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Dottie’s breathing and skin issues

Thank you so much. We weigh every day at the moment and today she was 1035 which is the lower end of her normal range (1030-1080) but not too dramatic so far.she has oxbow critical care an we will give her more. Luckily she will take it off a plate.

Hopefully the gabapentin will help if there is pain. I wish we could give her metacam as she likes that taste more!… but they want to spare her kidneys which I understand given her heart medication regime.

I wouldn’t be surprised if she has some arthritis at her age. It does sound so common as you say. Our vets looked at all the hundreds of scans they’d done of guinea pigs a few years ago and found it was one of the most common findings in older pigs, even when that wasn’t what they were being investigated for.

I’m hoping it’s not a stone or growth. They did an ultrasound on her a few weeks ago to check her heart and kidneys and her very small ovarian cyst. Hoping it there was a stone it would have shown up at that scan.

No squeaky wees today so far touch wood.

Thank you!
 
Wiebke said:
Step in weighing daily and offer voluntary top up feed (see the first link for judging when and in which form to step in). The thickness means that she has been still eating until yesterday (it takes about a day or two for food to work its way through the body) but there could be a potential pain issue somewhere in the body/lower body that is starting to affect the appetite and also the expression of poos - that could in older piggies also include pretty common arthritis in the lower spine and pelvis, so please try not to panic. The issues are still in the minor levels and you are not at the emergency stage.

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support

Wiebke's Guide to Pees and Stones

Caring for Older Piggies and Facing the End - A practical and supportive information collection
Click to expand...
Really appreciate these excellent guides. Thank you.
 
Hello all

Update on Dottie:
  1. Pain noises: We heard one more squeaking noise since we got her back from the vets, but nothing since. She is still on the gabapentin (0.2ml of 50mg/per ml) twice a day which may be keeping the pain at bay (I hope so of course, but it also means we don't know what's happening!)
  2. Urine sample to check for UTI: I am going to try to take one today by putting her on an F10-cleaned plastic tray, and syringing it up and then taking that to the vets. I think that's probably the easiest way to do it. I understand their urine samples are never that 'clean' but it's worth a try.
  3. Weight and appetite: She is maintaining her weight (1070 today). She has lots of hay, minimal veg in case of digestive upset, some grain free pellets and the same Oxbow critical care she has been on for a while, which she happily takes off a small plate (and that now has a sprinkle of Pro C stirred into it).
  4. Poos: Her poos seem regular, plentiful and generally within her normal style (which is a bit variable in terms of colour etc). They are a bit smaller than normal. But the day before last, she did one long poo that looked like it should have been 2-3 separate ones; it was almost like whatever part of her body is meant to 'cut' them into separate droppings didn't do it's job. Please see photo. I've checked every poo since and this hasn't been repeated, the rest are all a normal shape. It does make me wonder about her anal muscles etc or pain in her body? I will mention this to the vet when we next speak.
  5. Breathing: she has a diagnosed heart disease (probably DCM) and although the frusol seems to be keeping the fluid at bay for now (scan last month showed no excess fluid), and her resting respiratory rate is not awful given her condition (80s and 90s, sometimes creeping up to 100), her breathing the last few days has looked more laboured. She is definitely rocking more with her body when she breathes. The fact that she is still eating and moving around and interacting with me is reassuring, but I don't like the direction this is going in and will be sending the vets a video of her breathing today and asking if we should revise her meds and/or bring her in. She is on frusol for the fluid and Vetmedin to help with the heart contractions. I understand from the forum that ACE medication can also be helpful. She gets stressed with vet visits (and it must be even harder being a solo pig since she was recently suddenly bereaved too) so I only want to take her in if needed. I am happy to pay for a phone appointment, although my vets are pretty good at phoning and emailing between appointments anyway.
  6. Managing her stress: We want to get her a friend soon but given her condition, I am a bit worried about the stress of that, taxis for 90 min each way, leaving her at the rescue while she has this existing condition, putting her through the bonding process. Equally I know they need friends. The other factor, which I hate to think about, is that according to the statistics on heart disease, most pigs only live a few months post diagnosis. We are 6 months in, with a 5-6 year old piggie. So there is part of me wondering if it's fair to put her bonding etc when she may be reaching her last few months anyway. But I also want whatever time she has left to be as happy as possible and that means a friend.
Anyway, for this week I will concentrate on her immediate health needs, and then see what the rescue thinks when they re-open next week. I'm also dealing with a very stressful human health situation in my family at the moment too, which isn't helping. But we will do right by Dottie one way or the other - she is so loved.

