Life and Death

My oldest cat, Puck, has been very sick. In a 'could have died' kind of way. I won't disgust you with the details but he spent seven days at the vets with a catheter and a drip, had to have an operation and will be on a special diet for the rest of his life.

But basically what it amounted to was a urinary tract infection. Which is a bigger deal for cats than it is for humans but it still shouldn't be a terminal illness. and in Puck's case it wasn't - for two reasons.

1. I took him to the vet in time (it can kill cats in three to six days)
2. I could afford to pay for the treatment he needed.

Now here's the thing. Point one is down to the owner spotting the issue and acting in time. there are a million reason why that might or might not happen. You're away for the weekend and the neighbour doesn't notice when he/she pops into feed them, the vets are closed for the long weekend and you're pretty sure it can wait etc etc.

But point 2... Now I understand if an animal is in a lot of pain with something major like a serious accident or a terminal illness. But this is something that could be easily fixed with no long term effects.. as long as you have a spare $1000 or so.

What if I didn't?

Would the vet have put down an otherwise healthy animal?

Does anyone know?