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Dilemma with Benson

tabelmabel

tabelmabel

Adult Guinea Pig
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Sep 2, 2012
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Location
Perth Scotland
Benson looks brighter today. His feet are heeling, he is eating and his weight is up slightly to 615g. (From 590g)

For anyone coming to this new, benson is terminally ill with liver failure and he also has bladder sludge which might now have formed stones.

However, during his weigh today, he peed blood about the size of a 2p coin. Bright red. I'm guessing this is from the lining of the bladder. He didnt show any sign of pain. But this is the first time i have seen blood at all. So now I'm thinking 'is today the day?' For euthanasia.

And that poses more dilemmas. Should i take him to my local vet who arent great with pigs but should manage to euthanase ok. Should i make the longer drive (hour) to the fantastic vet who is much better at treating pigs but will possibly be no different with euthanasing them ( or will he - will a cavy savvy vet send benson off more comfortably) benson is placid and wont struggle with either vet.

Is there a chance this bleed site could heal? Benson is on loxicom for pain anyway. What will happen if i just keep nursing him at home. As i say, he looks quite chipper just now.

And lastly, my daughter aged 11 is at school. I would ideally like her to see him again today but she isnt home til 3.15. If i wait til then, its easier to get to my local vet.


What do you all think and what would you do in this situation?
 
tabelmabel said:
Benson looks brighter today. His feet are heeling, he is eating and his weight is up slightly to 615g. (From 590g)

For anyone coming to this new, benson is terminally ill with liver failure and he also has bladder sludge which might now have formed stones.

However, during his weigh today, he peed blood about the size of a 2p coin. Bright red. I'm guessing this is from the lining of the bladder. He didnt show any sign of pain. But this is the first time i have seen blood at all. So now I'm thinking 'is today the day?' For euthanasia.

And that poses more dilemmas. Should i take him to my local vet who arent great with pigs but should manage to euthanase ok. Should i make the longer drive (hour) to the fantastic vet who is much better at treating pigs but will possibly be no different with euthanasing them ( or will he - will a cavy savvy vet send benson off more comfortably) benson is placid and wont struggle with either vet.

Is there a chance this bleed site could heal? Benson is on loxicom for pain anyway. What will happen if i just keep nursing him at home. As i say, he looks quite chipper just now.

And lastly, my daughter aged 11 is at school. I would ideally like her to see him again today but she isnt home til 3.15. If i wait til then, its easier to get to my local vet.


What do you all think and what would you do in this situation?
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Hi!

HUGS

As long as Benson is bright in himself and eating well, you have the grace of being able to wait. The end may be close, but it is not necessarily there yet.

I have my piggies usually pts by my local general vets or whatever out-of-hours services are available unless I get bad news at my specialists and decide to pts there and then if it is only a matter of days and my piggy is already in considerable discomfort.

To be honest, whoever I have ended up with over the years have all be caring and gentle with my piggies and kind with me.
I usually get a funny reaction at first when I ask whether I can bring in a piggy for pts with a receptionist who doesn't know me and where the piggy is not a regular/registered pet of mine; but so far, every vet who has seen the piggy in question for the first time has agreed with my own assessment after a very quick examination and has had no problems with performing the service. Vets are much better trained in this area these days.
 
I’m no expert in anything, just speaking as an outsider with the perspective of no emotional involvement with your piggy...
He sounds comfortable. You don’t know which vet would be “best” for a sad situation. I think I would be inclined to do my research into which vet you think would be best, contact them both and ask what their process is. Whilst establishing that (and checking with the experts here what they think of the processes in each place) you can watch Benson for signs of distress, let your daughter spend time with him and prep her for the time perhaps being very soon.
But if he is comfortable then I wouldn’t rush the decision. It needs to be the best timing for him but it needs to be a decision and a place you are comfortable with.

I’m sorry you are having to consider all this xx
 
tabelmabel said:
Thank you SO much! You have said everything I wanted to hear and, as I really value your opinion on everything, this is a totally brilliant reply! It has really brightened up my day. :tu:

That was for @weibke but also thanks to you too, @Tigermoth !
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Ha ha, if it hadn’t have been a cross post I wouldn’t have posted at all as obviously Weibke is who you want to hear from in times like this!
I’m just relieved I was on the same songsheet!
 
