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Inoperable tumour

Wiebke said:
I would recommend that you have her vet checked in the coming week. This may include checking for arthritis in older piggies and not just the urinary or reproductive tracts. All the best!

Make sure that you spot clean her favourite sleeping patch and also check daily the foot soles of both front/back legs which are more exposed to soiled bedding (urine scald and then bumblefoot) in piggies that are less mobile and spending more time sitting in their own excrement.

All the best.
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She still runs out and stretches up to see what food there is.
It’s because of the tumour wrapped around her kidneys. We’ve only had little amounts of blood before this so she’s getting worse. She’s still herself at the moment, though, eating and chuntering.
 
Her tummy has quite a bulge and her bottom isn't spotless. But she was happily tearing off the cardboard. That's an old carrot cottage, if you couldn't tell.
 
It’s quite sad seeing that photo because it really brings home to me how big the tumour must be. We’re keeping an even closer eye on her now for signs of discomfort because it can’t be much longer, even though she’s still lithe and lively. Six months post-diagnosis! We’re all going to be so upset, but I worry in particular for my sixteen-year-old, who adores them and in whose room they live. They never moved out again after the diagnosis. (Summers used to be spent in the outside hutch and run, except when too hot; the rest of the year in the insulated shed.)
 
KHBz

Post in thread 'Ophelia and Bianca'

Well, we've just been to the vet. My younger daughter had extracted the hay last night and she has got away with no ulceration at all!

The vet felt the tumour which now extends the width of her wide lower body and was absolutely stunned at how 'well' she is! By now, Bianca is perfectly at ease on the vet's table, and happily applied pepper lipstick to her mouth... The vet even took a photo of her to send to the vet who diagnosed the tumour because she was so amazed at her condition as she doesn't seem in the slightest bit ill! She said that she must be a toughie. We are eight months...
  • Love
 
Hello all. Bianca continued to amaze the vets at the last visit in May, being so well in spite of such a large tumour. This morning, she trotted out when I called her, put her paws expectantly ontop of the corner cottage, obediently took her medicine, grabbed the pepper slice and devoured it. This evening, she didn’t eat her supper, didn’t eat her treat of fresh rose petals, and when she has moved, it was with obvious difficulty. She wanted to be on her own and is now lying still in a different little house, dark and tucked away.

She did take her evening painkiller. My question is whether we can give her a little bit more as if she doesn’t die tonight, we will have to take her to the vet tomorrow so that she doesn’t suffer any more. She is on 2ml Rheumocam twice a day. The vet has said that this isn’t a particularly high dose although it is a step up, I believe, from metacam.

We are all very upset to see her clearly, suddenly, not well at all. She has made it 11 months post diagnosis. Her sixth birthday would be the 24th July.
 
It is late in the UK, so I answer my own question: we leave her be and wait until morning.
 
I’m sorry I don’t have any medical advice but just wanted to send support. You sound like such caring owners and she sounds like a much loved piggy. I’m sorry you’re all going through this.
 
Aw poor Bianca, she and you have done amazingly this last year. I'm sorry that her time has now come, but hope for both your sakes the process doesn't take too long.
In similar circumstances I would probably up the metacam dosage to try to relieve discomfort, if my piggy wasn't already on the max dose. But I'm not familiar with rheumocam and how it compares with Metacam strength wise (did you mean 0.2ml rather than 2ml?).
Sending hugs and comforting vibes 💓
 
Qualcast&Flymo said:
Aw poor Bianca, she and you have done amazingly this last year. I'm sorry that her time has now come, but hope for both your sakes the process doesn't take too long.
In similar circumstances I would probably up the metacam dosage to try to relieve discomfort, if my piggy wasn't already on the max dose. But I'm not familiar with rheumocam and how it compares with Metacam strength wise (did you mean 0.2ml rather than 2ml?).
Sending hugs and comforting vibes 💓
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Rheumocam is dog strength metacam (1.5 mg/ml). It will always say so on the bottle. It comes in 30 ml or 100 ml bottles and is generally used for long term prescriptions as the most cost effective current UK brand for that purpose. ;)

Cat metacam of any brand is 0.5 mg/ml. It is three times weaker and in the UK only comes in 10 ml bottles, whatever the brand name.
 
KHBz said:
Hello all. Bianca continued to amaze the vets at the last visit in May, being so well in spite of such a large tumour. This morning, she trotted out when I called her, put her paws expectantly ontop of the corner cottage, obediently took her medicine, grabbed the pepper slice and devoured it. This evening, she didn’t eat her supper, didn’t eat her treat of fresh rose petals, and when she has moved, it was with obvious difficulty. She wanted to be on her own and is now lying still in a different little house, dark and tucked away.