If anyone has an opinion or similar experiences please do share but if not I will keep the thread updated in case of interest or use to others.

Many thanks
Lucy
 

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LucyP said:
Hello all

Update on Dottie:
  1. Pain noises: We heard one more squeaking noise since we got her back from the vets, but nothing since. She is still on the gabapentin (0.2ml of 50mg/per ml) twice a day which may be keeping the pain at bay (I hope so of course, but it also means we don't know what's happening!)
  2. Urine sample to check for UTI: I am going to try to take one today by putting her on an F10-cleaned plastic tray, and syringing it up and then taking that to the vets. I think that's probably the easiest way to do it. I understand their urine samples are never that 'clean' but it's worth a try.
  3. Weight and appetite: She is maintaining her weight (1070 today). She has lots of hay, minimal veg in case of digestive upset, some grain free pellets and the same Oxbow critical care she has been on for a while, which she happily takes off a small plate (and that now has a sprinkle of Pro C stirred into it).
  4. Poos: Her poos seem regular, plentiful and generally within her normal style (which is a bit variable in terms of colour etc). They are a bit smaller than normal. But the day before last, she did one long poo that looked like it should have been 2-3 separate ones; it was almost like whatever part of her body is meant to 'cut' them into separate droppings didn't do it's job. Please see photo. I've checked every poo since and this hasn't been repeated, the rest are all a normal shape. It does make me wonder about her anal muscles etc or pain in her body? I will mention this to the vet when we next speak.
  5. Breathing: she has a diagnosed heart disease (probably DCM) and although the frusol seems to be keeping the fluid at bay for now (scan last month showed no excess fluid), and her resting respiratory rate is not awful given her condition (80s and 90s, sometimes creeping up to 100), her breathing the last few days has looked more laboured. She is definitely rocking more with her body when she breathes. The fact that she is still eating and moving around and interacting with me is reassuring, but I don't like the direction this is going in and will be sending the vets a video of her breathing today and asking if we should revise her meds and/or bring her in. She is on frusol for the fluid and Vetmedin to help with the heart contractions. I understand from the forum that ACE medication can also be helpful. She gets stressed with vet visits (and it must be even harder being a solo pig since she was recently suddenly bereaved too) so I only want to take her in if needed. I am happy to pay for a phone appointment, although my vets are pretty good at phoning and emailing between appointments anyway.
  6. Managing her stress: We want to get her a friend soon but given her condition, I am a bit worried about the stress of that, taxis for 90 min each way, leaving her at the rescue while she has this existing condition, putting her through the bonding process. Equally I know they need friends. The other factor, which I hate to think about, is that according to the statistics on heart disease, most pigs only live a few months post diagnosis. We are 6 months in, with a 5-6 year old piggie. So there is part of me wondering if it's fair to put her bonding etc when she may be reaching her last few months anyway. But I also want whatever time she has left to be as happy as possible and that means a friend.
Anyway, for this week I will concentrate on her immediate health needs, and then see what the rescue thinks when they re-open next week. I'm also dealing with a very stressful human health situation in my family at the moment too, which isn't helping. But we will do right by Dottie one way or the other - she is so loved.

If anyone has an opinion or similar experiences please do share but if not I will keep the thread updated in case of interest or use to others.

Many thanks
Lucy
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If you do not want to end your piggy keeping, would it be an option to adopt a pair of bonded younger piggies (sows or mixed gender) that can live alongside Dottie for interaction and stimulation but that avoid the stress of a bonding trip for a frail older sow with heart problems? You can reduce Dottie's cage size if needed, since she is more sedentary now and the stimulation from others is more important in terms of quality of life if that helps to set up something suitable.

I would recommend to check for pain (potential arthritis in the lower body that can impact on the poo formation. It is not uncommon.
 
Thanks Wiebke, really helpful thoughts about the pain-poo formation possible link and thanks for your suggestion re potential newbies too. Hope you are not feeling too rough today.
 
Quick question on gabapentin if I may- has anyone ever been told to taper it slowly when coming off? There’s a note about doing this on the label of the meds. Google suggests that’s more about animals who’ve been on it long term (Dottie’s only been on it 6 days) but I want to be sure. She’s on 0.2ml twice a day. I’ll be asking the vets of course because you can’t rely on an internet search for something like this, but I was just curious if others have heard of this.

