Palliative and Hospice Care
Veterinary palliative care medicine is appropriate when a decision has been made to stop attempts to cure a terminal or life-limiting illness or when disease symptoms progress so that they interfere with your pets daily activities. Palliative or hospice medicine is the term for the care that is delivered as a pet approaches the end of life.
As vets we can discuss the expected course of disease, how it is likely to affect your pet and put a plan in place to manage pain, treat other symptoms and adapt your pets environment to help them cope. Palliative care plans are individual to each pet and their caregivers based on their needs. We can also talk to you about quality of life and how to measure this in your pet.
The following links provide some more information about palliative care and quality of life.
Veterinary palliative care:
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/palliative-care-and-hospice-for-pets-overview
Quality of life calculator
https://journeyspet.com/pet-quality-of-life-scale-calculator/
Canine euthanasia – https://www.bluecross.org.uk/advice/dog/time-to-say-goodbye-to-your-dog
Feline euthanasia – https://icatcare.org/advice/euthanasia/
