Euthanized cat took a really, really long time to pass on- why?
My baby girl Sativa was 16 with chronic kidney disease and very painful arthritis that was no longer manageable. We also suspected some heart issues and feline dementia, but were unable to get a solid diagnosis.
I worried that it might be too soon, but when I talked it over with my partner we realized that even with the best care we could manage, she was disoriented, in pain, unable to do any of the things she loved, and while she had some good days here and there, things were only going to keep getting worse as time went on. We made the decision to have a vet come to our home and put her to sleep yesterday.
The vet was patient, professional, and very kind. After she sedated Sativa we said our goodbyes and waited for her to inject the euthasol. She couldn't get a vein (which was a big issue for Sativa towards the end of her life) so she injected directly into the chest....five times over the next two hours.
After three doses the vet said she had given Sativa the same dose she would have used on a 90lb dog, and she was still breathing. Much more slowly than she had been, but regularly. We turned her to her other side, I held her for a while, nothing changed. After two more doses she went through agonal breathing patterns for about forty minutes before her heart finally stopped.
I know it was probably an issue of perfusion. She was a chubby cat, so it was hard to find the heart, and by then her circulation and blood pressure was terrible. It's still hard not to anthropomorphize, and worry that it was too soon and she wasn't ready to go. Why would it take so long when she had what looked like a full cup of euthasol in her chest cavity?
Edit- thank you for the reassurance that it was just normal circulation/perfusion issues and that she wasn't in pain or discomfort while it happened. I was worried that the sedative may have worn off and the final medication was making her hurt, but the fact that it's also a barbituate helps. I am really glad her last moments she had some relief and wasn't aware of what was happening.