Thanks
 
I didn't taper it when Brillo came off it, he had been on it for a while but was only on .1ml twice a day. The vet didn't tell me to taper it. I wouldn't think it would be necessary to taper it after 6 days as it takes several weeks to build up as a pain killer. I would be interested to hear what your vet says, please can you let us know.
 
Thank you - from my reading online it looks like is more relevant to situations like dogs being on it long term, higher dose for things like seizure control (?). Will let you know what they say!
 
Vets very apologetic - it’s a generic label and that bit is supposed to be removed for exotics. The advice applies to cats and dogs!
 
Hi all, update on Dottie:

I took her to our usual vet today as she has had some quite ‘rocking’ breathing, head bobbing etc. She also had the 2-3 discomfort squeaks over Xmas (we think on toileting).

The vet’s view:

Heart and lungs sounds as we would expect from Dottie’s heart condition, some galloping beats but overall not too bad. No sounds of fluid.

The breathing (which is actually a bit better since I booked the appointment) is not unusual with her condition. I showed her the videos of when it was worse.

No change of plans for her heart condition at the moment. If the breathing gets worse we can look at adding ACE inhibitors.

She’s on high dose frusol still and vetmedin. We may try bringing the frusol down a bit again (as it’s dehydrating) but her heart issues take priority, so if the reduction is detrimental we will max out the frusol again.

As ever, if we see red flag symptoms (gasping for air, flat out struggling, looking distressed) that’s an emergency vet trip and I’ve registered her with our nearest out of hours in case needed.

This vet wasn’t convinced that 2-3 possibly squeaky wees meant urine infection and didn’t mind that I hadn’t manage to get a urine sample from her (of course Dottie duly weed on my knee through the carrier on the way home!). The vet said we can revisit exploring this if the noises come back. She also felt the discomfort could be poo related - she has some dry poos and they may be causing her some grief. We’re to keep her hydrated and keep an eye on that.

At home we had also wondered if a few days into the gabapentin she was walking a bit more, and if arthritis or some other pain was at play. The vet’s given us more gaba if we want to try her on that again, or just to have at hand if she squeaks again. Metacam not ideal for her kidney wise.

Final piece of advice was to keep her environment as calm, predicable and stress free as possible. On that note the vet said that whilst she always recommends piggies have a friend, she does wonder if the stress of bonding with a new pig may actually outweigh the benefits in this case. I suppose her prognosis of likely life span (months rather than years) is also on my mind. That’s a tricky one. Unfortunately we don’t have space for splitting the cage into 2 and giving her a neighbour as someone helpfully suggested as an alternative, because she sleeps and spends very hot or cold days in a different, smaller cage (still ok for 2 pigs overnight but not suitable for splitting). So that has given me something to think about. If we could find a similarly older quite sedentary piggy that would be ideal as I don’t want Dottie to miss out. But we need to be careful I guess; the vet said the last thing she needs is being chased and stressed while a new pair establishes dominance, which I know is what happens even in a positive bond, it takes weeks to settle usually, and Dottie needs a quiet life now. If people here have thoughts on the pros and cons of being single in her situation I’d welcome them. The optimistic in me is saying what if she has another 6-12 months, she definitely needs a little friend. Then I think of all the articles I’ve read that say DCM pigs tend to die not long after diagnosis. 😢

I know this is not a diagnosis we can fix or save her from, so our mission is to do right by her and make her life as good as it can be, however long or short that is.

Thanks all
 
Hi all - just to update on the above message re Dotti's health and the stress of bonding.

I am going to ask the rescue for advice now they have re-opened this week after xmas. I am worried about putting Dottie through the stress of bonding again in her health condition (it means 3 days away from home and then all the time at home firming up their hierarchy once they get home), but I am equally worried about the stress on her of being alone! She is begging at the bars, interacting, holding her weight etc but I know they are happier in pairs and I want that for her of that's best.

Someone earlier had suggested we bring a rescue pig to her and try bonding at home, with a view to the other pig living as her neighbour instead if they don't get on. If it came to that, we could manage a neighbour set up during the day in their big 6x2 C&C cage which could be spit down the middle, but at night and during very hot or cold days, (due to human health reasons we sadly can't change) Dottie is in another room in a ferplast cage, which is big enough for 2 pigs but not big enough to be split into 2. That would mean if the bond fails, at night time, the other pig would probably have to sleep in a cage on top of, instead of next door to her, which I don't think is good enough? It is tricky in a one bed flat.

