Has anyone here ever had to euthanize an aggressive pet?

[mtblujeans]

Years ago, DH got talked into taking the adult dog of someone he had done work with that had a "problem dog". They had spoiled the dog since puppy-hood and let it sleep in the crib with their baby. As the dog got older, they let it sleep on any and everyone's bed. We don't know what other patterns they had established. The dog was so attached to the family, it could not even be let out in the back yard to do its business without howling and barking constantly. It got so it was destroying things in the house if they had to go somewhere and leave it home. So, they were trying to put it out in the yard when they were away. I think their kids were getting to the point where the family was busy with kid activities and the dog was not adjusting to the new schedules. Neighbors were calling the police and animal control because they were leaving the dog outside all night and it barked and cried the entire time. She asked DH to take the dog because we lived out in the country.

DH does not let pets in the house and he told her that but she said it would be OK. I don't know what either one of them was thinking!! That dog barked constantly. We never did figure out where she got the energy to bark for days at a time!! When we let her loose, she tried to run away. If we tried to keep her in the yard with us, she would snap at the kids! I told DH about the snapping and he didn't see it so I don't think he was taking it seriously. Then, one day, the dog tried to bite DH. That was finally it! He had been trying to put her back in her kennel. They then had a battle of wills that lasted the rest of the day. She took off across the road and across the fields for about 1 mile....with DH following behind her trying to catch her.

DH called animal control and asked if they had any experiences or advice about this type of dog. They told DH they had had to put a few of this breed dog down because of biting and they all seemed about the same age so this officer and DH wondered if they were all from the same litter. The officer told DH that it was one thing for a dog to snap at a child but when it tries to bite the owner that feeds it, it should probably be put down. He said children would definitely be at risk around a dog like this. So, he took the dog over that week and they put it down. I have never seen anything like that. Again, I don't know what the situation really was with the first family the dog was with. But, I would not take a dog to convenience someone like that again.

ETA: I just read Caleb's Mom post and this dog, too, was a cocker spaniel.

 

[phillybeth]

ETA: I just read Caleb's Mom post and this dog, too, was a cocker spaniel.

Cockers are well-known in rescue circles for their aggression issues. Well-bred cockers can be good family dogs, but they are a popular breed and the puppymills jumped on the bandwagon. Inbreeding is as bad for dogs as it is for people- now most cockers out there are poorly bred and aggressive. There is even a disorder called 'spaniel rage'- it's an epilepsy-like brain disorder where the dog just suddenly snaps and starts attacking anything and everything. Then two minutes later it cn be perfectly fine.

 

[katerkat]

My SIL had to put down an agressive dog. He was a German shepherd mutt and he was vicious. He bit my husband on the face, and she still tried to keep him and train him to be good. Eventually he attacked her boyfriend for no reason (BF was on the couch and didn't even look at the dog!) She decided that it was best to put him down. Rehoming him wouldn't have helped - he was so bad that the change could have been bad for everyone involved.

 

[puffkin]

My aunt and uncle are dealing with the same thing, and their cat is only 1 1/2 years old. They had it from a kitten (a neighborhood cat had kittens under their porch and they kept this kitten).

The cat is very anti social and hides most of the time. It only likes my uncle. My aunt tries to stay out of its way. She has been biten twice now by the cat. Both times just walking by it. It just attacked her leg. Both bites were deep and got infected, so she needed medication.

The vet told them this was a one person cat (he had a medical name for the condition, but I don't remember it). It obviously only likes my uncle, and will probably always be aggressive to everyone else. There is not much they can do about it. It is not an adoptable cat either because it has Feline Leukemia, so it can't be around other cats. If it continues to attack my aunt for no reason, they may have to put her down.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I have had many cats all my life and yes I would put this cat down. He sounds like he was not socialize properly as a kitten which can turn cats "feral" or he has a mental disorder.

You have a right to peace in your family and the other cat does have that right too. It sounds as if you have done all you can.

 

[aprincessmom]

Yes. We had a Saint Bernard that we "rescued" from the pound. He had been abandoned at the end of summer -- typical on Cape Cod when the season ends -- and was very underweight. He had perfect markings and had obviously been trained (followed commands, etc.). He was my sister's dog and we all loved him. Got him fattened up, confirmed with the vet that he was up to date with shots and things.

He was good initially with all of us but my sister left for an extended period of time (4 weeks) and I took care of him. When she returned he would sit and growl lowly, all the while watching her every move, while "guarding" my brother who is multiply handicapped. He was protecting my brother, for whatever reason, and began slowly to growl at all but me and my brother. Given that my brother is blind and deaf and we couldn't guarantee that the dog wouldn't turn on anyone, including my brother, we had him put down. The vet said that this behavior may have been why his original owners abandoned him on the side of a road where he was found. I'm glad we did it even though it was very hard to do.

