Why did let an animal suffer those last few hours when its passing could have been painless? Sounds like cruelty when there is no hope of recovery or improvement.
It was something that we had discussed as a family; my father was of the opinion that she should be put out of her misery, I was leaning towards that option (but willing to acquiese depending on the thoughts of my stepmother and little brother, given that Ratue was actually his cat). In the end, a wait-and-see approach was decided.
Needless to say, my stepmother will be choosing euthanasia whenever our next pet ends up in a similarly terminal situation.
Besides, the onset of organ failure really only began forty-five minutes before she passed away (the nearest animal hospital is about a twenty-five minute drive away, and Ratue had never liked car rides). According to Dad, forty-five minutes is rather quick.