I really would like to take Dottie to let her choose her own friend who she can live with - and as a 5-6 year old sow who can be quite a diva, I would expect her to be choosy, which I totally respect! But I know when our previous lovely rainbow pig Winnie was bereaved, I had to take her in taxis to various rescues across London and the South East no less than three times before she found someone she liked! Bless her. I don't really want to put Dottie through all that stress, she is not a well pig. Equally I think the chances of me bringing home a pig she likes from a rescue is slim?! And the final complication is that we would need this pig to be a foster pig as we really need to end the cycle. We don't mind who the new pig is, if they need extra medical care etc, or expense, that's ok, but we would sadly need the option to take them back when Dottie's time comes, assuming that is what happens next. And there's part of me who feels really bad about that - I don't want to cause more disruption to the foster piggy or feel like we are using it. But equally I know we would give it a loving, enriched home for a few months, and if it was a piggy that was otherwise stuck on its own in a rescue it might still appreciate that? But then then is that not unsettling for the foster pig? I just don't know! Sorry for the long message. Views welcome and if I should post this in another section please let me know - it's a bit health, a bit bereavement/bonding, so I wasn't sure. Dottie was slightly the more in charge with Winnie if that helps. Although I would say she is quite mellow and likes to just rest most of the day, apart from being a big food stealer and getting into a few chin offs with Winnie from that. Never a proper fight though.

Many thanks.
 
Hi all, the last post was quite a long one but essentially I think my question is -

If we got a new friend for Dottie and the bonding didn’t work out, is it acceptable for 2 pigs to live side by side in a big C and C cage we can split down the middle….but with occasional times spent in two cages that may have to be stacked on top of each other (ferplast style) rather than side by side? Or do neighbours always have to be able to see each other?

Appreciate this is essentially a housing question but it’s also related to Dottie’s health. I’m trying to work out if bringing a new friend to her rather than take her to a rescue could work. Will also be asking the rescue co their view.

Many thanks
Lucy
 
Hi all - update on Dottie.

Health wise, her heart rate is in the 80s, her breathing looks ok for her, and we have managed to reduce her frusol to twice a day (this was under vet's advice, to reduce the risk of her getting dehydrated and/or kidney issues).

She seems to be coping ok with her recent bereavement in basic terms (eating etc) but we expect she would perk up more with a new friend, and we want that for her ideally.

I've been in touch with the rescue she came from and explained the situation, as well as the vet's concerns about Dottie doing through bonding (see above). The rescue agree that Dottie living next to someone side by side for quite some time would be best, potentially with a view to bonding them here if they get on, but possibly leaving them as neighbours to avoid the stress of chasing etc. The rescue lady (Sarah, a very experienced person and recommended on here) is going to have a think about which pig of hers this might suit, because she said it can of course be difficult for the other pig who may really want to live with someone rather than just be a neighbour, so we of course want to take into account their needs too.

..But it looks as though this is the cautious road we will go down (if there is someone suitable), rather than taking Dottie on a 3 day bonding date as we have done with our sows in the past.

I mentioned that this would need to be foster basis, and Sarah said they would always take any pig back when the time comes, under any circumstances.

I do feel very guilty and conflicted about the idea of bringing a pig here to keep Dottie company and then probably disrupting that pig's life again if we have to take her back (and I have no idea how we will not get attached), but I suppose on a positive note, we would be freeing up space in a rescue and we would give the piggy a good life here for as long as they were here. If we had space to take on a pair next to Dottie we would, as I think that would be better for the newbies, but we just can't manage that in a one bed flat - we have looked at all possibilities.

Will keep you posted, and thanks for your help.

LucyIMG_3715.webp
 
Hi all, an update on Dottie, who is concerning me at the moment.

Her breathing started to get noticeably heavier over the last week, with pronounced rocking of her body. Her resting respiratory rate remains her 'normal' since she's been diagnosed, which is around 80-90 per minute. It got up to near 100 a few times lately which has happened before.

Yesterday I reluctantly took her to the vets (reluctant as I don't like to stress her when there is a limit to what they can do, but they looked at the video I sent and suggested a visit). They put the ultrasound probe on her (not a full ultrasound scan I don't think but an attempt to find out a bit more than just listening with the stethoscope) and they said there were two small pockets of fluid, one in her chest, and one in her gut. Both amounts were too small to drain, not that we would necessarily have chosen that option anyway, but they said it was not a large amount of fluid. We've gone back to 3 times a day frusol 0.25 each time, which is high but not the maximum.

