I do not know where I got this from, but I thought all dogs were male and all cats were female. I thought this while I had a dog named Betsy and a cat named Sebastian.
If that’s not bad enough on its own, I think I was in first or second grade when I learned the surprising truth. I wasn’t a dumb kid, either. I learned to read when I was about 3.5 yrs old and started 1st grade as a 5 yr old.
I’m now in my 70s and I still can’t figure out where I got that from!
Do not give your senior pet to an animal rescue. I think the mental anguish they’d experience they’d suffer from feeling abandoned would hurt them so, so much.
Do your best. Talk to your vet and ask for guidance.
We all face this, eventually. It is hard to face that our cherished pet is aging, but it’s our duty to see them through.