Feeling Like A Not Very Good Mummy :(

[lauralucy]

At the beginning of may Nilla lost the use of her back legs (vet said she it was very unlikely she would re-gain use of them) after a trip to the vets she was put on painkillers and made to rest she also had a cyst in her stomach, over the next few weeks she managed to regain the use of her legs (shocked me and the vets) anyway she then lost use of her bladder after 10 days of using nappy cream on her I had to make the decision to put her to sleep, she was still eating fine and moving but was crying out in pain when peeing even on painkillers. this was the 3rd July.

Toffee has had breathing problems for 3 years however she has now gone very skinny (no reason) and has bald patches on her legs (not mites etc has been treated) my Billy went this way a few months before I lost him.

Butter is slowing down in her old age as she and Fluff are 6 and a half I'm constantly worried about coming down in the morning/home from work and finding one of them gone

Then on Saturday I was having Phoebe cuddles and found a lump on her belly, took her to the vets yesterday and she has a cluster of lumps the one I found and one under her armpit and one on the other side. The vet says she has breast cancer they can operate but with the amount of lumps and the fact its both sides its very likely to come back. or I can leave her and monitor her. They do not bother her at all. so I've gone for the leaving her be as I don't want to but her through an operation that quite possibly wont make a lot of difference.
Rose (Phoebe's cagemate went along for the ride to the vets and was also deemed overweight at 1.37kgs)

so at the moment I'm not feeling great It seems at the moment its everything.

apologies for going on, but I know you will all understand x

 

[Flutterby]

Oh no What a terrible time you are having! *hugs* I have been the same, with a few losses and lots of trips to the vets this year. I can tell you it doesn't get easier, but you care for your pigs very well and they have the best, don't ever doubt it! It's a horrible feeling and one I'm still getting over myself. Keep strong, we are all here to lend and ear

 

[Critter]

Aw it's not your fault at all, sometimes it all comes at once with different issues. I had four pigs: One had a persistent bladder issue, two cysts, followed by an op to remove the cysts, followed by more bladder issues, followed by an op from which she never recovered. Another developed mange, another fell out with the others and had to be separated, and the fourth suddenly died of what I believe was a heart attack at 1 1/2 years old - it all happened within a short time period. Out of that group I have one left, and now three other piggies with so far no issues, but sometimes it all just happens. You do start to wonder if you're doing something wrong! It's disheartening, but not your fault xx

 

[lauralucy]

toffee has been to the vets the baldness is not parasites, she is on a course of antibiotics just in case, the vet thinks that its quite possibly hormonal and can try blood tests but apparently this needs to be done by a specialist. as for her breathing this may be as she is under the weather so to speak and they could xray or scan her. I've come home this evening and she has dried blood under one nostril as if she has sneezed it so we're going back tomorrow, she is fine in herself and still eating and drinking fine.

butter went with her and she apparently has an ovarian cyst on the left side but not the right the vet didn't seem overly concerned. should I be worried? butter is just over 6.

I just want them all to be ok

 

[Poppy'sMum]

So sorry you are going through all this I'm tagging @Wiebke because maybe this would need moving to Health & Illness section where you will get more replies x

 

[Caron's Cavies]

Oh bless so sorry to hear what a hard time you are having.

I am sure that you are a great piggie Mummy but sometimes these things happen and like all good Mummies we question ourselves.

Try and stay strong for them but also remember to be kind to yourself and like @Flutterby said we are all hear to lend a supportive ear.

Big hugs to you and your piggies.

 

[Wiebke]

I am ever so sorry that you are having such a horrible time with so many losses! It can really take it out of you.

I felt like I was a bad piggy mummy when I lost three piggies within a month last year; each of them just middle-aged and none of them to a foreseeable or preventable cause.
If anything, your feelings are actually a sign of how deeply you care and what a devoted piggy mummy you are! It is actually a very normal reaction that you live in dread of losing more piggies and getting more bad news. just try to take things day for day and to cherish every day you have your piggies with you, so you can give them your love and care. We sadly cannot control how long our piggies have to live and what they will die of. We can try to give them as happy and healthy a life while they are with us.

Thankfully, overnight back leg paralysis in older guinea pigs is usually righting itself in most cases (recovery is often speeded on by giving calcium rich osteocare), but I am very sorry that she didn't have long afterwards. it could have been a bladder stone, cystitis or a womb infection that caused the increased painful urine flow, but it is impossible to tell without an x-ray.

I am very sorry for Toffee and Phoebe; worrying about two guinea pigs at the same time is tough.
Has your vet checked Toffee for arthritis in her legs, as that can be a cause for overgrooming? Is she still eating normally or have you tried to see whether mushed up pellets and syringe feed could help with her weight?
Are both chest lumps under the armpits or are they in different places?

It sounds at least like Rose is doing really well! A number of sows have weighed that (or even more) in the prime of their lives. However, I would not try to reduce her weight right now under the circumstances. You can later put her slightly reduced pellets, and the weight should come down a bit.

 

[lauralucy]

she also has bald patches (circles) on either side of her belly and the back of her neck, I think she's trying to turn herself into a skinny piggy! she is eating normally although I have been syringing her Ribena as well. she weighed 840g at the vets (I think)

phoebe's lumps are on her belly her bottom armpit (legpit) a cluster of and one on the other side under her armpit. she isn't bothered at all!

Rose is fine as she has stopped being quite so shy and running around a little more on floortime instead of hiding she is losing the weight and doesn't look quite as big.

 

[madguinealady]

Has she been checked for ringworm?That can give round bald patches.

 

[biscandmatt]

sending you hugs. it seems to be the same for us lately. one thing after the other. it can start to make you feel down and rubbish, totally relate to that. seems to be the case with having pets though, although it does seem overwhelming when it's all never-ending. x