So this all suggests her heart condition has progressed, which is not a surprise as she was diagnosed last June (suspected from April) but still very upsetting. Her chest and abdomen was clear in mid Dec so the fluid has backed up since then.

What's strange tonight is that her resting respiratory rate has been a bit better today (60-70), but she is acting off. She is eating less (not nothing, but clearly less), she has been quieter than normal and moving around a bit less. She is 5-6 yrs old and has heart disease so she is not usually that active any more but still, she's been a bit quieter by her own standards. She also complained slightly when I held her, although it may have been a begging complaint as she was still interested in some food, and she did a head butt, which is her usual sign for give me more veg!

She's had a nibble on several thick stalks of parsley tonight, some oat hay and timothy hay, but not sustained eating. She's not interested in her critical care off a plate at the moment, she will take just a mouthful at a time.

I'll be calling the vets first thing.

Her usual weight is 1020-1060 and this morning she was 1015 down from 1040 yesterday which is not unusual for her but if she weighs the same or less in the morning I will try syringe feeding her.

I also have in date and unused ranitidine from another pig but wouldn't feel comfortable trying that without speaking to the vets first and there might be a better drug if she needs it for her gut.

Only yesterday did we discuss the the ref flag signs to look out for re her heart giving up (gasping for air, flat out etc) and none of these are there. If anything she is calmer and breathing more slowly, but I am worried something else is happening. I think any pig not eating normally makes me sick with worry after other issues we have had. So I am keen to keep her munching. I don't want to overload her with veg but little bits of parsley seem to be well accepted at times and then she will always follow this with some hay, so it feels like giving her something is helpful. Her belly doesn't feel hard. It has been gurgley for some months but the vet found no obvious reason for this.

Please send positive vibes.

Many thanks
 
Just to add I managed to get her to have some critical care just now, only a couple of mls but she followed it up with eating some herself off a spoon and is now eating some hay. She's done 15 poos in the last couple of hours, significantly smaller than normal but there are some at least.
 
Thank you. She’s still here and I got her to eat a little bit of CC and veg twice in the night but she’s not right and she wasn’t keen, they were small amounts. If we are reaching the end of her life I don’t want her last days to be just forced syringe feed moments as that seems so unfair on her. But equally this could be an acute digestive blip and her heart could go on for some time longer and I’m not sure how we are supposed to work out what’s what. I really don’t want her to have to go in to the vets again for the second time in 3 days as her heart rate and breathing shoots up from all the travelling, noise and interaction, but in normal circumstances I feel this would warrant a vet visit to find out why she’s gone off most food for the last 24 hours. Her poos are very small and some of them soft. I will call the vets for advice when they open at 9. Maybe they will let me try her with mobility drugs at home to see if we can get the appetite going again. We also talked about putting her on ACE drugs for her heart some time next week in case it helps. Not sure if we should wait though.

Poor Dottie, I just wish I knew that was happening. If this is the beginning of the end and she is only going to suffer, we may look into the vets that do home visit PTS. I don’t want to go too late if it comes to letting her go and she needs help. But her breathing has been less bad the last few days so I don’t want to go too early either. Until the appetite loss issue she has seemed quite happy this week, just doing her little piggy things. Even with laboured breathing she was happy and popcorned a bit etc. but she’s not right at the moment. It’s so heartbreaking.

Thanks for your support
 
I think I’ll ask the vets-

1. If this could be pain related should be out her back on the gabapentin she was on in December when we felt she had pain linked to digestive/poo’ing issues? That was inconclusive and she stopped squeaking so we stopped giving her gabapentin (she only made a nose twice so it was quite speculative).

2. If this is slow gut caused by heart disease, or increase in meds or something else secondary, should we try meds for that? We have ranitadine at home but they also prescribed the other two mobility drugs to our pigs before

3. Should we take her off veg if her poos are soft? Some have been pointy which I thought could mean dehydration (which would not be a surprise given she is on high dose frusol). I’m always confused by her poos as they are often a mixture of textures over one day.

I don’t want to shove more medicines into a system that may be overloaded but if she has a temporary stomach issues we can get on top off we will make her more comfortable again and that’s my main aim.

Sorry for the messages, just trying to get it all clear in my head. If anyone has any suggestions re how we might approach this with the vet please do share.
 
