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Bladder wall tumour

Jozza1972

Jozza1972

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Aug 28, 2018
Messages
36
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44
Points
170
Location
York, UK
Hi there, I’ve posted on here before about our dental piggie Dobby who goes to see Kim & Simon for his teeth issues at the Cat & Rabbit Care clinic.

His brother Peter has now become unwell. He’d very slowly lost some weight and last week he wasn’t himself at all, so we took him to the vets (our local vet in York). The vet examined Peter and thought he had a uti so he’s been on antibiotics and metacam for the last week.

Yesterday my daughter was cuddling him on a puppy pad and she came in to me hysterical because he had done a huge bloody wee. I rang the vet who couldn’t see him until 9.10pm. Peter continued to pass blood every time he passed urine.

The vet we saw last night examined him. He was very very sore around his bladder area. She kept him in for and x-ray and ultrasound. She’s just phoned me to say that she’s seen a bladder wall tumour on the scan. She said the prognosis is poor but she can refer him to a specialist or he can be pts.

I’m dreading telling my kids in the morning. Peter belongs to my younger daughter (she’s 13). Dobby is my eldest daughters piggy. Realistically I think the only option will be to pts. I’m so devastated. It feels all the more cruel as my dad was diagnosed with bladder cancer earlier this year. Has anyone had a similar experience with their piggy? I don’t want him to suffer.
 
One of my girls has been diagnosed with a bladder tumor a couple of weeks ago. I am waiting to hear back from the specialist. I don't think there is much to be done besides keeping them comfortable. My girl is doing well. You wouldn't know there is anything wrong right now besides blood in the urine. Sorry for your bad news. Hope you get some more time with your piggy. 😥. Sending you big hugs.
 
Thank you. I’m so sorry about your piggy too. Peter is the same this week. Since being on pain relief he’s been eating and acting normally. The blood was a massive shock.
 
Yes. I find it comes and goes. At least for my girl. I have read about using cystease if you are in the UK or cosequin if you're in the United States. I haven't started anything yet because I am waiting to hear back from the specialist. I am unsure of the dosage. For me, I am going to keep her so long as she is not in pain. My vet doesn't think she is in pain yet. The blood is very shocking.
 
Sorrry to hear about Peter. Glad the vet supplied you with painkillers.
Unfortunately I have had experience with bladder issues in boars but my understanding was that bladder tumours are rare - far more common to have a thickening of the wall or a bladder stone embedded in the wall of the bladder. But obviously doesn’t mean it isn’t the case for Peter. If you can see a specialist I would though. Or if u already have links with Simon can you seek advice there?
Cystease is good for alongside the painkiller.
I am also near york so can talk to you about local specialists but probably better on PM
 
Hi thanks. I’ve brought Peter home and asked for our vet to send all his info and scans on to the cat and rabbit clinic for their opinion. I’ll ring them Monday morning to try and speak to one of the vets. Peter seems to be quite comfortable and he’s eating. I’ll keep a very close eye on him x
 
That sounds like a good plan and then you can at least be reassured by Simon on diagnosis and options
One thing in the york area is that the water is as hard as nails so filtering it is a good plan for all piggies.
 
Jozza1972 said:
Hi thanks. I’ve brought Peter home and asked for our vet to send all his info and scans on to the cat and rabbit clinic for their opinion. I’ll ring them Monday morning to try and speak to one of the vets. Peter seems to be quite comfortable and he’s eating. I’ll keep a very close eye on him x
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Exactly what I was going to suggest. There might be nothing more that Simon or Kim can recommend but at least you will know a specialist vet has been able to consider the diagnosis
 
Aw, I hope you can get Peter sorted, if anyone can Simon can they are such caring vets. You have given him the best chance. Hope Dobby’s teeth are doing good x
 
Jozza1972 said:
Hi there, I’ve posted on here before about our dental piggie Dobby who goes to see Kim & Simon for his teeth issues at the Cat & Rabbit Care clinic.

His brother Peter has now become unwell. He’d very slowly lost some weight and last week he wasn’t himself at all, so we took him to the vets (our local vet in York). The vet examined Peter and thought he had a uti so he’s been on antibiotics and metacam for the last week.

Yesterday my daughter was cuddling him on a puppy pad and she came in to me hysterical because he had done a huge bloody wee. I rang the vet who couldn’t see him until 9.10pm. Peter continued to pass blood every time he passed urine.

The vet we saw last night examined him. He was very very sore around his bladder area. She kept him in for and x-ray and ultrasound. She’s just phoned me to say that she’s seen a bladder wall tumour on the scan. She said the prognosis is poor but she can refer him to a specialist or he can be pts.

I’m dreading telling my kids in the morning. Peter belongs to my younger daughter (she’s 13). Dobby is my eldest daughters piggy. Realistically I think the only option will be to pts. I’m so devastated. It feels all the more cruel as my dad was diagnosed with bladder cancer earlier this year. Has anyone had a similar experience with their piggy? I don’t want him to suffer.
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I am very sorry; it is the kind of news none of us will ever want to hear. :(

Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to treat it apart from sending him to the Rainbow Bridge when his time has come.
I am very sorry that it is coinciding with your father's diagnosis. It brings it all into even sharper relief.

The one good thing about a terminal diagnosis is that you can do and say everything you need to and not leave anything unsolved. It doesn't make the pain any less when the time comes, but it makes the grieving process afterwards easier as you won't suffer so much from feelings of failure, guilt and having to work through issues afterwards.

Try to focus on this aspect with your daughter - that there are contructive ways and that it is not all bad. You can make the best of the time you've got; love transcends time and you can pack a lifetime's worth into just a moment.
The grieving process starts the moment you realise that a beloved one may or will die; this is - apart from the loss itself - the biggest low you'll hit. If you do it right, you can do a lot of the grieving beforehand and are left with sadness but not so much homework to do after the death. Grieving that way has a different dynamic to a sudden death. Neither way is quicker or requires less processing, but personally I find I can cope better when I know that the end is coming, whether that is a human or a piggy, rather than deal with the shock of a sudden loss and the whole grieving process all at once.

PS: I have lost my own dad (named Peter incidentally) after a three year fight with terminal cancer and my mother-in-law rather suddenly. I have also lost a goodly number of piggies in all kinds of manner over the years, of which a couple have had cancer.
 
Thanks for your reply. I’m so very sorry for your losses. It’s so very hard. I’m hoping that because our vet is inexperienced in ultrasound on guinea pigs, that maybe she’s mistaken. I may be clutching at straws but I have to hope x
 
Our Fudge had a bladder tumour, she went from having slightly pink tinged wee to full on fresh blood in about 6 weeks, she was in a lot of pain then despite being on long term Metacam, and had also lost a lot of weight so we knew that it was her time to go over the Rainbow Bridge :( I think it’s different with every piggy.
Good luck! :(
Here she is on the right with her sister Toffee, who is still with us.
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I thought I’d give a quick update on Pete. We took him to see Simon on New Year’s Eve. He examined Pete and said his bladder felt soft. Urine was normal colour. He put him on different antibiotics and we decided that if Pete got worse or didn’t improve they would have him in for a look inside the bladder. Ultrasound can be very misleading in small furries because of how tiny everything is.

The new antibiotics seemed to affect Peter’s appetite so I started syringe feeding him and we picked lots of fresh grass which he loved. He’s now started to put weight back on and is eating really well. Urine is normal at the moment. He finishes his antibiotics tomorrow. Keeping everything crossed that it was cystitis rather than a bladder tumour 🤞
 
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