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piggybaker

piggybaker

Adult Guinea Pig
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I not sure what to do, i have a very old pig, she must be about 6/7 she was surrender to me, she is very skinny and blind and wees ever such allot, she cannot live in the herd as she walks in to things and the other all give her stick, so she is paired up with a young one.
So although she appears to happy she is very decrepid, should i have her PTS or let her pass naturally , She is not taking up any room and i buy in enough greens and food to feed all the other guineas so its not like i have to find food for her,,
I'm not making sense am i, I guess what i am asking is should I allow an incontinent guinea to go on, because she is she walks along weeing and if she is on your lap,Ooh not nice,

Any advice welcome, and i am not going to rush off to the vet and have her PTS i just would like to know others point of view.

Summer will be the worst due to fly strike.

Emma
 
I could never make that desicion for one of mine. I would give them all the chances in the world. If she is not in any pain or suffering i'd leave her as she is. I would say her weeing lots is not enough to contemplate her being pts. If she is that elderly she MAY not live to the summer. Its far to early to start thinking about that. If needs be, could you not have her inside with you(assuming she is outside). That would lower the risk of flystrike wouldn't it?
 
I personally would not have her PTS, she is not ill, only blind and ok, skinny, but with the right care she can easily become nice and healthy :)
 
I would never choose to have an animal destroyed. (all this PTS is just a euphemism for that).
 
Its a hard decision but as everyone else says shes not in pain........is shes chaffed underneath from weeing? as long as an animal is eating and not in pain they deserve every chance. I have an old boy whose bum muscles have gone - he's always impacted and the ordinary poops just fall out all the time, I always know where he is because he leaves a little trail across the room! But he eats ok and he's not in pain, just needs regular clearing for the impaction ( 2/3 times a week).
 
I think its wonderful that you have considered whats best for piggie and by all accounts she sounds like a lovely ''smelly'' old lady LOL ;D she sounds adorable - as long as she isnt in pain or suffering let her just tootle along as she is :)
 
kerry1971 said:
I think its wonderful that you have considered whats best for piggie and by all accounts she sounds like a lovely ''smelly'' old lady LOL ;D she sounds adorable - as long as she isnt in pain or suffering let her just tootle along as she is :)
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lol I love that word " tootle"
 
its allways hard to make the desion
6 years back we had a cat and it got a tummer on its tounge and with it beening on her tounge wasnit much there could do she was ok fo ra bit but after a while she was finding it hard to eat her food and she just use to sleep on the same chair buy the kichen all day and all night in the end we had to have her up to sleep as she wasnt going to get any better and was hard for her eat so was losing weight and she was in pain too

but if there not in pain or hurting i would leave your piggy be and just let her go when she is ready
 
Hi there, i'm afraid I don't want to comment on what you should do as I haven't had piggies long and feel i'm not qualified or in any position to give you my opinion. i have no had pets before so I have never had to deal with the dying issue. I really don't feel like I should comment.

What I do want to ask though is what is flystrike?
 
http://www.parkvets.com/clientinformation-flystrike.html

try here. If that makes your skin crawl try seeing it! My poor rabbit had had it every year. He gets very soft poo and they just zoom in for him. Last year i noticed some maggots in the early stages, gave him a bath, thought i'd got everything off him. Found him with a gaping flesh wound next morning where i'd missed some. :( Felt so awful. Rushed him to the emergency vet who cleaned him up and gave us some dream for his wounds. £250 later and bun is now fine. Roll on winter again!
 
she is really OK and yes i think in the summer i will bring her in, I really hope she lives to the summer as it feels right for them to die in the summer when everything is green and lush, not cold and grey like winter.
As i said i am not going to rush out am do the deed she is a happy chirpy if not whiffy sort of piggy but she lost her partner last Feb last year, and came to stay with me whilst her owners were on holiday and they asked me to have her as their daughter had grown up and out grown her, so i took her on, you should have seen her popcorning when i put in a companion it was so cute,

I just didn't want to keep her for me, it should be about her,

m
 
If it seems like she is not truly suffering, I don't think that there is any reason to have her put to sleep. Just let her run her natural course. C:

Lucinda said:
I would never choose to have an animal destroyed. (all this PTS is just a euphemism for that).
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So, say, if a pet were in immense pain day in and day out, you would much rather watch and let it suffer until it's horrible end than to try and release it from it's pain? I'm all for giving a pet as much chance to live as possible, that is why my beloved cat Tiger is living for at least another month instead of dead right now, but I could never force a pet to suffer because that's no real life at all.
 
I would choose to have one of my animals pts if I believed they were suffering from irreversible health problems and no longer enjoying life at all

I think when the time comes you will know and won't need to ask the question - really you're the only one who knows what her quality of life is and if she is suffering at all. From what you've said she sounds like she still gets enjoyment from her life so don't worry about it for now
 
I believe they let you know when the time is right. You can almost see it in their eyes. I had to have one of my piggys put to sleep last September (cancer) and one of my dogs put to sleep in 2003. Both were agonising decisions but in both cases I could see in their eyes that they had had enough - for me, they almost gave me their permission.

