Rufus&Edward
Junior Guinea Pig
Apologies in advance for the long post; it's been something of a rollercoaster.
My sweet 4 year old boy Rufus has had a really rough year. He was a normal, happy pig at the beginning of the year, weighing 1100g, but then everything went downhill.
He was diagnosed with a dental problem in January (and lost a bunch of weight in the process- he was about 680g at his lowest point) and now needs regular 6 weekly dentals (a 7-8 hour round trip each time).
Then in March time he stopped eating completely again. Several tests later he was diagnosed with bladder stones and had surgery to remove these. He lost even more weight during this time. I was told that he was now too thin to survive any further surgery should he need it, so I have been super careful with his diet.
Since January I've been either supplementing or completely feeding by syringe every 2 hours to try desperately to get his weight up. He's also been given oats and other higher-calorie foods in small amounts to try and help with this. I managed to get him back up to 760g with a huge amount of effort and round the clock feeding over a long period of time.
Then last weekend he again did another complete 180 overnight. The night before he was completely fine and happy, but in the morning he was *drenched* in drool and couldn't eat or drink at all. When I tried to syringe feed tiny amounts he just dribbled it straight back out. This time he was diagnosed with a respiratory problem and given Metacam and antibiotics (the only thing he managed to swallow, strangely). The following couple of days he was really sick- still unable to eat or drink anything at all either by himself or from a syringe. He was really quiet and sleepy and just wasn't a happy boy. I decided if he made it through the night I'd take him to be put to sleep the next day as he no longer seemed happy.
The next day the drool had completely gone and he's accepting syringe food and drinking water again. He's even doing happy squeaks when I get him out. Completely baffled, but giving him the benefit of the doubt, I start regularly syringe-feeding him again (V small amounts each time and given vv slowly as I didn't want to upset his poor tummy). He perked up after this and still seems relatively happy.
Which brings me to today. He's still eating from a syringe and drinking, but he's now just so so thin, and I fear that having gone 2-3 days without eating anything at all will have done him damage that can't be undone. He now weighs a tiny 530g which is so upsetting to see. I know it's very unlikely I'll be able to get his weight up again now.
I know he's likely not got much time left at all, and am now left with the dilemma of which option is kindest to him- to keep him comfortable at home (he's on painkillers too) or to take him to be put to sleep. Ordinarily I'd have thought PTS would be kindest, but he's extremely attached to his brother and gets a lot of comfort from being with him (they've not left each others' sides since the latest bout of illness), and he doesn't seem to be suffering as he's happy to be held and is still squeaking often... though I know they're good at hiding pain.
I'm also mindful that with Covid, taking him to be PTS would mean taking him away in a box on his own, and having to leave him on the vet's doorstep with noone who is familiar to him. I'm really worried that his last bit of time would be really stressful and upsetting for him.
I suppose I'm looking for advice on what I should do, as currently both options feel like I'm letting him down I can't tell you how much my boy means to me, and I just want to do the very best for him. I don't want to be dragging this out for him if he is indeed suffering, but I also felt like he was going to go on his own soon, but keeps seeming to bounce back a little.
My sweet 4 year old boy Rufus has had a really rough year. He was a normal, happy pig at the beginning of the year, weighing 1100g, but then everything went downhill.
He was diagnosed with a dental problem in January (and lost a bunch of weight in the process- he was about 680g at his lowest point) and now needs regular 6 weekly dentals (a 7-8 hour round trip each time).
Then in March time he stopped eating completely again. Several tests later he was diagnosed with bladder stones and had surgery to remove these. He lost even more weight during this time. I was told that he was now too thin to survive any further surgery should he need it, so I have been super careful with his diet.
Since January I've been either supplementing or completely feeding by syringe every 2 hours to try desperately to get his weight up. He's also been given oats and other higher-calorie foods in small amounts to try and help with this. I managed to get him back up to 760g with a huge amount of effort and round the clock feeding over a long period of time.
Then last weekend he again did another complete 180 overnight. The night before he was completely fine and happy, but in the morning he was *drenched* in drool and couldn't eat or drink at all. When I tried to syringe feed tiny amounts he just dribbled it straight back out. This time he was diagnosed with a respiratory problem and given Metacam and antibiotics (the only thing he managed to swallow, strangely). The following couple of days he was really sick- still unable to eat or drink anything at all either by himself or from a syringe. He was really quiet and sleepy and just wasn't a happy boy. I decided if he made it through the night I'd take him to be put to sleep the next day as he no longer seemed happy.
The next day the drool had completely gone and he's accepting syringe food and drinking water again. He's even doing happy squeaks when I get him out. Completely baffled, but giving him the benefit of the doubt, I start regularly syringe-feeding him again (V small amounts each time and given vv slowly as I didn't want to upset his poor tummy). He perked up after this and still seems relatively happy.
Which brings me to today. He's still eating from a syringe and drinking, but he's now just so so thin, and I fear that having gone 2-3 days without eating anything at all will have done him damage that can't be undone. He now weighs a tiny 530g which is so upsetting to see. I know it's very unlikely I'll be able to get his weight up again now.
I know he's likely not got much time left at all, and am now left with the dilemma of which option is kindest to him- to keep him comfortable at home (he's on painkillers too) or to take him to be put to sleep. Ordinarily I'd have thought PTS would be kindest, but he's extremely attached to his brother and gets a lot of comfort from being with him (they've not left each others' sides since the latest bout of illness), and he doesn't seem to be suffering as he's happy to be held and is still squeaking often... though I know they're good at hiding pain.
I'm also mindful that with Covid, taking him to be PTS would mean taking him away in a box on his own, and having to leave him on the vet's doorstep with noone who is familiar to him. I'm really worried that his last bit of time would be really stressful and upsetting for him.
I suppose I'm looking for advice on what I should do, as currently both options feel like I'm letting him down I can't tell you how much my boy means to me, and I just want to do the very best for him. I don't want to be dragging this out for him if he is indeed suffering, but I also felt like he was going to go on his own soon, but keeps seeming to bounce back a little.