 

[Crankyshank]

Not a cat but my parents had to have a higly aggressive dog put down. They tried everything - obedience school, behaviorist, puppy prozac, etc... this dog just had so many problems ( pit/rottie/doberman mix, parents were drug dogs, seized at 5wks and given to my brother by his girlfriend so she never learned puppy manners from her mom). She even circled around neighborhood kids like she was circling prey.

Unfortunately the vet agreed that she was a lawsuit waiting to happen, so my parents put her down.

 

[LoveWDW]

I feel terrible for you about this. What came to my mind was that if a dog bites, is aggressive, it will be put down. I fear that this is what is needed for your cat, also. What if he actually seriously injures somebody. Our neighbor had a Siamese that bit their child in the face causing scarring.

 

[goofy4tink]

I's so sorry chrissyk that you're going through this!! A month ago I had 3 cats and a dog. My son was living with me, with his cat. But, Domino, his cat, stayed in the basement family room with him and never came out. He has been only with ds and has never had a lot of people in and out of his life. Well, ds moved to Tampa 2 weeks ago and moved in with a friend of his. This friend has outdoor cats, so ds asked if he could leave Domino with us and he would come back for her when he moves. No problem says I...I love cats. Well, long story short....I have had to move my cats' litter box out of the basement and up to the third level where our bedrooms are. Domino was chasing them out of 'her' basement...terrorizing the poor things so that they would't go near the basement to do 'their business'. One cat even did his business right in front of my poor dh as he dressed for work!!! Now, my cats went to the basement all the time while ds was here and had smelled Domino and vice versa. But, now she hides under the daybed, comes out for a quick rub and pat on her head but scampers away since she's so skittish. She has batted me once, yet rolls around on her back looking for belly rubs. Is she aggresive? I don't think so...just terratorial. She has tried coming up to the bedroom area but gets spooked easily. She has had some pretty good squabbles with one of my 3 cats...the other 2 just ignore her. Now, what would I do if she got more aggresive?? Man, hard question since she's only 2 yrs old and I can sorta understand her issues. But in your case, there aren't any issues that you are going to be able to address....your cat is just downright aggressive. And as they get older, they do get worse. Even my even tempered babies have gotten cranky as they age. Never have an old cat with little kids!!! But, I digress. Although I hate the thought of it, I would be very tempted to put the cat down. Harsh, yes. But, your other poor cat has no quality of life and I can't imagine that the older, aggressive cat is very happy either.
So, good luck in whatever you choose to do. Maybe God will take the decision out of your hands and take the cat from you, peacefully. From my mouth to God's ears, as my nana used to say!!

 

[mtblujeans]

Cockers are well-known in rescue circles for their aggression issues. Well-bred cockers can be good family dogs, but they are a popular breed and the puppymills jumped on the bandwagon. Inbreeding is as bad for dogs as it is for people- now most cockers out there are poorly bred and aggressive. There is even a disorder called 'spaniel rage'- it's an epilepsy-like brain disorder where the dog just suddenly snaps and starts attacking anything and everything. Then two minutes later it cn be perfectly fine.

This was pretty much what the animal control officer was saying, too. He wondered to my DH if the litter she came from was inbred as they seemed to be having to put down the whole litter. That was a guess on everyone's part, tho', that they were from the same litter. I thought that was awful that this woman dumped the dog on someone else because she probably couldn't stand to put it down herself. We, also, had small children at the time!

The dog we have now we have had to 10 years and he doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body! He is a lab + ? (maybe heeler). He was a pound puppy....something got over the fence into the pure bred labs so the breeder dumped them off at the pound.

 

[alliecats]

If you are worried about his liver, you can always have your vet do bloodwork and check his liver enzymes (ALT, AlkP, and TBil) and see if they look ok. Our cat Sabrina has been on valium for over 5 years for aggressive behavior, in her case, spraying like a tom whenever she sees or hears a cat outside. It was to the point we were going to have to give her away.
We tried prozac, amitryptiline, depo provera shot (no kidding!), frosting the bottom panes of our windows, everything. The valium took a week or two for her body to get used to but it does not make her lethargic. Luckily she handles it very well. She is just more laid back and relaxed. The funny thing is she gets very vocal about an hour after she takes it, brings us her Rosie the Rat toy (sometimes a few of her Rosie the Rats), and then settles down. Valium is supposed to be hard on the kitty liver, too, but she is almost 9 and all her bloodwork came back just fine on her last check in July. It is an appetite stimulant, so she is fat. But it is better than us having to give her away, and she seems very happy on it.

