euthanasia and preserving remains

I wish to review again the most gentle method of euthanizng a greatly loved companion. Also, since I have not found a vet who will embalm an animal I heard of a plastic bag where the aniaml can be placed until it can be placed with it's human bean at their time of burial in the fiuture. There supposedly is little decomposition with this particular bag.

 

One good and somewhat common method for EU is to first sedate the animal and then give the IV injection of the EU solution. I never heard of a a bag like you described.

 

I have not heard of a special bag either -
however if all oxygen were removed and the plastic sealed, then placed in a freezer, decomposition would not take place -- assuming the temperature was held low. A deep freeze would be better than one that has automatic defrosting cycle (like the small freezer in a refrigerator).

That said - we had Norton cremated and have his ashes in an urn in the living room.

 

Our heart felt sympathy for you and your family,
We live in a rather remote area with a lot of feral cats. Some have found their way into our hearts, or we into theirs.
One of our friends didn't show up for too long... and after awhile it was brought to our attention that his remains were on the side of a back road. We put those remains into a huge gorgeous blue flower pot and have forget-me-nots planted. When I go - I want this soil to be added to my resting place.
Or, I wish I could be planted in my garden with my friends ~
And also like Phoebe_Rusty_Tiggy_Norton have had loved ones cremated and their urns are in our living room, and will join our family plot when we go ~~~

 

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to bury animal remains along with human remains. You may want to rethink that and opt for cremation instead.

 

George, I am so sorry you are going through these issues.

A proper euthanasia (in my opinion) should be a two part process. The first is a sedative to calm the cat. Either a shot or gas. Some vets, like the one who put down my Lily, don't do the sedative and thus cat can become quite agitated while an IV is inserted for the barbiturate that will stop the breathing and the heart.

Some vets may inject the barbiturate directly into the heart. I don't know anything about this, but Stefani (and Toonces) has told me it is an inappropriate way to euthanize. In fact, Stefani is my "go-to person" on euthanasia. You might want to PM her.

As for preserving remains, I haven't heard about the bag either and I think any restrictions against burying animal remains with human remains would be a matter of state law, and you should consult with a mortician (or two) in your area. I have been reading a book by Robin Cook called Intervention. One of the story lines has to to with a search for the ossuary box holding the remains of Mary (mother of Jesus). I had to look up what an ossuary is. Here's the wiki page. I will be brief, as to not upset someone reading the thread, but it involves a proces of burying the remains and then after some years, removing the skeletal remains and placing them in (what would be the case with you cat) a sealed box that could then be buried with you. I am not sure that I could personally handle that process with one of my cats, but perhaps you can talk with a pet cemetery in your area about this and other options.

(((((George)))))

 

Regarding:

"Some vets may inject the barbiturate directly into the heart. I don't know anything about this, but Stefani (and Toonces) has told me it is an inappropriate way to euthanize. In fact, Stefani is my "go-to person" on euthanasia. You might want to PM her."

In most states it is illegal to euthanize an animal via a "heart stick" unless the animal is already anesthetized. For small animals such as hamsters a common method is to first anesthetize using a gas such as isoflurane and then euthanize the animal using the euthanizing drug via a heart stick. For small animals IV injection of the euthanizing drug is just not possible.

 

I watched every second of the procedure when the vet had to help my beloved Bootsie cross over the rainbow bridge - and that particular vet used the 2-part method where they sedated her to the point of unconciousness, and then injected a second drug directly into her heart to stop it. I didn't find the method to be any more traumatic to her then just sedating her until her heart stopped would have been. The vet really hoped I'd turn away at the last second, but I chose not to. I would watch it again, I however suggest that you may prefer not to. I had promised her that I'd be there at the last second, looking right into her eyes and I kept that promise. In a way it was better for me because I got to hold her while she was going under and say all those things I wanted to say for one last time. And then once she was deemed unresponsive, the vet asked me to let me know when I was ready and I got a couple more minutes before the last injection. After the second injection it took mere seconds before she had no heartbeat and was gone.

I am confident that this particular method did not cause any undo trauma or stress to my cat, although it was hell on the human. I don't think there's a method that isn't hell on the human (shrug), but as far as Bootsie was concerned it was a gentle and dignified end.