Lol yes! I was hoping to hear from Weibke but it is great to have both of you saying the same thing! I think Benson must have been a bit low the past couple of days with his sore feet, but i have been very vigilent in keeping him on clean, dry fleece since i noticed the feet and have been cleaning, drying and popping sudocrem on the feet. Today he is much more mobile and his voice is back. It's a funny thing with his voice. It goes between husky and non existant. So yesterday, he was making the effort to vocalize but no sound came. Today, he has a husky voice. I was so pleased to see him looking chipper in the cage, then when the scales showed a slight gain, i was very happy. And then i lifted him a saw the blood. And my heart just sank because i was kind of saying out loud 'oh my goodness, is that your foot' at the same time as having that horrible sick feeling as knowing full well it had come from inside him.
But he is eating and he does look bright. In my heart, i know he is in his very final days now but he just didnt look ill enough to go today. I'm so glad you agree.
 
Sorry that you find yourself in this situation with Benson.
I think you will know in your heart when the right time to let him go is.
We are here to support you
 
Sending you kind thoughts and support.
Benson sounds like he's not ready to go yet. I really believe you will know.
When we decided it was Bracken's time in January after a 4 month fight he was PTS by a lovely general vet. Neither of our usual piggie vets were available and we couldn't wait a week. I couldn't fault her at all and I could tell she cared deeply. When the time comes the shorter travelling time to the general vet may be beneficial to both you and Benson, my partner said it was the hardest drive he had ever made. Xx
 
Well benson is still here and muching through some grass just now but his weight is the lowest yet at 575g.
He looked a sad soul this morning, just standing in the cage with a pile of poo at the back of him - obviously having been there a long time during the night.

He perked up when we appeared but i think , unless things take a dramatic turn for the worse tomorrow, i will take him to be euthanased this coming Friday. Its to rain here tomorrow but friday is forecast good so we thought we would take him to a grassy meadow and spend a little time and then on to the vet from there.

The bloody urine might have settled - he did a clear wee last night but there were bloody spots on the cage liner when i lifted and changed the fleece yesterday.

He still has a light in his eye but every day he seems less mobile and its not really a quality of life. He doesnt seem to be eating hay either. Veg and grass yes but not hay. His teeth were fine when checked 9th april but they might not be now. He has had some milk thistle which is stalky. Not much though.
So tomorrow maybe. Or friday hopefully.
 
Well would you believe it - benson has perked right up and is happily munching the milk thistle. And, good news, i have now seen his wee today and no visible blood at all. I am still keeping friday in mind as there is definitely quite a marked deterioration even since last weekend. Dont think he is going anywhere today though.
He doesnt seem to be able to lie down at all so sleeps standing up. He can walk but slow and hobbly. His arthritis is very severe. In addition he has the bladder sludge/stones and his sore feet ( they are much improved but i expect they could still hurt as he is on them 24/7)
I'm still using sudocrem on them to prevent a flare up. He's just got a few things going on, no wonder he looked sad first thing this morning, poor lad.
 
Quick update on benson. He had a great day today! Now i just dont know what to do. I have booked him in with the cavy savvy vet monday ( he isnt there tomorrow or saturday unfortunately) just to chat things over and get his opinion.

There hasnt been any visible blood in his pee now for a couple of days. He doesnt seem to be eating hay but he was at the pellets a lot today and veg. He was bright and alert and hobbling about.

Will see what friday brings. Its a real rollercoaster.
 
Benson is bright again today:D so I'm not taking him to be euthanased. His weight is 605g but i kept him on the scale whilst he had his med and water and he went up to 610 - so these weight fluctuations are so tiny day to day though he is skeletal now,

Hopefully he will make it through the weekend til his appt monday
 
He is really bright today! His voice is back and he looks pretty cheery. Today definitely wouldnt be the right day for him to go. This is going to be an up and down ride til the end. With all the extra attention, benson is more interactive with us than ever. He is such a sweetie :luv:
 
Aw, it’s a very tough time for you both, sending hugs. Glad he has perked up a little, he may have more time, he sounds like a little fighter x
 
I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch for a while. I am so sorry to hear Benson has declined a lot and that you’re unsure about whether to take him to be PTS. It does sound like he’s a little fighter and keeps rallying round!
I had a good chat with my vet friend about Hamish on Monday. She says I will know the right time as it’ll be the day he can’t walk, isn’t eating and can’t clean himself. Hamish has really rallied round so I think he wants to keep fighting and I feel we need to keep going. Adding ranitidine seems to have helped a lot. His poo is bigger and easier to pass. I now have a dilemma over his piggy friendships but I think I’ll start a new thread about that.
I do hope you keep having good days with Benson. I will be thinking of you. Xx
 
piggieminder said:
So pleased to hear Hamish is still going strong at alexr.
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I know! I am very surprised but also delighted. In fact we’ve just had to order another bottle of Metacam. The vet had said not to re-order as he didn’t think Hamish would live that long. Hamish obviously wanted to prove him wrong!
 
