Guilt about ending the guinea pig cycle

[Deleted member 157166]

Hello,

I don’t know where to post this, so I posted it here for now.

I’ve been thinking and pondering about when it comes to the dreaded time of losing my 2 girls Pip and Ginger especially now with Pip with her illness and Ginger having some struggles at the moment (fingers crossed she’s getting over it) and if I am left with just 1 girl. The guilt I feel about giving one up is immeasurable as I feel like I can’t carry on the guinea pig cycle after my piggie girls. I wouldn’t want to leave 1 without a piggie companion. It racks me with anxiety and guilt everytime I think about it. They will likely go to a sanctuary or a rescue as Pip is deemed special needs with her digestive issues.

The thought is devastating to me and I’ve cried many times over it.

Any thoughts are welcome.

 

[Merab]

Deciding that the time has come to end the piggy cycle is a difficult one.
On the one hand there are factors in our lives that make that a sensible decision but on the other hand they are such lovely creatures to have around.

If you are worried about having a single piggy left have you considered fostering?
Some rescues will foster a single pig as a companion for a single piggy until it passes away. The foster then goes back to the rescue.

Recognise that you are grieving for the end of having piggies and be gentle with yourself.
Try not to get yourself stressed and upset about what may happen.
You will know in your heart what is the right thing to do when the time comes

Hugs

 

[Deleted member 157166]

Deciding that the time has come to end the piggy cycle is a difficult one.
On the one hand there are factors in our lives that make that a sensible decision but on the other hand they are such lovely creatures to have around.

If you are worried about having a single piggy left have you considered fostering?
Some rescues will foster a single pig as a companion for a single piggy until it passes away. The foster then goes back to the rescue.

Recognise that you are grieving for the end of having piggies and be gentle with yourself.
Try not to get yourself stressed and upset about what may happen.
You will know in your heart what is the right thing to do when the time comes

Hugs

I was having a really downward spiral the other day as it was so upsetting to me thinking of parting from them in anyway.

I was thinking of fostering when the time comes, however I get attached really easily and it probably would upset me to hand the pig back. By giving them to a sanctuary or rescue I know that they are in the best hands possible

 

[Wiebke]

I was having a really downward spiral the other day as it was so upsetting to me thinking of parting from them in anyway.

I was thinking of fostering when the time comes, however I get attached really easily and it probably would upset me to hand the pig back. By giving them to a sanctuary or rescue I know that they are in the best hands possible

I totally feel for you, needing to end my own piggy journey for age and now more imperatively for health reasons. Realising that in a few months even my four 'babies' (two of which were born here) are going to pass the lower end of the average life expectancy at 4 years old and that my others are now all well within the range can be lowering at time; especially after over twenty years of living with piggy sounds...

However, if I let this mood take over, I am going to miss a lot of life with piggies still to be had, whether it is my piggies' or my own limited life span, so I prefer to cherish every day I come downstairs and they are still all there and eager to be fed.

The end of the line is always a very difficult time that you will have to play by ear to a certain extent because it often doesn't necessarily play out in the way you think or plan for. What is good that you explore your local options which can vary widely so you have a fair idea which avenues are likely open to you and which aren't.

For the rest, you have to best do it the piggy way: they measure their lives by happy todays in loving care. Don't fixate on the end that may happen in a very different way; concentrate on the now and make the best of every today.

Facing the end is a grieving process, which is not starting with the actual loss but when you realise at gut level that time is inevitably running out. But, as somebody who is living with stage 4 cancer, you can live and treasure every day consciously and be able to create a lifetime's worth of memories or you can let your impending loss take over and end up with very little in your heart in terms of memories that you can warm the cold fingers of your soul on.

Your piggies will never leave you if you fill their nest in your heart with special, precious memories that you can still access in decades to come. I can still go an have a play in the garden with my most special piggy Minx even two decades later in one of the scanning machines and come out of them feeling comforted and happy.

Please don't throw away this most precious of gifts. I know that if survive the last of my piggies, they will always be with me because they are part of my life and part of who I have grown into during the time I have had with them. I may no longer be able to touch them directly but I can always find them and can have a cuddle with them in my end; right to the end of my own life. And that is a massive and potentially life-prolonging comfort to me.

