When to PTS?

[Good Karma]

My rat ****er is probably around 3 years old. He has been showing his age lately but in the past few days i have noticed a sharp decline: His mobility has decreased and he falls over frequently, he has lost weight and muscle mass and his breathing is always labored. He is just not acting himself. He is eating and drinking from what i can see.

I don't know if i should have him PTS or let him continue on on his own. Right now he is sleeping on top of a box in the cage, something i have never seen him do. He breathing is quite pronounced for sleep and his head is tilted in a weird way.

I have had another rat PTS do to an uncontrollable tooth root abscess and i know it is stressful for a few seconds - when we put the gas over his face he did struggle, i didn't like that part. And i don't want to stress ****er out for his last few seconds. However i don't want him to waste away if he is in pain.

How can i tell if he is in pain or just reeeeeally old? I am having a hard time with this.

If there is a thread where this has already been discussed please point me to it.

Thanks,

Tara

 

[Melissa's ZOO]

Usually if they are in pain their sides will be sunk in and they generally do not want to move or eat and just look plain miserable.

My Lilly was 35 months. I knew it was time when she no longer slept with the other and spent two days at the bottom of the cage alone and she no longer showed a big interest in her HT blocks anymore. I just knew that she was no longer happy and I felt that her cagemates had said their good byes to the old gal as they really didn't pay much attention to her anymore and were not cuddeling with her like that had been doing. I did not want her be alone anymore so I did what needed to be done.

It truly is one of the hardest most unselfish acts of love and a final gift to your boy. But ultimately it is up to you, you know him best.

I hope this helped a little and I am sorry. :hugs:

 

[Zooy]

I find that when the light in their eyes is gone, they are ready to go.
As a ratmom you just know!

 

[SQ]

For many of us, access to a vet to have a rat pts must be arranged ahead of time. I now prefer to err on the side of caution, instead of risking that my rats will undergo a great deal of suffering. Rats can decline so rapidly that I no longer wait as long as I once did.

When I have a rat that no longer has any quality to their life, I have them pts, even tho they may not have given up yet. They may still have that light in their eye but I can tell it is almost the end.

Many people let their rats die naturally at home but most of my rats have experienced breathing difficulties so they needed to be pts or they would have suffered greatly.

It is a horrible decision to have to make and only you know the situation well enough to know when it is time.

Pretty sure there was a list of things to consider by Vanessa, but I can't seem to find it.

 

[smalltowngirl]

:sad3: Poor little ****er. :hugs:

My boys are all still young....I'm going to be a mess when I have to deal with this stuff with them. I love them so much.........

 

[mamarat]

I'm with SQ, and especially since we have no vet on weekends I do take them in when I know they could get a lot worse over the weekend. I'm so sorry for your ****er. :hugs:

 

[sausage4ever]

For me it's when their bad days out weight the good ones. I took Eli on after I realized his ear infection would never go away, and that the daily cleanings caused him undue pain, he was dropping weight fast and could no long run and play as he wanted. You may debate for a long while but eventually you'll know when is the right time...

 

[Good Karma]

Thanks everyone. I have made an appointment with my vet today. She will be going away for the weekend as of Thursday so i don't want to risk anything.

Its such a hard decision.... He clearly looks uncomfortable but he still wants to be able to do everything... Its so sad!

I have to remember that he is over 3 years old and has had a great life. And he will be seeing his brother Pedley who died this year also.

All my youngest rats are now almost two. It has been a rough year, ****er will be the fourth to go this year.

 

[jorats]

:hugs:

Most of the time, when we start asking ourselves if it's time to have them pts... that usually means deep down inside, we know it is.

 

[Melissa's ZOO]

:hugs:

Most of the time, when we start asking ourselves if it's time to have them pts... that usually means deep down inside, we know it is.

I agree with this completely!

 

[SQ]

Just wanted to mention that you need to be aware of how to have a rat humanely pts and make sure your vet does it properly.
Many vets do not know how to humanely pts small animals.

See:
viewtopic.php?f=20&t=9582&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=0

 

[Good Karma]

We put ****er to sleep yesterday afternoon. I work at my clinic so i bought him with me to work and he spent most of the day cuddling on my lap. He had a very nice last day.

The euthanasia did not go as well as i had hoped. It took longer for the gas to take effect and ****er did struggle. It was very difficult to watch and i feel bad about it.

But i have to remember this is small amount of stress is better than a slow and painful death.

****er is now with his brother Pedley as well as his buddies Wembley, Gobo and Gumby.

 

[mamarat]

:hugs: I am so sorry.

 

[Melissa's ZOO]

I am so sorry. RIP ****er. :sad3:

 

[sausage4ever]

Goodbye ****er run free...

 

[Fidget]

But i have to remember this is small amount of stress is better than a slow and painful death.

That's a hard thing for a mom to have to say and it usually takes people a long time to come to that acceptance when we are doing the inevitable questioning of ourselves about what we did and could have done. So often we go thru 'questioning' hell when the kid has gone on. I think it's an unavoidable part of love, but I'm certain that kid can't be totally free to run & play with a free heart undisturbed in heaven til our own hearts are at peace over them.
I think you give ****er a loving gift to let your heart accept you did the best for him. And let him feel you missing him but not in questioning angst. We couldn't stand to see them suffering here, I don't believe they can fully be fancy-free in the next world if they see or feel their mom suffering because of them here.
Best is to compare (even agonize over) those awful decisions, then make the best one you can. When the kid is gone throw the other choices to the wind.
Make that kid's space in your heart just be of love & memories, not angst or confusion or regrets. Cause when that kid takes a break to 'be' with mommy that's where he's gonna want to be comfy.

I'm sorry for your loss of ****er. :cry3: Truly. He's still a lucky little man if he has heaven and a peaceful happy place in his mom's heart too.

 

[Alicemcmallis]

Ditto to all the comments made by SQ, sausage, jorats, etc. A wise vet once said it's better to let them go two weeks too soon than one day too late and having had experience with both, I wholeheartedly agree with that statement.

I'm so sorry for your loss of ****er. It really sounds as though you did the right thing in letting him go, although it was obviously an extremely difficult decision for you to make and I'm sure you'll miss him very much.

 

[Maple]

So sorry for your loss. Always remember the good times he gave you and never look beyond that. He loved you as you did him.
RIP little man :heart:

 

[pshuga03]

:sad3: Bless your heart, such a hard loss, but you made the right decision. Sorry for your loss :sad3:

 

[Good Karma]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful words. I am still having a hard time with it but your comments are making it much easier. Thanks to all of you!