Part Two: My Personal Decision
As the pet parent to six beloved dogs and cats over the last 18 years, the most heart-wrenching decisions I’ve had to make revolved around my cat Eliot and my dog Hans.
Eliot suffered a stroke almost five years ago due to a careless medication error on the part of a new vet. Another vet was able to get him past the worst of it, and a few days in a large university animal hospital...
Part One: The Options
When your beloved dog or cat becomes seriously ill, you’ll probably have to make many choices concerning care. One of the most painful decisions you’ll have to make is this:
When is the right time to euthanize? How will I know when it’s time?
Euthanasia–also called putting to sleep or putting down–is a common practice which helps a sick or injured animal to pass...
Awhile back, one of my cats was seriously ill, and I thought I would lose him. He was unconscious after a sudden seizure, and the prognosis was grim.
Despite being told that he had less than a 1% chance of survival after two days of intensive care, I insisted that we give him at least twenty-four hours more. I had a very close relationship with this cat, and I had a gut feeling he wanted to live and would, if only I...
I keep a compost pile—actually two—in my back yard. They’re very basic and simple, but they work for me: four sturdy metal fence posts wrapped twice in fine mesh fencing. The wire mesh is sunk six inches below the ground, and it’s three feet high and about three feet wide in any direction.
One compost pile is within the bounds of my garden, which is also fenced in, but the other is close to the...
Constipation? Diarrhea? Maybe your veterinarian has suggested that you increase the fiber in your pet’s diet by giving pureed pumpkin to either bulk up the stool or loosen it. Both cats and dogs usually love it, plus it’s inexpensive and a natural, healthy choice.
In either case, you probably went to the grocery store, searched around, and finally found a big can of 100% pure pumpkin—not pie...