My grieving process is still going on underneath but the more I can make of the time we still have together, the more I can take into the time after.

 

[Deleted member 157166]

I totally feel for you, needing to end my own piggy journey for age and now more imperatively for health reasons. Realising that in a few months even my four 'babies' (two of which were born here) are going to pass the lower end of the average life expectancy at 4 years old and that my others are now all well within the range can be lowering at time; especially after over twenty years of living with piggy sounds...

However, if I let this mood take over, I am going to miss a lot of life with piggies still to be had, whether it is my piggies' or my own limited life span, so I prefer to cherish every day I come downstairs and they are still all there and eager to be fed.

The end of the line is always a very difficult time that you will have to play by ear to a certain extent because it often doesn't necessarily play out in the way you think or plan for. What is good that you explore your local options which can vary widely so you have a fair idea which avenues are likely open to you and which aren't.

For the rest, you have to best do it the piggy way: they measure their lives by happy todays in loving care. Don't fixate on the end that may happen in a very different way; concentrate on the now and make the best of every today.

Facing the end is a grieving process, which is not starting with the actual loss but when you realise at gut level that time is inevitably running out. But, as somebody who is living with stage 4 cancer, you can live and treasure every day consciously and be able to create a lifetime's worth of memories or you can let your impending loss take over and end up with very little in your heart in terms of memories that you can warm the cold fingers of your soul on.

Your piggies will never leave you if you fill their nest in your heart with special, precious memories that you can still access in decades to come. I can still go an have a play in the garden with my most special piggy Minx even two decades later in one of the scanning machines and come out of them feeling comforted and happy.

Please don't throw away this most precious of gifts. I know that if survive the last of my piggies, they will always be with me because they are part of my life and part of who I have grown into during the time I have had with them. I may no longer be able to touch them directly but I can always find them and can have a cuddle with them in my end; right to the end of my own life. And that is a massive and potentially life-prolonging comfort to me.

My grieving process is still going on underneath but the more I can make of the time we still have together, the more I can take into the time after.

Thanks for sharing your beautiful words with me. This comforts me immensely.

All my pigs died younger than average. Peaches at 2 and a half after a suspected pyrometra operation that she never recovered from, Pumpkin at 3 years, 8months from a fatal bloat (he’s had digestive problems since he was 4 months old) and Peanut 3 years 10 months who died from ovarian cancer. My 2 now Pip (3 years and a half) with her digestive issues (suspected IBS and colitis) and Ginger (1 years and a half) with whatever is going on now. I’ve had incredibly bad luck with my bunch.

I’ve loved every moment with them minus the illness's obviously

You’re right I should cherish every moment I have with my pigs and will do regardless of what the coming weeks bring

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks for sharing your beautiful words with me. This comforts me immensely.

All my pigs died younger than average. Peaches at 2 and a half after a suspected pyrometra operation that she never recovered from, Pumpkin at 3 years, 8months from a fatal bloat (he’s had digestive problems since he was 4 months old) and Peanut 3 years 10 months who died from ovarian cancer. My 2 now Pip (3 years and a half) with her digestive issues (suspected IBS and colitis) and Ginger (1 years and a half) with whatever is going on now. I’ve had incredibly bad luck with my bunch.

I’ve loved every moment with them minus the illness's obviously

You’re right I should cherish every moment I have with my pigs and will do regardless of what the coming weeks bring

I am very sorry that you are having such a bad run with health issues which are not of your making and not in control. My Pili Pala had suspected IBS in the last year of her life (plus developed hyper-thyroid) but as she had come through a major stasis event after which her digestion was never the same, as far as I was concerned she was already in extra time.

Cancer has unfortunately become much more common in guinea pigs than it used to (parallel to that in humans) and that is not just down to much improved diagnostics. Unfortunately, there is still not much in the way of effective cancer treatment for piggies. Operations often happen when the cancer has already spread and they are very often much riskier.

These are things not in your control. What is in your control is that you have given all your piggies the best and happiest life that you could and that you have made their time on Earth count. Life is not so much about length but quality; you have not failed your piggies and you have not failed as an owner.

