Cat's death refuge?

Question

Our cat has been very ill these past few days. She's over seventeen years old so we know she's dying of old age. But she hasn't eaten for three days & she'd been sleeping in my dad's room in her usual spot all that time, barely able to walk properly & when she did she did it lopsidedly.
This morning she'd gone & my dad reckons she's taken herself away somewhere quiet to die, to her 'death refuge'.
I prepared myself for her death but not for this. We had a vet appointment arranged for her & cruel as it sounds, we had planned for her to be put down to put her out of her misery. All our pets have been buried in the back garden [as you do] but being the person I am I want a 'last goodbye' to our cat. I don't want her staggering away to die where we can't find her & she'll either be eaten by something in death or decay to be found next Spring or something horrible.
What are the chances she's gone to find her death refuge?

Answer 1

I'm sorry to hear about your cat - we've only had one do this and never found them - but he was 22 so I hope had his last innings somewhere he loved.

There is little you can do sadly. Leave some of her favourite food out and maybe she will smell it and come back - but you may just need to prepare yourself I think.

Answer 2

I'm not afraid of death because I'm not in imminent danger of it. If I should notice an immediate threat to my life I certainly hope my survival instinct will kick in and I'll experience an extreme fear of it, which is an excellent response as a motivator to stay alive. On a spiritual level, there is nothing beyond death, so it won't really matter if I die. It's just the panic and/or pain before hand that would scare me - like the tingling in your feet when you nearly lose your footing on a ledge, or the shaking you experience when you've just had to save your own life. Adrenaline is difficult to ignore. I don't particularly want other people to have to attend my funeral either. But if it was something I couldn't avoid, like drowning deep underwater or something, I think I would accept it as soon as I decided it was absolutely inevitable. I certainly wouldn't welcome it, otherwise I'd be in the kitchen drawer now to get the nearest sharp knife to my cartoid artery.

Answer 3

I suffered from the same pet fate.....

In may, I had a dog named Molly. She was old and we were gonna put her down soon (that weekend). She didn't want ot wait, she went under the boat in our back yard, and left us.

She didnt come when we called. I didnt leave the poarch as i was scared of what I might find. So i sent my dad to go looking. From the isde window i saw him nodd. I knew then she had passed. Molly was a great friend. As your cat was. And from that day and on, I knew I would always remeber my first pet Molly.



Molly April 17, 1994- May 2007. We all miss you girl. =(







Your loss seems about the same as mine. You care alot about your pet, but couldnt do anything more than you have now. You can't drive her to the vet, you cant do alot of things. I kknow you wish to do SOMETHING but are not sure what. It is hard to lose a pet, very hard. Don't go to look for her yourself. If you find her in her resting place, you.....Anyway, I am very sorry for your loss and hope you can find a place in your heart for a new pet. Remeber tho:

Your new pet will replace the spot in your home, not in your heart.



Never forget your pet or the good times. :Love her forever and never forget to. She is always gonna be there. You got to remeber to love her. Never forget her. When you are 89 you have to rember her. I know I'll remeber Molly until then,......



I cannot go any further as I have now started crying. I hope for the best. ♥ :(



~Courtney

Answer 4

Hi Anna. My girl was 17 when she died four months ago. Like your kit, she stayed away from her usual comfy spots. She used to lie in front of the fire or over in the corner beside all her stuffed toys. When she started to get really ill, she began hiding under the counter in the kitchen and in her last week, moved between there and the bathroom. She also developed a weird liking for bath water. She stopped eating and would barely drink and could barely walk. My hubby and I decided that we couldn't allow her to linger any longer and decided to take her to the vet. She hadn't been out in years (since she was spayed cos she was in a helluva state when she came back and I promised I wouldn't take her out again). We'd been hoping that she'd go in her sleep but it wasn't to be. We were round the corner from the Vet's surgery when she died so that was a decision she took from us. Our plan had been to take her home and bury her anyway and I'm glad we did cos it gave us a bit of extra time to say our goodbyes. I hope you find your girl and can say your goodbyes to her. Please let me know if you can. I'll be thinking of you. Best Wishes.

Answer 5

Unfortunately I think that it is very likely you will not see your cat again. I don't think it is cruel to put an old cat out of her misery at the vets and I'm really sorry you have been left with no closure for your loss. Try checking round the garden and garage etc, she may not have gone far.

Answer 6

I don't think she has but when she comes home keep her in from now on. She loves you and she wants to do whats right by you she doesn't want you to make that decision for her. Look around her favourite hide outs but remember this if she has gone to die she's gone the way she wanted to thats the main thing. You can still say goodbye to her in your mind and in your heart. But don't worry she'll be back.Please let us know how things turn out. Take care

Answer 7

Look around the outside perimeter of your house. Is there anything out there that she could have crawled into? A cat will not travel far to find a 'death refuge.' I had a Siamese who ran through a cholla cactus, and she was covered in cactus chunks and thorns. She obviously thought she was going to die, because she crawled into an old, gutted-out ice machine next to the house. She was curled up tightly in there, covered in cactus, and she didn't meow or move when I called her. I had to get her out with a towel to keep her calm, and took her to the vet for surgery to remove all the cactus. She came out okay, and lived to old age. So please look around right outside your house, inside anything she could possibly fit in whether or not you can see an entry spot big enough for her to fit through. Good luck to you and your kitty!

Answer 8

I have no advice to give you Anna, I think everyone here has covered most of it. I just wanted to say how sad I feel for you and everyone else her who has lost their beloved cat. I just hope you find some comfort in the fact that you gave your cat a good life and the fact that she lived to be 17 bears this out. God Bless to all of you.

Answer 9

firstly it sounds like the kidneys are closing down

she may have gone somewhere where there is a very cool/cold floor to lay on because toxins building up in her blood will make her feel very hot,it is sadly part of the animals life all pet owners who care deeply for their animals have to face and in NO WAY is having your cat put to sleep cruel! its often a godsend that we are allowed to put them out of pain this way and animals have their dignity too

its about the animals welfare only now

and not our pain of losing them

we have to come second

Answer 10

It sounds very likely...I think you should get her to the vet as soon as possible. Not eating or drinking is sure sign she is trying to "go." The best gift a pet owner can give there pet is a quiet, pain free death to end suffering.....

Answer 11

Have a really good look around. If she is so poorly, it is unlikely she will have gone far. Search everywhere on your property and surrounds, and ask any neighbours to look in sheds, etc, normally kept shut.

Have you got any friends with a good sniffer dog who could track her?

Good luck.

Answer 12

i do believe that some animals do go away to die, my mum told me (when i was little) that it was to stop us from being sad.

Try to find her, do as the others have said and leave some of her favourite food out for her.



i hope you can get the closure that you need, it is a sad time for you.

Answer 13

she probably has. If you don't find her, take comfort in the fact that this cat loved you so much, she tried to spare you the pain of good-bye. Cats don't (quite) reason like humans, but love is universal.

Answer 14

Poor little thing. your dad sounds a very heartless person.to be content that mother nature might do something hes not man enough to do,

If she not eaten for 3days theirs every chance shes not going to be to far away. go look and find her ,Just maybe your father will have a prick of conscience and dip in his pocket to see her last days pain free.

Answer 15

You should go look for her and you should put her down because she is suffering and you don't want that for ur cat.

Answer 16

When you noticed that she wasn't eating you should have taken her to vet or the humane society right away.She probably has already found her death bed and may already be gone.What bothers me is that you waited to do some thing about it. I know it is hard to see your loved cat go but its inhumane to have it suffer.