Littlewood Katherine, Beausoleil Ngaio, Stafford Kevin, Stephens Christine
Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre, School of Veterinary Science, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.
Animal Science, School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.
Animals (Basel). 2021 Apr 13;11(4):1114. doi: 10.3390/ani11041114.
Cats 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.
猫是新西兰最常见的伴侣动物。兽医护理的进步意味着猫的寿命更长，老年猫的数量也很多。猫的临终决策因主人与猫的关系以及其他社会心理因素而变得复杂。我们的研究探讨了新西兰老年和慢性病猫的主人做出临终决策的方式以及他们的兽医在这一过程中的作用。通过对14位猫主人进行回顾性半结构化访谈，使用开放式问题收集定性数据。利用模板分析对这些访谈的文字记录进行主题探索，确定了九个主题。四个是以动物为中心的主题：猫的行为变化、疼痛是个不好的迹象、衰老的迹象不好以及让其他人看到主人通常看不到的情况的好处。五个是以人类为中心的主题：兽医理解主人与猫的关系、使死亡正常化、需要一位优秀的兽医来处理临终事宜、兽医确认主人做得正确以及强烈希望预测猫的病程和结果。临终决策很复杂，兽医的角色往往定义不明确。我们的主人赞赏他们的兽医提供的专业知识和确认，但护理的连续性很重要。未来旨在探索兽医在猫临终决策过程中的观点的研究将是该主题的一项有价值的补充。
