Cats are one of the most affectionate and visually appealing animals to have as a pet. When these adorable animals become a part of your family for years, it might be challenging to say goodbye to them. However, there may be occasions when you have to decide to end your life. If your elderly pet no longer loves its life or if it is suffering from an incurable sickness that makes it impossible to live, the most compassionate thing you can do for your pet is to provide it with a painless death as soon as possible.
Many pet owners choose to euthanize their animals at home using over-the-counter medications. The motive of this is to explain how you can accomplish this and what you should know before euthanizing a pet in your home.
There are various options for putting down your pet at home, freeing it from the unpleasant and uninteresting existence it is currently leading. Not everyone has the financial means to take their pet to the vet for a final time. They may have spent enough on treatments. The entire process of euthanasia in a clinic can be significantly more expensive than simply administering a high dose of over-the-counter medications.
Most people believe that administering medication to euthanize a pet at home is more convenient. Euthanizing in the privacy of your own home is more comforting for both you and your pet. Sleeping pills are among the most effective medications you can employ to ensure that your pet dies in peace.
An example of a regularly used drug is Phenobarbital Sodium, a potent anesthetic pharmaceutical that has been approved by the government and euthanasia agencies.
As a veterinarian, I never thought I’d be writing on a blog on how to euthanize a dog or cat with Tylenol at home…
As a veterinarian, animal lover, and toxicologist, let me tell you that this post had me livid. First, the decision to euthanize a pet is so hard… and you don’t want it to fall you on, right? When in doubt, please talk to your veterinarian about this decision. I’ll say that it was even a hard decision for me – a veterinarian of over 20 years – with my OWN DOG. (You can read about my decision here).
I previously wrote a blog on Tylenol poisoning in dogs, if you want more detail. Yes, Tylenol can kill a dog or cat – but it’s very slow in killing. The point is, very few poisons kill humane and acutely – it typically takes 24-48 hours before your pet dies, and it’s not a good way to go.
A few months ago, a fellow veterinarian contacted me about a blog that she saw on Petbloggish.com about how to euthanize a dog at home with Tylenol (which contains the active ingredient acetaminophen – which is more commonly called paracetamol in other countries). How to kill your own pet at home. For real. (Thankfully, they have since removed this blog!)
When in doubt, please contact the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center for advice, and talk to your veterinarian. If you have financial limitations, a veterinarian will work with you when it comes to humane euthanasia. Or the local animal shelter. But can you euthanize your pet at home? No, please do not try to euthanize your dog or cat at home. They are our four-legged family members, and don’t deserve an ending like this.
Everybody has that neighbor (OK, some of you are that neighbor) whose heart bleeds for all the stray cats in the hood. Cat Lady or Cat Dude leaves paper bowls full of Meow Mix all over the sidewalks, and the scraggly, fiercely independent kitties go tomcatting all over town. You might think your local Cat Lady is really sweet or maybe eccentric. But you know who really hates the Cat Lady? Bird lovers. Nationwide, a massive fight is under way between cat lovers and bird lovers (who say wild cats are nonnatural predators threatening bird species and other critters). The battle has become especially heated in Florida, where pending legislation could affect the way feral cat colonies are managed. This month, the issue caused problems at two recognizable publications after an Audubon writer wrote a shocking op-ed in the Orlando Sentinel.
Colonies of feral cats thrive all over the world — under the 17th Street bridge in Fort Lauderdale or in stately Palm Beach — and this creates problems for municipalities that must decide how to deal with them. Cat lovers generally support a policy of “TNR” — Trap, Neuter, and Release. It calls for cats to be captured, taken to a vet, implanted with a chip, neutered, then freed. Theoretically, this lets the current generation of wild cats roam free but ensures they cant produce heirs. But the cat-loving crowd took a hit in January when a report was released, based on the work of scientists at the Smithsonian and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The report said that free-ranging domestic cats kill 1.4 billion to 3.7 billion birds and 6.9 billion to 20.7 billion mammals every year. Cat lovers decried this report as fear-mongering, anti-cat PR, but in Florida, the report could influence a piece of legislation thats kicking around Tallahassee. This year, Florida House Bill 1121, also known as the “Community Cat Act” was written by an attorney with Best Friends Animal Society and introduced in the House. It would establish that community cat programs that practice TNR would not be guilty of abandonment or unlawful release. The bill is supported by the Humane Society but opposed by the Florida Veterinary Medical Association. Last week, it passed the agriculture committee in the House by a 14-0 vote. A companion bill has been filed in the Senate. On March 14, an Audubon writer and accomplished environmental journalist named Ted Williams contributed a column in the Orlando Sentinel describing TNR as a “dangerous, cruel, and illegal practice.” He said that “In Florida, where rabid cats attack people,” most wild cats have a feline form of AIDS. Feral cats infect Florida panthers with feline leukemia, he wrote, and they kill migratory birds and endangered species including lower Keys marsh rabbits and silver rice rats. Then he wrote that there are “two effective, humane alternatives to the cat hell of TNR. One is Tylenol (the human pain medication) — a completely selective feral-cat poison. But the TNR lobby has blocked its registration for this use. The other is trap and euthanize. TE is practiced by state and federal wildlife managers; but municipal TE needs to happen if the annihilation of native wildlife is to be significantly slowed.” After cat lovers of course called for Williams head (and also pointed out that Orlando Sentinel editors were dumb to have let this tacit endorsement of cat murdering slide), Audubon initially announced that it had “suspended its contract” with Williams. But in a blog post Tuesday, the CEO of the National Audubon Society wrote that Williams would stay on with the magazine. David Yarnold wrote that although Williams op-ed “raised serious questions of judgment” and Audubon “absolutely reject[s] the notion of individuals poisoning cats or treating cats in any inhumane way,” they forgave the writer. Yarnold linked to Audubons official resolution on feral cats, which describes the felines as “exceptional and prolific predators” and asserts that TNR does not reduce feral cat colonies. The resolution calls for governments to regulate feral cats and recommends neutering — but not euthanasia. In the meantime, the online version of Williams article on the Orlando Sentinel has been toned down to omit the bit about Tylenol. Williams added a disclaimer at the top, saying:
Best Cat Euthanasia Drugs & Medications – UPDATED 2022
There are several over-the-counter drugs and medications that help treat health problems in humans but are often fatal for cats and used to euthanize them. Here are some of the best ones often preferred by cat owners.
Tylenol PM
Tylenol PM is a common over-the-counter painkiller found in every home. However, cats are extremely sensitive to these drugs and they can be fatal for pets even in small doses.
Large doses of this medication can cause poisonous effects in cats and put them to death. However, these effects can be painful so it is recommended to use this drug with sedatives for euthanasia.
Benadryl
One of the most effective over-the-counter drugs for allergies in humans, Benadryl works for cat euthanasia.
You can consider giving it a 15 times higher dose than a regular one to kill it. Such a dose of Benadryl will put your cat to comma in a few minutes after which it dies peacefully.
Aspirin
Cats are known to be highly sensitive to certain drugs, aspirin being one of them. It is due to their slow synthesis and digestive inability that they respond adversely to this drug.
Overdosing the cats with aspirin is a painless way to put them to sleep for a lifetime. A few doses of aspirin would put them down peacefully in a matter of hours.
Insulin
Though insulin is considered to be a life-saving medication for diabetic patients, a high amount of this drug can put your cat down by dropping its blood glucose levels. Insulin can be easily obtained from a pharmacy and given to the cat without any professional help.
If you have decided to euthanize your feline, you can inject a big dose of insulin and see it going to coma in about ten minutes after which it experiences a painless, peaceful death in some time.
FAQ
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