“What Would You Do?”: How Cat Owners Make End-of-Life Decisions and Implications for Veterinary-Client Interactions

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dc.citation.issue4
dc.citation.volume11
dc.contributor.authorLittlewood K
dc.contributor.authorBeausoleil N
dc.contributor.authorStafford K
dc.contributor.authorStephens C
dc.coverage.spatialSwitzerland
dc.date.accessioned2024-01-25T20:37:20Z
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-25T06:42:46Z
dc.date.available2021-04-13
dc.date.available2024-01-25T20:37:20Z
dc.date.available2024-07-25T06:42:46Z
dc.date.issued2021-04-13
dc.description.abstractCats are the most common companion animals in New Zealand. Advances in veterinary care means that cats are living longer and there are many older cats. End-of-life decisions about cats are complicated by owner–cat relationships and other psychosocial factors. Our study explored the ways in which end-of-life decisions were being made by owners of older and chronically ill cats in New Zealand and the role of their veterinarian in the process. Qualitative data were gathered via retrospective semi-structured interviews with 14 cat owners using open-ended questions. Transcripts of these interviews were explored for themes using template analysis and nine themes were identified. Four were animal-centered themes: cat behavior change, pain was a bad sign, signs of ageing are not good, and the benefits of having other people see what owners often could not. Five were human-centered themes: veterinarians understanding owners’ relationships with their cat, normalizing death, the need for a good veterinarian to manage end of life, veterinary validation that owners were doing the right thing, and a strong desire to predict the time course and outcome for their cat. End-of-life decision making is complex, and the veterinarian’s role is often poorly defined. Our owners appreciated the expertise and validation that their veterinarian provided but continuity of care was important. Future research aimed at exploring the veterinarian’s perspective during end-of-life decision making for cats would be a valuable addition to the topic.
dc.format.pagination1114-
dc.identifier.author-urlhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33924569
dc.identifier.citationLittlewood K, Beausoleil N, Stafford K, Stephens C. (2021). "What Would You Do?": How Cat Owners Make End-of-Life Decisions and Implications for Veterinary-Client Interactions.. Animals (Basel). 11. 4. (pp. 1114-).
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/ani11041114
dc.identifier.eissn2076-2615
dc.identifier.elements-typejournal-article
dc.identifier.issn2076-2615
dc.identifier.numberARTN 1114
dc.identifier.piiani11041114
dc.identifier.urihttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/70729
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherMDPI (Basel, Switzerland)
dc.relation.isPartOfAnimals (Basel)
dc.rights(c) 2021 The Author/s
dc.rightsCC BY 4.0
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectanimal welfare
dc.subjectcats
dc.subjectdecision making
dc.subjectend of life
dc.subjecteuthanasia
dc.subjectquality of life
dc.subjectvalidation
dc.subjectveterinarians
dc.title“What Would You Do?”: How Cat Owners Make End-of-Life Decisions and Implications for Veterinary-Client Interactions
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.elements-id444393
pubs.organisational-groupOther
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