I am sure you will make the right decision at the right time.
 
darkest.dreaming said:
I could never make that desicion for one of mine. I would give them all the chances in the world. If she is not in any pain or suffering i'd leave her as she is. I would say her weeing lots is not enough to contemplate her being pts. If she is that elderly she MAY not live to the summer. Its far to early to start thinking about that. If needs be, could you not have her inside with you(assuming she is outside). That would lower the risk of flystrike wouldn't it?
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totally agree with you,
why put her to sleep she might not even make summer let her live her life until a natural end, just try keeping her clean and not too whiffy, bless her little heart I feel humbled to know how old she is and is a little fighter, give her a kiss for me and please let her live her life out naturally as long as shes not suffering, ahhhhhhhhhhhhh :smitten:
 
Emma i understand it's difficult to watch our little ones decline. I'm sure the little lady will decide herself when it's time let her have the choice if it's at all possible. She sounds a real trooper, love the fact that she was able to popcorn being blind and a fair age when you put her in with a young furbaby. Good luck with her if you're able to bring her in to protect her and her friend that would be an extra bonus for her.
 
Darky said:
If it seems like she is not truly suffering, I don't think that there is any reason to have her put to sleep. Just let her run her natural course. C:

Lucinda said:
I would never choose to have an animal destroyed. (all this PTS is just a euphemism for that).
Click to expand...

So, say, if a pet were in immense pain day in and day out, you would much rather watch and let it suffer until it's horrible end than to try and release it from it's pain? I'm all for giving a pet as much chance to live as possible, that is why my beloved cat Tiger is living for at least another month instead of dead right now, but I could never force a pet to suffer because that's no real life at all.

Nathan, I would rather lose an animal on the operating table any day. I would always want to give it a go. Euthanasia is still looked on poorly for humans. I would always want to attempt to preserve the life of any of my little ones. You can never say for sure what is round the corner.

Dressing it up as this awful euphemism "PTS" just makes me angry. That expression really gives me the . I hate euphemisms. They don't fool me.
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Lucinda said:
Nathan, I would rather lose an animal on the operating table any day. I would always want to give it a go. Euthanasia is still looked on poorly for humans. I would always want to attempt to preserve the life of any of my little ones. You can never say for sure what is round the corner.

Dressing it up as this awful euphemism "PTS" just makes me angry. That expression really gives me the . I hate euphemisms. They don't fool me.
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I honestly don't think it's supposed to diguise the meaning - it's just quicker an easier to type 'PTS' than 'put to sleep'. I generally don't shorten terms personally, but I imagine that's most likely why it's used.

Also, Lucinda, I understand where you're coming from, but not all animals can get treatment, not all animals can be operated on.

Take Tiger, for example. She has a massive, nasty tumour on the side of her face that is spreading rapidly all inside her mouth, under her chin, across her head - it's even coming up to the surface, her whiskers are going wonky, her skin is becoming red and horrible. Her mouth is nearly always blood-stained on one side, she can't control her drooling, she's having problems with her tongue..

Soon she physically will not be able to eat. The tumour cannot be operated on because of where it is, in and around her mouth and the side of her head.

She gets steroid injections and ten-day courses of anti-biotics, that's all that can be done. She will not get better, she will not recover - it will only get worse.

Would you rather I allowed her to slowly but surely starve to death, in pain and suffering? I don't call that a natural end. Is that what you would do in my situation? I've already bought her another month, and hopefully in this month she will not begin to deteriorate, because it's the only time I have left with her and I have accepted that.
 
having any animal PTS ( sorry I find it hard to say the words) is never easy last year when my darling charlie had stroke after stroke he was blind and panicking personally I would have sat day after day cuddling him until he died a natural death but he was suffering, it was the hardest thing ever along with my first dog who had lukemia both aged 13 I hated myself and still do becasue i had to make that decision, my family told me weeks before to have Charlie PTS but until, I made that choice no one was going to do it, when i realised he was suffering, well I had no real choice, I would have sold my house anything to give him more time :'( yes I'm blubbing his picture is right next to me, bless him,
what I'm saying having any animal PTS is never an easy choice but on occasions its the right choice not for us but for the animal and its the last kindness we can do for them, BUT never in a million years would I ever consider it unless there was no hope and the animal was suffering or in pain , I live with the guilt every day along with some of my pigs like Bear who had to have his leg removed and then still died , that why being an animal lover is so hard at times :'( :'( :'(
 
I truly hope by the time I'm old and dying that euthanasia is legal for humans. I used to be a nurse and have seen people die in agony - so rather than arguing that people aren't euthanised so why kill animals, I'd argue for the same right as animals to have a peaceful death 0:)
 
I agree with those who say that, when the time comes, your furry will let you know.
We took our old cat Amy to the vet on Wednesday 7 Feb and he confirmed our fears that she was on the way out. He said we should think about having her PTS, or he would do it there and then if we wanted him to.
That day, she wasn't ready. Nor were we. So we brought her home. She was weak, but not in pain, and still purred when we 'made her up'. We had just 5 more days with her but we really treasured that time and would have felt really bad if we'd had it done before she was ready.
On the Monday, we knew she was, so we took her in.
 