Emotional roller coaster for you . You are clearly a lovely caring owner doing your best .. sending healing vibes to Benson x
 
alexr said:
the day he can’t walk, isn’t eating and can’t clean himself.
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Good to hear how Hamish is doing @alexr ! I like this about how to know when to its time to say goodbye - benson isnt there yet. We had a bad day on tuesday when he passed a little blood on the scales during his weigh and lots of blood spots on the cage liner plus he was fairly immobile and looked pretty down. However, he has really picked up and has had a great day today.
We are half way through a bottle of loxicom and i do wonder how much of it we will need.
I really cant imagine him managing too many more days. He is booked in at the vet 5.40pm monday. That is the first appt i could get. I just want to see if his current pain med is sufficient, get his feet checked to see if they are healing ok. And see if his hobbling is caused by his arthritis or his bladder. And ask why he has stopped eating hay. Quite a few questions i have for the vet!

Hope hamish and you and yours have a good weekend☺
 
tabelmabel said:
Good to hear how Hamish is doing @alexr ! I like this about how to know when to its time to say goodbye - benson isnt there yet. We had a bad day on tuesday when he passed a little blood on the scales during his weigh and lots of blood spots on the cage liner plus he was fairly immobile and looked pretty down. However, he has really picked up and has had a great day today.
We are half way through a bottle of loxicom and i do wonder how much of it we will need.
I really cant imagine him managing too many more days. He is booked in at the vet 5.40pm monday. That is the first appt i could get. I just want to see if his current pain med is sufficient, get his feet checked to see if they are healing ok. And see if his hobbling is caused by his arthritis or his bladder. And ask why he has stopped eating hay. Quite a few questions i have for the vet!

Hope hamish and you and yours have a good weekend☺
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I hope your appointment goes well on Monday and the vet can offer some advice. Hamish can’t eat hay when his teeth break (longstanding dental issue). Are Benson’s teeth ok or has he just gone off of hay? Is he still interested in other foods?

I hope you manage to have a good weekend with him. The sun is starting to come out here so I think we’ll venture into the garden later if the weather holds out 🙂
 
alexr said:
Benson’s teeth ok or has he just gone off of hay? Is he still interested in other foods?
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His teeth were fine when checked 9th april but they might not be now so i will ask on mon. He loves green beans and can eat them fast. In fact he loves all his veg. I put some of the hay covered stickles in the other day and he went for that. He eats oxbow cavy cuisine pellets which contain hay.

He likes to sit with his nose in the hay but i cant see him trying to eat it. I held a single strand to him last night and he went for it, thinking it was a green been, but stopped when he found it wasnt!

He loves grass but i know that's not a substitute for hay, his poo is small and sticky looking, not diarrhoea though.

Because i think he cant go on much longer, i havent been worried about his veg heavy diet. I think he keeps his fluids up a bit through veg too.

Hope hamish enjoys the sunshine!
 
Another good day for benson. Weight 595g this morn but he was eating well at veg and pellets and looks perky again. One of his feet looks red again, i now have the bepanthan. No more blood at all in his urine. I think that has all cleared up now. I'm pretty optimistic he will make it to his monday vet appt. He is looking good!
 

Here is a little vid of benson tonight. He is at the stickle, when he stops and squeaks, that's him passing a large poop! He isnt impacted and he doesnt often pass large lumps like that - once it passed he carried on at the stickle. I just wanted to post this so you can see why I'm in such a dilemma about euthanasia, if he were hunched in a corner not eating, it would be easy but, despite being so ill, he looks ok doesnt he. He doesnt look like he wants to give up yet anyway.
 
Bless him, he's not ready to give up yet as you say. As long as any pain is under control and he's happy that's what's important. I let Bracken go when we could no longer control his pain, in the end he was on 3 pain killers and there was no more we could do.
 
tabelmabel said:

Here is a little vid of benson tonight. He is at the stickle, when he stops and squeaks, that's him passing a large poop! He isnt impacted and he doesnt often pass large lumps like that - once it passed he carried on at the stickle. I just wanted to post this so you can see why I'm in such a dilemma about euthanasia, if he were hunched in a corner not eating, it would be easy but, despite being so ill, he looks ok doesnt he. He doesnt look like he wants to give up yet anyway.
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Ooh, I’d say he looks pretty keen to investigate and try things. He’s obviously interested in his surroundings and food.😀 Hopefully, he will have another good day today. That’s all we can do - take things on a day to day basis.
I’m hoping to actually get the boys cleaned out today. For all my good intentions yesterday, rain stopped my plans. Hamish is still maintaining his weight at 920g so I’m pleased about that. He did exhibit some worrying behaviour yesterday evening when he had his head in his wooden hidey but he seemed to perk up after a cuddle!
I hope you have a good day with Benson x
 
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