 

[chrissyk]

He had a blood work-up last week, and everything was OK so far. He's only been on the higher doseage of Prozac consistantly for a couple of months. DH and I decided that we're going to call the behaviorist back and see if we can safely increase the doseage again.

I am very worried about our other cat, frankly. She has put up with enough aggression in the past 8 years. I can't always be home to break up any possibly aggression, so I'm going to have to go back to locking him in 1 room before I go anywhere.

DH and I think that we can continue to manage our cat with the Prozac and keeping him cat separated, as long as things don't get any worse. If he continues to get more aggressive, there is going to come a point where I think we will have to make a very tough decision Honestly, I do hope that it never comes to that. He has other health issues too, so I do think that those will probably get the best of him eventually.

The sad thing is that we love our cat very much. We take the responsibility of being pet owners very seriously. I don't know what else we can do though.

 

[mtblujeans]

 

[DisMN]

It's a very sad situation but yes, I'd put an aggressive pet down...it's a safety issue and I'd do it sooner rather than later. The aggressive animals I've seen don't seem like "happy" animals either and I tend to think after we've done all we can for them maybe our best IS to put them down.

Best of luck with your decision. Your safety and the safety of your other pets should be a priority right now IMHO.

 

[Aimeedyan]

**hugs** to you. What a difficult situation. I commend you for trying all you have, and hope a higher dose will make things in your home more peaceful for awhile. If that doesn't work, I think you've done all you can and it would be time to let him pass on.

 

[MrsNick]

Sorry that you are having such a difficult time with your cat.

I lived with a cat who was this way. My then roommate adopted a stray who had just had kittens (she also kept one kitten). The cat never really lost her feral streak, even though she could be sweet when she wanted to be.

The cat ended up attacking a friend of mine, and my roommate ended up having to reimburse medical costs.

Fast forward a year.

I moved out of the apartment so I could have my own place. The cat went after the new roommate, and the cat could no longer stay in old apartment. The cat went with me for a little under a month, since (for whatever reason) this cat really loved me.

At that time, I told my former roommate that I could no longer keep the cat. Not that I didn't like the cat (she used to follow me around my apartment, and sit on the ledge of the tub when I took a shower - you get the idea). But I was really concerned about liability. I was afraid to have guests in my apartment.

At this point my roommate took her cat back. The cat turned on her . So, the cat seemed to be getting even worse. A friend of my roommates had a farm in Upstate NY, and agreed to take in the cat. The cat proceeded to go after every animal on the farm, and had to be isolated. The cat continued to get worse. When my roommate spoke to her cousin (who is a veterinarian), the cousin had bad news. She advised my roommate that the cat was only going to continue to get worse. She said that as aggressive cats age, they become more aggressive, not less; and that as guilty as she might feel about it, my roommate was fooling herself to believe the cat would ever improve.

So, my roommate made the very difficult decision to have the cat put down. It was really sad when it happened. I know my roommate was sad about it, and I was, too. I had been quite fond of this cat. But in the end, the cat was a liability - not just in terms of lawsuits, but in terms of being dangerous to people and other animals. It simply was not worth risking serious injury to other animals, let alone to humans.

So, as difficult as this must be for you, here are three things to consider:

1) How guilty will you feel if your male cat were to seriously injure or kill your female cat?
2) The abuse (yes, abuse) that your female cat is experiencing is because you are not making the decision to a) put the cat down b) send the cat to a shelter which does not euthanize or c) crate the cat; sometimes adults must make extremely unsavory decisions, and this is what separates adults from children. I do not mean to be harsh at all, because I truly sympathize with you, but you are putting off the inevitable at considerable risk to your other cat and you and your DH. (And how would you feel if you got beat up once a week, like your other cat?)
3) How will you feel when your cat seriously injures you, your DH, a friend or other family member? It is not a question of if, it is only a question of when this will occur. People who don't know cats may not realize this, but a 10 pound cat can be extremely dangerous, particularly one who is feral. You or your DH could lose an eye.

You have my sympathy, my empathy and wishes for the best of luck.

 

[arminnie]

Two of my first cocker's littermates had to be put down for aggression. One bit the owner in the face (took 42 stitches to fix it) totally unprovoked. The other was an aggressive biter also.

They were owned by neighbors who lived two doors apart. They were put down within 6 months of each other. Both dogs had contracted Parvo and I wonder if they did not have brain damage.

My dog was with the other dogs the weekend before they came down with Parvo, but my vet had just given my dog a second booster (they were all puppies) and fortunately he did not come down with it.

Both families had small children and just could not take the risks associated with keeping the dogs.

Another friend of mine took in a feral cat about six years ago. That cat has always lived in one room away from the other cats and seems to be okay with it.

I wish you the best - it is a terrible decision to have to make. I really do feel for you.