, he would have had all the toxins build up in his body and slowly kill him.

My other little love was drowning with feline peritonitis… and the fluid was filling her little lungs faster than the medicine could take out.

As much as I was ill about putting my cats down… I couldn’t have them have a horrific death.

This is never easy. We love them so much.

My one cat now is 22 yrs old and has a host of problems. He is on medication but still enjoys sleeping in the sun and eating Fancy Feast only.

You did the right thing.

=^…^=
 
Dear friend

I am sorry for the sad loss of your cat, like everyone else has said, you did do the right, kind and merciful thing.

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa
 
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mercygate:
It’s a cat. It does not have an immortal soul over which God is sovereign.
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I disagree. This is simply not true. Animals are created by God and they all have souls. :yup:
 
It was a hard, but loving choice. The same rules don’t go for animals as go for humans. It’s wrong to eat a human, but not a cow. Speaking as someone who knows nothing about you (:o), I maybe your guilt and desire to not euthenize your cat were because you didn’t want to say goodbye yet.

A pet’s death is always hard. I’m really sorry.
 
Bella- They have souls, but not like humans have souls. They don’t go to heaven or hell. They cannot sin. They have life on earth and that’s it.
 
I’ve had to send a few beloved furries on. It’s hard. But it’s good. It’s the right thing.

Souls… I do hope to see a couple of the most special ones again. They were/are dogs with something extra, something that seems to me to be beyond the normal soul of an animal, like a shadow or type of God’s love for us. A special grace, perhaps.

But I also know that we will want what God wants, when we get to heaven. We won’t be hurting there, so we won’t be missing our pets. Whether we won’t miss them because thy will be there with us, or because God will wipe that sadness away, I don’t know. He does; I trust in Him.
 
I just think it’s unkind in the extreme for people to tell someone after he or she has lost a pet, “Oh well, you’ll not see your pet again in heaven. He had no soul and here’s why, blah blah blah.”

What benefit does that serve, especially since, despite their overconfidence, such speakers can’t know that for sure?
 
I am not meaning to start a war here, I only want to express my feelings. I think to say pets have no soul, or higher feeling and they have no place to go after death is callus and unkind.

I have had many pets in my life and will most likely have more. I know for sure that my dogs are sometimes like little people. I know they are not as complex as humans but they still are God’s creation. They are capable of joy, sadness, pain, and unconditional love!!! They express love that is whole-hearted and expects nothing in return. How can that not be pure and wonderful way to celebrate the Lord’s love for all beings? Would I put the life of my dog before a family member? Probably not, but they still have a high place in my life and heart.

I think that if God lets us have this friendship and love with a pet - he is not going to simply let it snuff out with nothing greater to move on to. I would like to hope that when I die I will reunite with all my loved ones - including the four legged ones that never stopped loving me and the life they were given by HIM.
 
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seeker63:
I just think it’s unkind in the extreme for people to tell someone after he or she has lost a pet, “Oh well, you’ll not see your pet again in heaven. He had no soul and here’s why, blah blah blah.”

What benefit does that serve, especially since, despite their overconfidence, such speakers can’t know that for sure?
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Dear friend

I agree and in this thread at this time for the original poster, this is simply unkind.

Animals have souls, they are not spiritual souls as we have, but they have souls and any creature with a soul has the possibility of going to heaven and no-one , not one person can come up to me and PROVE otherwise because no-one KNOWS.

I think that’s fairly clear and could we please stop pontificating on the subject because it is futile.

My sincere apologies to the original poster and may God console you in your very sad loss.

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa
 
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