Hi there. I just barely made this account because I'm at a bit of a loss regarding what to do about my Guinea pig. I took her to a vet about three or four months ago for some bloating, but after examining her the vet concluded that she actually had a tumor. We didn't really create a plan of action, since the tumor takes up so much of her body and she's almost 5 years old. I was basically told just to euthanize her when the time comes. I'm literally playing this waiting game based around the life of my guinea pig. In the past month or so, she has been soiling her bedding much faster than normal. I used to clean her about once a week but now I'm noticing it starts to smell again after a day or two. She isn't very active at all, and sits under her little house all day and just sleeps in her own urine and feces. I can see her bunching up, and showing a lot of symptoms that she isn't in good condition, but she still loves food. I've been reading that when a guinea pig stops eating and drinking is when it's time to consider putting them down, but she still squeaks around feeding time, whenever she hears the fridge open, or hears my mom's voice (because my mom always sneaks her a bell pepper). A big part of me feels like my guinea pig still has a life, but to see her just sleeping in her own filth only to become active around feeding time doesn't seem like living. This is my first guinea pig and I just have no clue how to tell if she is in pain. I even had her on pain medication but I saw no difference in her behavior. I'm considering taking her back to the vet to check on her conditions, but I wanted to see what you all had to say first, since this website has been pretty reliable for me to go to in the past. My question just feels a bit more difficult this time.
Hi and welcome
Euthanasia is always a very difficult decision when it comes down to quality of life and the decision is not taken out of your hand by circumstances (obvious pain/distress/quick deterioration). It is even harder to make with your first piggy when your first and very strong instinct is to hang onto them and you dread the loss and don't know how to cope with it.
You may find these guides here helpful in working out some of the aspects that can play into your decision:
- Our grieving guide contains a chapter on looking after a terminally ill piggy that deals with the emotional and ethical side of this situation when it is up to you to call the shots. Euthanasia is not necessarily just a bad decision but you can also gain positives from from going through this process consciously, as heart-breaking as it is.
Human Bereavement: Grieving, Coping and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children
- Our emergency and crisis care guide collection contains a chapter for dealing with a dying guinea pig (as it often happens in the evening or over a weekend when you usual vets are closed) and concentrates on spotting the signs of organ failure/the body closing down and in which cases to see a vet/out-of-hours vet for emergency euthanasia.
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
- This guide here has been written by an experienced veterinary nurse to tell you what happens during euthanasia. There are different ways and your vet may prefer another method. This guide is not for everybody, but we still want to have information available for those that want to know:
Euthanasia - What happens when it's time to say goodbye?
I generally prefer to go with the option I strongly feel I can live best with in the long term once I have finished going through the usual doubts/guilt etc. that are normal after a loss - but this decision has to be made afresh with every single piggy and in view of their individual circumstances and personality/zest for life. I do opt for euthanasia sooner now as a long term owner because it doesn't hold any fear for me anymore; just sadness. In my long term experience I have had to euthanise about half of my piggies and half have died at home.
This year has been about par for the course - of the eight piggies I have lost I have had to emergency pts ('putting to sleep') two of them for being in very obvious pain without any chance of recovery and two more euthanasias where quality of life at the very end of their long lives did come into play although the vet was in both cases relieved that I made the choice they would have also made themself.
Of the four others, I found one middle-aged one unexpectedly dead (she had died in between the last carer visit and our arrival home from a short break), two old ladies went into multiple organ failure (which is actually the natural way of dying; passing in one's sleep is RARE) and the last one suffered a devasting stroke and died in my arms shortly after. It has been my record year of losses but five of the eight piggies were 7-8 years of age, which was rather exceptional. The other three were 3-5 years old (one runaway infection, one hernia where the gut got trapped - my two emergency euthanasias - and one mystery death).
Please have your girl vet checked - very smelly/stale urine is usually the sign of an infection either in the urinary tract or in - in sows - in the reproductive tract, so there may be the possibility that medication (antibiotics, analgesics and glucosamine supplements) could give her back some degree of quality of life. I would also have her checked for arthritis. Noticeable loss of mobility should always be seen by a vet promptly, whether that is acute paralysis or just an unwillingness to move caused by pain and/or weakness.
I would in any case not make any decisions without a hands-on vet examination and considering the value of all possible avenues; you may still opt for euthanasia as the kindest gift to make your beloved piggy but if you can make your choice on an informed bases and as a positive rather than a default choice, it will make a big difference for you coming to terms with it as you go through the grieving process and for ultimately finding peace in your heart when your head and your heart come back together.
Here are our tips for caring for a guinea pig with mobility issues, which includes guinea pigs that do not move around much and that sit in their own excrement; the guide looks at all aspects and levels of care, including a list of possible causes:
Looking after guinea pigs with limited or no mobility
It is a sign of you being a very loving and responsible owner that you are thinking about this and that you want to do what is best for your piggy and not necessarily what is most convenient for you. Please take the time to read the guides. It has taken me days to write them, and I can't repeat it all and condense it into one post!
I hope that this helps you?
