Rats and euthanasia

[minnow]

Mine goes for a subcutaneous sedative too unless they're not wanting to be held, then takes them for the shot into the heart after the blink reflex is gone and they don't respond to any other external stimuli. In some cases, it's probably enough with just the sedative, but it's best to be quick and certain when they're suffering.

 

[trexgorawrrrrr]

i don't even want to bring up this subject with my vet, but i know it probably won't be long before i have to. :cry3: :sad3: :cry3:

...it all depends on Molly and how she's doing. but i'm glad i read this before i had anything to do with her being pts. at least now i can be informed, and not have to go through anything like ryelle did.

 

[Vanessa]

You will find that the members of this particular forum prioritize having 0% room for error, when having to euthanize their rats, as opposed to it being an issue of cost.

 

[lilspaz68]

There was a case where an HS or animal shelter in the US used just inhalant gas to euthanize kittens and they were charged. Mine does isoflurane til they do not repsond to any external stimuli, then the heart stick (or IC injection). I have considered an injectable sedative for rats with terrible respiratory issues but they ended up passing very peacefully using the gas first.

 

[SQ]

Rats experiencing respiratory distress must be given the iso gas to render them unconscious.
An injection may increase their respiratory distress. (info. from the rat health care books)

 

[Moon]

Rats experiencing respiratory distress must be given the iso gas to render them unconscious.
An injection may increase their respiratory distress. (info. from the rat health care books)

Theoretically, so could having a mask put on while they can't already breathe. If they are in VERY severe respiratory distress, I can see an injected sedative being a viable solution.

 

[SQ]

It usually only takes a couple of breaths of the iso + oxygen gas mix for them to start to go under. The gas renders them unconcious quite fast.
Injections take longer to work and a rat already in respitory distress may suffer greatly if the injection makes it harder for the rattie to breath.

 

[Moon]

It usually only takes a couple of breaths of the iso + oxygen gas mix for them to start to go under. The gas renders them unconcious quite fast.
Injections take longer to work and a rat already in respitory distress may suffer greatly if the injection makes it harder for the rattie to breath.

Yes, but a rat in respiratory distress may not take to the gas as they normally would.

 

[SQ]

The info. I gave was from a book.

Moon, you are right in that they don't take the gas the same as a rat that is not experiencing respir. problems.
My experience includes having had to have many rats experiencing respir. difficulty and a few in respiratory distress, including one girl I had picked up the night before and whose lung collapsed in the vets office, pts.
My experience has been that they quickly become unconscious from the iso gas and oxygen mix.
The oxygen in the mix may actually help them to breath easier (my vet's observation).
They do not like the smell of the gas but it only takes a few breaths before they start to go under.
I know this because I have always been present, holding my rattie, and administering the gas.

 

[trexgorawrrrrr]

You will find that the members of this particular forum prioritize having 0% room for error, when having to euthanize their rats, as opposed to it being an issue of cost.

i could honestly care less about cost... i don't want them to suffer anymore than they have to. that's why i was doing my research before that has to become an option. i've never had to have a rat pts, but i'm sure i will. at least now i know the correct way to do it. i'm still new to rats, only had them for a little over a year... so i'm still learning!

as a struggeling college student with a part-time job i can tell you one thing i am not. i am not an irresponsible pet owner. i don't care how big or how little the animal is, if you take it into your home... it's your responsibility. i understand not having money, but sometimes you just gotta make a way... and unfourtinately some people don't put their pets over money. i'd rather beg for money from friends and family, or charge it to my cc to make sure my animals are taken care of.

 

[jorats]

My vet told me that a sedative injection is good to calm the rat down if they need it but they definitely need the iso gas to put them fully under before the stick to the heart.

 

[breakthenight]

My boy Lochlan when he was euthanized was given a high dose of sedative through injection. After this he remained with me until the vet assessed him and determined that he had no reflexes or pain response and was thoroughly unconscious. After this he was given an injection to euthanize and I held him for about a half an hour but his heart was still beating. After this point the vet administered a final injection to the heart this time. His blood volume was VERY low so the injection could not circulate properly through his system from the original injection site. He died about 5 minutes after the final injection in my hands. It was very peaceful.