But what you need to look for is yourself. Don't try to put yourself down but be proud of the positive difference you have made in your piggies lives and be proud of being somebody with such a big heart; even if it hurts at times. Changing the world for the better starts with the small things at the roots; not the big things at the top. You are a root grower. Wherever your life is going to lead you, hold onto that, hold onto your yourself and grow with that as a person yourself. The world needs more people like you, in which way ever you channel your heart. Let your piggies be the ones that drive you one and motivate you to grow as a person instead of the ones that tie down.

 

[Deleted member 157166]

I am very sorry that you are having such a bad run with health issues which are not of your making and not in control. My Pili Pala had suspected IBS in the last year of her life (plus developed hyper-thyroid) but as she had come through a major stasis event after which her digestion was never the same, as far as I was concerned she was already in extra time.

Cancer has unfortunately become much more common in guinea pigs than it used to (parallel to that in humans) and that is not just down to much improved diagnostics. Unfortunately, there is still not much in the way of effective cancer treatment for piggies. Operations often happen when the cancer has already spread and they are very often much riskier.

These are things not in your control. What is in your control is that you have given all your piggies the best and happiest life that you could and that you have made their time on Earth count. Life is not so much about length but quality; you have not failed your piggies and you have not failed as an owner.

But what you need to look for is yourself. Don't try to put yourself down but be proud of the positive difference you have made in your piggies lives and be proud of being somebody with such a big heart; even if it hurts at times. Changing the world for the better starts with the small things at the roots; not the big things at the top. You are a root grower. Wherever your life is going to lead you, hold onto that, hold onto your yourself and grow with that as a person yourself. The world needs more people like you, in which way ever you channel your heart. Let your piggies be the ones that drive you one and motivate you to grow as a person instead of the ones that tie down.

Thank you for your kind words. The vets originally thought Peanut had big cysts as they could feel them (she also had major bleeding). The xrays showed them as well. It wasn’t until during the surgery they found it was cancer and a highly spreadable one. So it was nicer to pts in this case. I feel like piggie medicine is so neglected alongside welfare. I reckon a lot of the issues owners face with piggie health is due to overbreeding and inbreeding. My piggies have been my entire life for 6 years and long may it continue with my 2 girls but with Pip I feel like I have borrowed time with her as her symptoms have been getting worse over the past few months. I intend to make the most of whatever time I have left with my baby girl.

RIP my angel pigs

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for your kind words. The vets originally thought Peanut had big cysts as they could feel them (she also had major bleeding). The xrays showed them as well. It wasn’t until during the surgery they found it was cancer and a highly spreadable one. So it was nicer to pts in this case. I feel like piggie medicine is so neglected alongside welfare. I reckon a lot of the issues owners face with piggie health is due to overbreeding and inbreeding. My piggies have been my entire life for 6 years and long may it continue with my 2 girls but with Pip I feel like I have borrowed time with her as her symptoms have been getting worse over the past few months. I intend to make the most of whatever time I have left with my baby girl.

RIP my angel pigs

It feels very tough when you are up against it in a war you cannot win. I have my own box of eternal regrets but I changed the handle how I open it - I pay forward, and some tens of thousands of piggies in well over 15 years of being on the forum whose owners I have been able to help, I cannot I cannot say say I regret anything, not even losing them. It does hurt of course; but love and giving can hurt. However, it is not any easier when a long life comes to an end, it's just a different kind of sorrow when you have to let go somebody after a long journey and more shared time where you equally see it coming without being able to halt the progress of time.

Whether you adopt or where you buy piggies from, the for sale pet market, whether that is shops or breeders or rescues where the same pool of piggies is making the largest intake, none of them are pitched for long lives. You hope for a healthy life but there is never any guarantee. I have been blessed with some long lives but I have also had several times when I lost a clump of younger piggies or new arrivals in quick succession. A stampede of piggies to the Rainbow Bridge is admittedly harder to make peace with.

But it is crucial to not beat yourself down over what is not in your control and to find constructive outlets for the love you carry because you need to keep that flowing for your own sake. Love to give is not something you can bottle up and dispense pain-free and safely in homeopathic quantities because love and loss are the two sides of the same coin that makes us so much richer and allows us to grow as more understanding persons. It is in the pain and darkness where your roots grow deep and strong and in the overcoming where you build your inner strength and resilience.

Like humans, pets of all species experience a rise in cancer because we have poisoned our environment with long-lived chemicals to a degree that we can no longer escape the consequences.