Quality of Life & End-of-Life Planning
When care shifts from curing to comforting.
There comes a time in every Cat’s life when the most important question changes. This page is here to help you navigate that shift with clarity, support, and the knowledge that you are not alone in it.
Our Approach
Quality of life is a journey, not a single conversation.
Quality of life assessment is an ongoing, collaborative process between you, your Cat, and your Care Team, one that begins long before a crisis and helps ensure that every decision made is guided by how your Cat actually feels.
Our Philosophy
CatsOnly approaches end-of-life care as an integrated part of the Care Journey, not a separate category that begins only when hope is lost. Palliative care, comfort-focused medicine, and honest quality-of-life conversations are part of how we care for every senior and chronically ill Cat.
“We will never make you feel rushed toward a decision, and we will never withhold a difficult truth to spare the short-term discomfort of having it.”
CatsOnly Clinical Team
Assessing Quality of Life
The questions that help you see clearly.
HHHHHMM Quality of Life Scale
Hurt · Hunger · Hydration · Hygiene · Happiness · Mobility · More good days than bad
The HHHHHMM scale was developed by Dr. Alice Villalobos and provides a structured way to score seven key quality of life indicators on a scale of 1 to 10. A composite score above 35 generally suggests an acceptable quality of life.
The seven categories: Hurt (pain management), Hunger (ability and willingness to eat), Hydration (adequate fluid intake), Hygiene (cleanliness and comfort), Happiness (engagement, interest, contentment), Mobility (ability to move without distress), and More good days than bad.
What Your Cat Loves
The most personal and often most revealing measure of all
What are the three to five things your Cat loves most, and are they still able to experience those things? A Cat who loves to sit in a sunny spot, greet you at the door, and eat their favorite food, and who can no longer do any of those things, may be telling you something that no formal scale fully captures. Your knowledge of your Cat as an individual is irreplaceable clinical data.
Monitoring at Home Between Visits
What to track and how the CatsOnly App helps
Keep a simple daily or weekly log of the things that matter most to your Cat’s quality of life. Appetite and food consumed, water intake, litter box use, mobility, time spent in favorite spots, and engagement with you.
The CatsOnly App’s Pet Diary is designed specifically for this kind of ongoing documentation. Notes, photos, and short videos over time create a record that supports the most honest quality of life conversations.
Euthanasia
A compassionate goodbye, on your Cat’s terms.
01
Pre-Sedation Is Standard
Every CatsOnly euthanasia begins with sedation, a gentle injection that brings your Cat to a deep, peaceful sleep before the final medication is administered. Your Cat will not feel, hear, or experience anything after the sedation takes effect. This is our standard, every time.
02
You Set the Pace
There is no rush. Once your Cat is sedated and comfortable, you have as much time as you need. We do not watch the clock. We hold space for however long this takes, and we follow your lead at every step.
03
Whoever You Want Present
Partner, children, other family members, whoever you want there is welcome. There is no limit. We understand that this moment matters deeply, and we create space for it to be what it needs to be for your family.
CAETA Certified Practice
Every CatsOnly location holds certification through the Companion Animal Euthanasia Training Academy (CAETA), the leading professional standard for compassionate, evidence-based euthanasia practice.
House-Call Euthanasia
For Cats who are most comfortable at home.
Grief Support, You Are Not Alone
Grief over losing a beloved Cat is real and profound. If you are finding the days ahead harder than expected, these trusted resources are here to support you:
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Pet Compassion Careline (24/7 Support) — Call (855) 245-8214 to reach a professional grief counselor anytime day or night
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ASPCA Pet Loss Line — Call (877) 474-3310
For Cat Parents who prefer their Cat’s final moments happen in the safety of home, CatsOnly partners with Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice. This national network of in-home veterinarians is deeply dedicated to peaceful, compassionate end-of-life care.
Questions before your visit?
Our Feline Experience Specialists are available to take your calls during clinic hours.