Keiran was euthanized via gas and then heart stick. I was not allowed to be with him because of the gas, but they showed me where he would be euthanized, how and set up an area with blankies, etc for him to lay in while they waited for the injection to take effect. He had to remain in an oxygen chamber prior to the injection to breathe comfortably or at all, so my goodbye was only a minute or so. I waited about 10 and they brought me his body in a syringe box wrapped in a blanket. It was nice, and comfortable for him, and he went peacefully but I did not feel the same comfort I felt having been with Lochlan and witnessing he was in no pain when he went.

Both procedures however were acceptable and neither of my boys suffered as they had been in life, and that in itself comforts me.

 

[Vanessa]

I have had rats euthanized using the gas and using the injected sedative and I have never had a bad experience with either. Both procedures were stress free, panic free, and effective. There is an issue with the public being near the gas, and most vets will not let you be there, so the injected sedative is more appropriate if you want to remain with them.
It is not just the means that need to be taken into account, although there are processes that are completely unacceptable, the knowledge and talent of the vet also plays a big part in it going smoothly. If you have a trustworthy, caring, skillful vet, then they are more able to be trusted with the process that they feel will be the most appropriate for the circumstances.
I have been lucky enough to have vets that I trust beyond question, with euthanizing my rats, and I have never been made to regret it.

 

[Rachael]

My vet gives them gas and then injects them when they are no longer aware.

 

[jorats]

My vet is doing a new technique. She first sedates them like she would for surgery, then injects them with an overdose of pentobarbital sodium solution in the peritoneum. We can now be with our rats when they die.

 

[sausage4ever]

I'm not sure if it's because I used to work there, that my vet lets me be with my boys whenever I come to get them gassed. I never really thought about passing out from the gas, but I really enjoy being by my babes the whole way through.

 

[xxchelle]

My vet lets me be in the room during sedation from the gas, and during the needle, and I'm allowed to hold my rats throughout the whole process.

 

I have only gotten one critter PTS (r.i.p Alice :heart, I was a total wreck, I coulden't even sign the sheet, my bf had to.
my vet checked over her first, to make sure she was ready to go, which she was. He then said his goodbyes to her, then it was our turn, then he gave us the hardest thing you will ever have to sign (permission to PTS), then he took her out back, did what he had to do, laid her in a box, taped it and one of thegirls on the desk brought her back in ..she said Dr. D was too upset, we went out the back door, got in our car, seen him drive out of the parking lot with tears in his eyes (he was not working the day we got her PTS, we called him at home and told him it was time and he said he would come in a do it for us).

You can go back with him when he does it, but I was in too much of a state to do so. When we brought her how, we untapped the box, let Abby & Sophie say their goodbyes, we put her favorite bed in with her, kissed her and taped the box again. Me & my bf each wrote a lil something on the outside of the box, and buried her in the backyard next to Abby’s to lil babies who never maid it out of their sacs at birth. We now have a Head stone for Alice that’s says Alice 2009 – she came into our lives as a pet & left as a friend.

 

[crazy rat lady]

Ryelle,

I am so sorry about what happened to you and your poor rattie!
And I know exactly how you feel.
Its heartbroken when your rattie's in pain and you can't help..
When Gracia died, I couldnt sleep sigh...

Isn't there anything we can do about those irresponsible vets?
Can't we sue them. I mean so many of them don't even deserve to be vets the way they are treating the animals....

I'm so furious :redhot:

 

[froxen]

When I was younger, we had my first pet rat, Hunca, put to sleep -- it was definitely her time to go, but I never accepted how it happened. Instead of taking Hunca to the exotics clinic, my mom decided to rush the process and take her to the animal hospital we went to with our dog. They took Hunca behind the scenes where I wasn't allowed to watch -- they simply told me they injected directly into her heart, with no mention of gas. It bugs me to this day, and I know if the time comes to put one of my boys or girls down, I want to know exactly how it is done.

crazy rat lady -- In Ontario, if you believe your vet has acted irresponsibly/inhumanely and caused unnecessary suffering for your pet, you can file a complaint with the College of Veterinarians of Ontario (CVO). More information is available at their website -- http://www.cvo.org/ -- they will investigate your claim and take action against the vet if evidence of 'bad veterinary medicine' is found. Discipline varies from taking away the vet's license indefinitely (usually in extreme animal cruelty cases) to requiring the vet to complete courses or assignments in the area where they are found to be lacking in knowledge.

Similar public interest organizations exist in other provinces and countries, but I can't name them off the top of my head!