Just got her out to weigh her and she’s 1035 which is in her normal range and more than yesterday. She would only take a small bit of lettuce and a short parsley stem but she’s now in her house eating hay and looking a bit more perky. And I’ve seen a couple of slightly better looking poos in terms of size. This is her overnight poo total. They’re not great but they are something. image.webp
 
HUGS

Sending you and Dottie my best wishes. I am keeping my fingers crossed for you.

A progressive illness is unfortunately not like a water slide that goes smoothly downhill, it is much more like a bumpy country road with lots of little ups and downs, twists and turns. The more you focus and check on the various minute details the more stressed and upset you'll get because the more bumps you hit without you being necessarily able to do anything about them.

I agree that the frusol should be upped so you are doing the right thing there.

You may find this guide here helpful in managing yourself: Pet Owners Anxiety - Practical Tips For Sufferers and For Supporters
 
Healing vibes to Dottie and good thoughts to you plus some clarity i hope, @LucyP It's so heart-breaking and difficult to know at this sort of stage what's best. I remember all the thinking back-and-forth and worrying. But you do know Dottie best, and I've learnt on here that a decision made in love for your guinea will be the right one. I don't have guineas any more though, so I haven't had the opportunity to put that into practice, where I'm sure it doesn't feel so straightforward. 🤗
 
Thank you both. She’s now on 3 times a day frusol but her extremely decreased appetite worries me. Waiting to hear from vets if they will give me motility meds to help her with that. They close at 3.30 so I’m just going to have to set off there and see what they say. I’m not taking Dottie as we are going to try to manage this at home a vet is due to call me to discuss before they close.

We do have ranitadine here but I don’t believe that’s the main drug used for poor appetite,(?) that’s more for bloat I think, which we don’t think she has.
 
Update- the vets were great and didn’t mind me turning up. They have given me emperid for her 3 times a day for 5 days (we can reduce sooner if she perks up) and also said to use the ritanadine 3 times a day too. I also picked up a different choice nuggets and a bag of forage as we’re trying to tempt her with a few things, in addition to the top up syringe feed. Vet has been busy all day as he’s the only exotic in and has been dealing with an emergency fox situation (!)

Dottie is at home as we didn’t want to cause her further stress.
 
Thinking of you and Dottie. Such a heartbreaking situation to be in. Hope Dottie begins to perk up now 🤞🙏:love:
 
Mrs Tiggy Winkle said:
Healing vibes to Dottie and good thoughts to you plus some clarity i hope, @LucyP It's so heart-breaking and difficult to know at this sort of stage what's best. I remember all the thinking back-and-forth and worrying. But you do know Dottie best, and I've learnt on here that a decision made in love for your guinea will be the right one. I don't have guineas any more though, so I haven't had the opportunity to put that into practice, where I'm sure it doesn't feel so straightforward. 🤗
Click to expand...
Thank you for this, it’s helpful to remind ourselves that a decision made from love is the right one. We’ll have to see what’s next for her- will the gastro issues settle or is this part of her new normal? We don’t know, but whatever is next, I will try my best to make decisions based on what I think she would find the kindest and most comfortable.
 
Wiebke said:
HUGS

Sending you and Dottie my best wishes. I am keeping my fingers crossed for you.

A progressive illness is unfortunately not like a water slide that goes smoothly downhill, it is much more like a bumpy country road with lots of little ups and downs, twists and turns. The more you focus and check on the various minute details the more stressed and upset you'll get because the more bumps you hit without you being necessarily able to do anything about them.

I agree that the frusol should be upped.

You may find this guide here helpful in managing yourself: Pet Owners Anxiety - Practical Tips For Sufferers and For Supporters
Click to expand...
Thank you, this is a helpful analogy. Tonight she is eating again so we’ll take this small win and hope it lasts, but we know the bigger battle is a different matter. I do find it all very anxiety provoking having piggies. Since our first sudden death (Betty, who came through a risky op with flying colours only to have a stroke 10 days later) I am almost afraid every morning to look in the cage because I half expect to find a trauma or death (even when there’s nothing wrong) and we’ve had our fair share of sudden declines and sudden deaths. It really knocks your confidence and each bad experience makes me more stressed out. But taking the little wins is a good way of doing it. Yesterday Dottie was laying still, refusing nearly all food; now she is begging at the bars an her breathing look better too. It may not last, but we must take these moments when we can and be so happy she is having good times again, for now.

I’ll have a read of that guide, thanks.
 
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