as long as no one / no animal is in pain , personally i let them live out there days, but once pain kicks in and there is no return then i sometimes think we get carried away by what "we'' feel and not what best or kindest.
i know what them means is she letting her heart rule her head? i would say no, that only happens when its in the carers intrest not the 'patient' & to see how people like michelle & kayjay live with the pain they have seen/felt only goes to show , these thing stick with us no matter what :) hugs to any one in a difficult situation & courage to do what is 'right'

hope youre 'smelly ' old lady seems her last summer in them & has some sunny memorys 0:)
 
Thankfully, I have only ever to make THAT decision once. i found of our rabbits collapsed in the garden (she had been fine the night before). I phoned the vets and took her in. She fitted in the waiting room and I knew what was coming. Her breaths were short and quick. I knew what whilst she was still hanging on, she had, in effect, already gone. As soon as the vet saw her, I signed the paper with tears streaming down my face. It was all over so quickly. It was awful, but I knew it was the right decision.

I currently have a very old and raggity looking cat called Spike. Last year in January we were told he had months left rather than years. He had an enlarged heart, fluid on his lungs and cateracts. He now no longer goes outside as his is practically blind. He is on lots of drugs (which we mix with some tuna or gravy). Whenever we take him to the vets, I always ask if he is in pain and I am always told no. I think in my heart I would know if he was in pain, but I need to make sure. On Sunday night I found a pooh in the cat box with blood all through it. We whisked him off the vets last night and was told that as the blood was fresh it might be that he is stuggling to pass the pooh. We were given something to line his intestine and bowel walls to make things easier and more comfortable. Spike is very precious to us as I have always felt he is the protector of us all. He turned up in our garden one night when we lived in Birmingham. He had tears on his ears and you could see his skin as his fur was so thin. Over two years, we won him over. When we moved to Derbyshire, we had him 'done' and he settled down very quickly to home life. After about 4 months we lost him. He went out one day and never came back. Six months later, we got him back. Amazing. On the odd occasion my husband stops out overnight, Spike comes round with me when I check the doors are locked and sleeps by my bedroom door - almost as if protecting me.

Thing is though, I know that if ever the vet said, now is the time, I would do it. With all his ailments, he still has a quality of life. He has his own chair in the living room with a blanket on. He loves his tuna. He knows when we have a meat and two veg dinner and he sits waiting as he knows we save him some gravy - his favourite.

So long as he has a quality of life, he will stay with us. I just hope that he goes in his sleep, very peacefully, so I never have to make the decision.

That goes for all my animals.

So long as your piggie is not in pain and has a quality of life, let her be. I think you will know in your heart when, and if, the time comes to make the decision.
 
I am really sorry if i have stirred unwanted feelings in people, it purely was just an advice searching questions, I had to let one of my pigs go last July she was 6 and was being bullied by the herd, moved her in with a baby but she turned on the baby and her original cage mate passed away in the sunshine in a carry box as i just felt she need to be in the sun, we had, had numerous visits to the vet and she was given antibiotics, towards the end i said enough was enough, she wasn't getting any better and every time i picked her up she went into spasm, i personally feel that i let her go on to long, her quality of life was good but she was tired, you could see she was, I just didn't want, well you know,
Its very sad and a huge responsibility to be in charge of another life, and as for human euthanasia being made legal, its making me very sad just to think about it, but on saying that my OH dad had prostate cancer and it was very slow drawn out way to die, he slipped into a coma and a week later he died at home, it was just awful but i remember thinking then if only we could stop this now!

Emma
 
Hi Emma, its one of the awful things about being a pet owner isn't it?

You do what is best for your piggie, after all, shes yours and only you know how she is.
 
piggybaker said:
I am really sorry if i have stirred unwanted feelings in people, it purely was just an advice searching questions, I had to let one of my pigs go last July she was 6 and was being bullied by the herd, moved her in with a baby but she turned on the baby and her original cage mate passed away in the sunshine in a carry box as i just felt she need to be in the sun, we had, had numerous visits to the vet and she was given antibiotics, towards the end i said enough was enough, she wasn't getting any better and every time i picked her up she went into spasm, i personally feel that i let her go on to long, her quality of life was good but she was tired, you could see she was, I just didn't want, well you know,
Its very sad and a huge responsibility to be in charge of another life, and as for human euthanasia being made legal, its making me very sad just to think about it, but on saying that my OH dad had prostate cancer and it was very slow drawn out way to die, he slipped into a coma and a week later he died at home, it was just awful but i remember thinking then if only we could stop this now!

Emma
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aww hunny youve not stirred any unwanted feelings in me,you do whatever you feel is best for you and her
 
I know whats best for her a bath and stack loads of kisses :smitten: smelly old cow
 
you didn't bring any sad memorys up they are always with me and its one of those things about being a loving pet owner you have to learn to live with, hoe the old lady is doing ok :smitten:
 
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