I Think Beans Is Coming To The End Of Her Time

[Beckybex]

Thank you. We all know it's going to happen but it's so heartbreaking when it does. I'm going to make the most of however long I've got left with her x

We lost our dog a few months ago. It's Hart breaking every pet gets to be such a big part Of The family. Spoil her rotten and make the most of her. x

 

[Freela]

How old were you told that she was? Just curious- sometimes it's impossible to know for sure.

For what it's worth, my old girl, Sundae, is 6.5 years. We could see her begin to thin out and look elderly at around age 5 or so. A year ago last month a friend babysat her while we were on vacation and I was worried about her. I remember my friend asking me how long I expected her to live and my guess at the time was a few more months. But.... here we are 13 months later and she is much the same as ever... still looks elderly, but it still doing her daily routine with very little difference except for increasing cataracts/decreasing vision. So it's very hard to put a timeline on things. Looking and acting elderly doesn't necessarily mean that their number is coming up right away, though it is hard to watch, and I know that I will miss Sundae a lot when she does go. But I will know that she had a good life and exceeding the span I would have guessed for her several times over!

 

[Beans&Toast]

How old were you told that she was? Just curious- sometimes it's impossible to know for sure.

For what it's worth, my old girl, Sundae, is 6.5 years. We could see her begin to thin out and look elderly at around age 5 or so. A year ago last month a friend babysat her while we were on vacation and I was worried about her. I remember my friend asking me how long I expected her to live and my guess at the time was a few more months. But.... here we are 13 months later and she is much the same as ever... still looks elderly, but it still doing her daily routine with very little difference except for increasing cataracts/decreasing vision. So it's very hard to put a timeline on things. Looking and acting elderly doesn't necessarily mean that their number is coming up right away, though it is hard to watch, and I know that I will miss Sundae a lot when she does go. But I will know that she had a good life and exceeding the span I would have guessed for her several times over!

I was told she was around 2 but when I took her to my vets for a check up they thought more 4 or 5 even. Although it's impossible to guess their age, but this was based on her general condition and health. Even I doubted she was only 2.

With Sundae, does she walk into things at all? Since Beans' cataracts is progressing I've notice she startles more easily (understandably) and she often walks into things...

I think she's still got a lot of fight left in her, she still headbuts me if I pet her when she doesn't want to be petted, but she is slowly deteriorating. I don't know what kind of life she had before coming to me, she was an unwanted children's pet, but she's had an amazing life since and I'll be pampering her every day.

 

[Freela]

I was told she was around 2 but when I took her to my vets for a check up they thought more 4 or 5 even. Although it's impossible to guess their age, but this was based on her general condition and health. Even I doubted she was only 2.

With Sundae, does she walk into things at all? Since Beans' cataracts is progressing I've notice she startles more easily (understandably) and she often walks into things...

I think she's still got a lot of fight left in her, she still headbuts me if I pet her when she doesn't want to be petted, but she is slowly deteriorating. I don't know what kind of life she had before coming to me, she was an unwanted children's pet, but she's had an amazing life since and I'll be pampering her every day.

Sundae did bump into things when she was first going blind. She also obviously had a very hard time judging distance and would make clumsy perceptual errors- for instance, we have a cage set-up at ground level- for floor time I will open the door and then can make one little step up and then walk down the door like a ramp. Sundae had a really hard time finding the door and then getting down it... she tended to trip over the step, or try to make a big jump and end up landing awkwardly on the ramp. I think she hurt her feet a couple of times and then was reluctant to even try to get out (Sundae has always been the cautious type. One bad experience would put her off things for months!) However, this awkward stage really only lasted a few months until she adjusted and went back to navigating things really well. I assume she either just adapted and learned to compensate with her other senses, or else her vision actually got worse and having no vision was easier for her than having poor vision/distorted vision with poor depth perception. Most of her issues seemed to come from judging distances until such time as she either adjusted to her new normal or stopped having enough vision to even try to rely on it. At any rate, if you say her now you really would not think she was blind. The only real telltale sign I see now is that she periodically stands up really high on her front feet with her head in the air, which she never did before. I think she is either smelling or listening and that she does this to compensate for lack of vision. She does it a lot more in less familiar surroundings (i.e. outdoors.) So Beans may well adjust vision-wise over time. I agree it's really hard seeing them deteriorate... I feel the same looking at my older pigs. But sometimes, like people, the deterioration is a longer process due to age and not a rapid decline due to illness, so it can be very tricky to estimate longevity based on when a piggy starts to look old.