Originally posted by 4 feline house:
Okay, Ben, now that you and Fuzzy are friends again, please tell me that I am misunderstanding you. Are you saying that if a person cannot, for whatever reason, keep their pet any longer, dumping them is preferable to euthanizing them?
What my fiance was trying to say (albeit not very well) was we'd rather they die of old age after a very long life rather than buick-enduced trauma.

Fuzzy and I have a history of adopting older cats (our were 7, 1 and 9 when they came to live with us) that were older cats in need of a new home rather than adopting kittens. I've never euthanized a pet because I just didn't have time for it any more, nor do I dump them. For life means FOR LIFE, and we're hoping to have it last 20-30 years (okay - hopelessly optimistic).

I did have a case where an elderly cat (18+ years) had been with the same owner all its life and was unable to adjust after the death of its owner. Even though the cat eventually had to be put to sleep, we sort of thought that the cat died of a broken heart.