12 Things Pet Owners Should Know About End-of-Life Care for Dogs and Cats

As animal lovers and medical professionals, veterinary teams want to support you when it’s time to make end-of-life decisions. That’s why AAHA collaborated with the International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care to create the AAHA/IAAHPC End-of-Life Care Guidelines.

You Still Have Options During Your Pet’s End-of-Life Care Journey

While you might feel powerless when your pet is diagnosed with a terminal disease, you can still be proactive about their care. Your veterinarian can help you understand the expected trajectory of the disease so, together, you can create a treatment plan for each step of the way.

When Is a Pet a Candidate for Hospice or Palliative Care?

In the final life stage, dogs and cats may have a terminal or ultimately fatal disease, a chronic or progressive disease like end-stage kidney or heart failure, debilitating arthritis, a chronic disability such as the inability to walk, or any combination of these conditions. Since the medical issue itself is incurable, the goal of medications and treatment is to make every day as comfortable and meaningful as possible.

What Is Pet Hospice Care for Dogs and Cats?

Like hospice care for people, pet hospice care focuses on relieving suffering and supporting caregivers during a pet’s final life stage. Hospice care should be provided—under veterinary guidance—from the time of a terminal diagnosis through death. This type of care seeks to relieve pain and anxiety using medications and can include euthanasia or hospice-supported natural death.

Hospice-Supported Natural Death May Be an Alternative to Euthanasia

Under the care of a veterinarian, death may occur naturally or with the assistance of medications administered by your veterinarian. This option may be meaningful for pet owners who struggle with the decision to purposefully end their pet’s life, even when done humanely and for ethical reasons.

Humane Euthanasia Is Designed to Be Peaceful and Painless

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has approved specific methods to minimize your pet’s pain, discomfort, and anxiety. Many pet owners are comforted by how quickly, quietly, and peacefully an animal passes away during euthanasia.

Why Euthanasia Can Be a Compassionate Final Act of Love

Veterinary professionals understand how difficult the decision to euthanize a beloved pet can be. However, animal hospice care does not allow a pet to die without euthanasia unless effective measures are in place to relieve discomfort under the care of a licensed veterinarian. Neglecting or ignoring a pet’s suffering is considered unethical and inhumane.

How Veterinary Teams Assess a Pet’s Quality of Life

Addressing your pet’s physical, social, and emotional needs is critical to maximizing comfort and minimizing suffering during end-of-life care. Your veterinary team may refer to the Animal Hospice Care Pyramid to help guide their recommendations.

Your Veterinarian Will Create a Personalized End-of-Life Care Plan

Your veterinary team will customize a plan based on your pet’s specific needs. This includes assessing your dog or cat’s level of pain, as well as their ability to eat and drink, breathe comfortably, eliminate appropriately, move around your home, and engage with caregivers and surroundings.

How to Provide End-of-Life and Palliative Care at Home

Ask your veterinarian how to maximize your pet’s quality of life at home. Simple modifications can make a meaningful difference in your pet’s comfort, such as improving access to food and water, altering slippery floor surfaces, ensuring bedding is comfortable, optimizing litter box placement and design, maintaining sanitation and hygiene, and finding an ideal home temperature.

Should Pet Euthanasia Be Performed at Home or in a Veterinary Hospital?

Euthanasia can be performed in a veterinary hospital or at home. Some veterinarians exclusively provide in-home euthanasia services and may even meet families at a park or beach if local laws allow. Your veterinarian will work with you to honor your wishes during this deeply emotional time.

What Happens After Your Pet Passes Away?

Whether you choose burial, cremation, or a necropsy (autopsy), your veterinary team can help make arrangements and offer support as you cope with your loss. Many pet owners choose to memorialize a beloved pet by writing a letter, creating a photo album or journal, planting a memorial tree, or making jewelry or keepsakes from their pet’s ashes. Your veterinarian may also be able to create memorial items such as a clay paw print, nose print, or fur clipping.

Grieving the Loss of a Pet Is Normal and Natural

Grief is a natural response to losing a beloved pet, and the grieving process changes over time. Many people experience the same stages of grief after the loss of a pet as they do after losing a human loved one, including denial, bargaining, anger, depression, and acceptance. Please consider using resources available to grieving pet owners. You are not alone.

Signs Your Pet May Need End-of-Life Support

Signs a dog or cat may benefit from hospice, palliative care, or a quality-of-life assessment can include:

• Difficulty breathing
• Persistent pain
• Trouble eating or drinking
• Difficulty standing or walking
• Withdrawal from family or surroundings
• Repeated medical crises

Always talk with your veterinarian about your pet’s specific condition and comfort level.

What to ask your veterinarian about end-of-life care

• Is my pet suffering? How do you know? What is the best way to alleviate that?
• What modifications can I make to my home to increase my pet’s comfort?
• Are there indications that my pet is a candidate for hospice care?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of humane euthanasia versus hospice-supported natural death?
• What are the pros and cons of euthanasia at home or in the veterinary hospital?
• How should I involve other family members, children, or pets in this process?
• Can you recommend resources for people grieving the death of a beloved pet?