BIG HUGS
Guinea pigs can die without warning at all ages. It is always a great shock for the owner who is left with lots of questions and soul-searching as to what they could have done wrong.
In short - the answer is: no, you haven't done anything wrong or missed anything. Organ failure, heart attacks and strokes do happen out of the blue. In younger piggies it can be a genetic timebomb lurking in their body that will go off sooner or later.
Only a post mortem examination may or may not show what could have done wrong, but it is highly unlikely to be something unavoidable.
Please try to take comfort that as far as deaths go, this was one of the gentler and quicker ones, so your piggy hasn't suffered much and for long, as these things go. It is likely that her heart has simply given out right at the end. And that your girl could make the journey to the Rainbow Bridge carried by the wings of your love.
If it does help you, I have just lost two piggies of mine unexpectedly within not even 48 hours of each other. One to what looks like a sudden big heart attack while or just after eating her good morning pellets; I had found her dead in that area when coming with the breakfast veg. She was a somewhat frail older sow.
Then in the evening of the following day I found my 3 years old Maelona in organ failure, unable to eat and with a visibly straining heart. She passed away in the very early hours of the morning after yet another sleepless night for me. She was a chunky, seemingly healthy sow in the prime of her life. There was no indication whatsoever that anything was wrong. She'd happily tucked into her afternoon, being as always the first on the scene.
I just happens.
Be kind with yourself and seek help if you find yourself trapped in a vicious loop of thoughts and unable to move on or show other symptoms of PTSD.
The Blue Cross animal charity in the UK offer several free platforms for pet bereavement. All forum members who have given us feedback have come back with a positive experience.
Pet bereavement and pet loss
This guide here has plenty of very practical advice as to what you can do for a companion right in the immediate aftermath, in the first days when they are grieving themselves (and should be allowed to do so unless they stop eating and drinking) as well as tips on how to go about finding a new companion in the longer term, ideally within a month but sooner if you have a companion who cannot handle being on their own well. You can find further practical information links in the guide.
1 What can I do immediately after a guinea pig has died?
- Saying goodbye
- What can I do for my grieving piggy?
- Emergency: acute pining (not eating/drinking) or sudden illness
2 New companionship and human grieving
- When can I start looking for a new mate?
- "Replacing" a guinea pig: the conflict between human and cavy needs
- How do I best go about finding a new mate? (Possible options listed for bereaved sows and boars)...
This the guide for you, which you may find helpful in making sense of the various strong but not neessarily expected emotions and the rather strange places and stages that the grieving process can take you to:
1 The grieving process
- Loss and the start of the grieving process
- Grieving with a terminally ill guinea pig
- Going through the grieving process
2 Ways of coping
- Expressing and processing your feelings
- Regaining your guinea pig
- Burial and marking the passing
- Dealing with special days
3 How do I tell my children?
- Finding local support lines and charities...
Wishing you all the best.
