An sad update.
I continued to give syringe feeds every 2.5 hours during the day and once at night. Melvin was still pooing regularly, but small, hard poos. I gave extra water with the syringe feeds and wet the bits of grass that he would nibble. He would nibble a little grass and strawberry/grape cut into tiny pieces off a spoon. But hardly ever getting up to walk around his c&c, largely just sitting hunched in his bed. I rang the Northampton vet for advice (when he got back from holiday on Monday), as was so worried Melvin was in pain. The phone call was reassuring that I was doing the right things with Metacam/syringe feeds/warmth and quiet familiar surroundings, but realistic that it may be that Melvin had an ongoing dental issue that had not been resolved by the vet's GA dental surgery (
), or an underlying issue alongside. His age was unknown as he was a rescue piggie ... but was fully adult when SIL rehomed him 18 months ago, and the rescue said he had had a previous life with his own harem of girls!
However, on Monday afternoon, Melvin refused his syringe feed over two feeds, wriggling strongly to get away and only taking water from the syringe reluctantly. I read the forum guides, about refusal of syringe feeds, and spoke to my SIL (Melvin's owner) about what this may mean. I did managed to get more into him over the next few syringe feeds (back up to 12-15 mls), and he tried to nibble on some cucumber when in his c&c, but initially nearly gaining back to his (already low - 800g) pre-op weight, he dropped 15g overnight. I felt that 5 days on from his dental surgery, there was little improvement.
He did take another 15mls syringe feed in the morning, then a reluctant 3mls at the next feed. He was able to drink from his water bottle for the first time, and eat some groundsel, but when my SIL arrived, we decided that it was time. He was so frail, and it was so very painful watching him just sitting, not the bossy, inquisitive, lively piggie that I knew.
His cage mate Bella had also dramatically changed her behaviour, after sitting peacefully with him over the first few days, she starting with 'rumbling' at him occasionally. I sat them together after feeding Melvin to take some photos and then she suddenly began trying to jump onto his back continually! He was so frail, he couldn't move away. I don't know why her aggressive behaviour suddenly started, as they were only separated for brief 30-45mins periods when I syringe-fed Melvin? I decided to separate them with c&c grids inbetween, as Melvin was so frail. Melvin came to the bars to investigate and rubbed noses with her, before going back to bed, but Bella was so agitated. She continually nibbled at the bars, squeaking, running around, trying to climb the grids - I had never seen her like this! I sat quietly and tried to calm her with my voice/favourite foods, but her behaviour continued. I tried showing her Melvin on my lap, but again she did more jumping aggressively on him, so eventually I had to cover the bars between them with a blanket, and leave her sitting against the bars. That was one of the saddest times - seeing the bond seemingly disappear, as she has always cuddled up to him as her protector. I don't know why her behaviour changed so much?
Sweet Melvin cuddled into me, before the vet took him away. I brought him home, and placed him in with Bella (as advised in the forum guides), for three hours, before burying him amongst the roses.
It's the questions that haunt me ... the feeling that I failed him. I tried so hard (having very suddenly suddenly become a piggie mum 5 months ago!), reading up on feeding properly, making their c&c, planning and making their outdoor run with my father and spent so many happy hours looking after these sweet piggies over the last 5 months. Yet the one mistake I made was not regularly weighing them, not recognising the alarm bells of a few days of less breakfast eaten and thinking Melvin seemed a lighter piggie as I picked him up ... I wonder if I had acted a few days earlier, would that have made the difference?
And in the pain of the last few days after his op ... the questions of what was the right thing to do (as I knew from reading on here that the vet in Northampton was away and Melvin was so weak), but I worried that my local vet was the wrong choice? The daily worry ... would he pick up, was he suffering, was he strong enough to pull through? He was himself right to the end ... headbutting me away with the syringe and rumbling at me when I laughed ... but I regret trying to persuade him to take his last feed ... I wished I had spent that time just cuddling him ... he would wriggle himself into the crook of my elbow and relax as I stroked him. The questions remaining are the hardest thing ... but I didn't want him to be in pain ...
And now sweet Bella. She is calmer, but scared. She is skittish ... scurrying to hide in her bed at movement, despite my best efforts to use slow movements and my voice. She is scared to venture outside of her bed, so have been trying to utilise lots of her tunnels and thin mesh cover over the end of her c&c to try to make her feel safer ... and today she had a little mooch about with vocal encouragement ... but so very tentatively. The added complication is that I think she is blind with cataracts, as she seems the navigate by smell, with her nose searching the ground? She used to closely follow Melvin, right up to his bum when put into a cleaned c&c, and struggled to find food unless you stuck her nose right into it! I wondered whether she followed his scent trails? I have kept the layout of her c&c the same ... to try to give her comfort in familiarity ... but worry that she is struggling without him to guide her.
She has the jumper that I wore to nurse Melvin over his last days rolled up in his usual bed next to hers. I go to sit and chat with her every couple of hours, to offer her favourite foods (she loves soft thistle!), and cuddle her also. She is eating well, nibbling her hay ... I pick fresh grass for her every few hours, plus eating her morning/evening veg of cucumber, pepper, celery ... plus she nibbled a few pellets his morning ... and is pooing normally. I have tried her in her outside run, and she did venture out for 1/2hr yesterday to nibble the grass. I weigh her daily (very concious of importance of piggie weights now!) and she is floating within 20g of her weight last week (around 1255g-1275g). She feels like her usual tubby piggie with a big soft round tum!
I haven't yet put her back in the cage (they used to go in their overnight) as I'm too nervous and prefer her where I can see her in her c&c! I worry that she will be lonelier there without my frequent voice. But it's so hard not having Melvin running excitedly up to see me. It's hard facing the absence of not seeing his little face ... when your heart twists with sadness ...
Thank you so much for all the responses and help given. I am now trying to do my best for sweet Bella ...