She did take her evening painkiller. My question is whether we can give her a little bit more as if she doesn’t die tonight, we will have to take her to the vet tomorrow so that she doesn’t suffer any more. She is on 2ml Rheumocam twice a day. The vet has said that this isn’t a particularly high dose although it is a step up, I believe, from metacam.

We are all very upset to see her clearly, suddenly, not well at all. She has made it 11 months post diagnosis. Her sixth birthday would be the 24th July.
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BIG HUGS

I am so very sorry. You can safely up the dog metacam (1.5 mg/ml concentration) to 0.4-0.5 ml per 1 kilo and cat metacam (0.5 mg/ml concentration) to 1.2-1.5 ml, provided your piggy is still able to metabolise. I usually give mine a good shot if they are still able to nibble at the start of it in the hopes that it may help.

Be proud - 11 months would be roughly an extra human decade of life although it doesn't quite work like that. But it still comes close enough to help you visualise your achievement. Try to cherish it and the fact that you have got Biance within spitting distance of her 6th birthday.
However, all that extra care creates a closer bond so when the end comes, the loss hits you harder because of that. :(

Please try to take comfort in that the journey to the Rainbow Bridge will be a quick and hopefully comparatively smooth one as these things go. They usually are for the frail ones when their day comes, very often out of the blue although the hot weather may have been what has tipped an already precarious balance.
Anyway, it always comes as a gut-wrenching shock, even when you are braced for it. :(

If you have any questions or issues with the process, this guide here may help you.
A Practical and Sensitive Guide to Dying, Terminal Illness and Euthanasia in Guinea Pigs

My thoughts are with you.
 
Thank you so much, everyone. Bianca died in the night.
 
She had moved to just outside the small house she had retreated to, which would have allowed Ophelia to be with her/see her. Ophelia seems fine but when we gave her some breakfast courgette (one of the treats to encourage Bianca to take her medicine), she took it to eat next to Bianca’s body, rather than run into a hidey with it. I’m glad it happened with Ophelia there, rather than having to present her with the body after vet trip.

As Weibke says, we became particularly attached to this spunky little piggy over the time we watched and cared for her. It is a relief that it wasn’t drawn out.

We will have lots of questions over the coming days, as we look after the lone piggy. We also need to start looking to see if there are rescues nearby, for a companion. We live in Oxfordshire
 
Wiebke said:
BIG HUGS

I am so very sorry. You can safely up the dog metacam (1.5 mg/ml concentration) to 0.4-0.5 ml per 1 kilo and cat metacam (0.5 mg/ml concentration) to 1.2-1.5 ml, provided your piggy is still able to metabolise. I usually give mine a good shot if they are still able to nibble at the start of it in the hopes that it may help.

Be proud - 11 months would be roughly an extra human decade of life although it doesn't quite work like that. But it still comes close enough to help you visualise your achievement. Try to cherish it and the fact that you have got Biance within spitting distance of her 6th birthday.
However, all that extra care creates a closer bond so when the end comes, the loss hits you harder because of that. :(

Please try to take comfort in that the journey to the Rainbow Bridge will be a quick and hopefully comparatively smooth one as these things go. They usually are for the frail ones when their day comes, very often out of the blue although the hot weather may have been what has tipped an already precarious balance.
Anyway, it always comes as a gut-wrenching shock, even when you are braced for it. :(

If you have any questions or issues with the process, this guide here may help you.
A Practical and Sensitive Guide to Dying, Terminal Illness and Euthanasia in Guinea Pigs

My thoughts are with you.
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Thank you for such a lovely message. It helps to know that 11 piggy months could roughly be compared to a human decade. She was so lively and agile, in spite of the huge tumour, even yesterday, and there are no signs of bodily mess or nastiness which would have been distressing She is just lying on her side, stretched out. I do wish I’d upped the dose, but too late now.
 
KHBz said:
Thank you for such a lovely message. It helps to know that 11 piggy months could roughly be compared to a human decade. She was so lively and agile, in spite of the huge tumour, even yesterday, and there are no signs of bodily mess or nastiness which would have been distressing She is just lying on her side, stretched out. I do wish I’d upped the dose, but too late now.
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If it is any consolation to you, by the time a dying piggy categorically refuses feed or water, it means that they are no longer able to process anything, including oral medication.

It sounds like Bianca has had a smooth and quick journey to the Bridge, as natural deaths go. It happens suddenly and quickly - but take comfort in that Bianca could enjoy her life right up to the end and that the end of her life has come easily to her in her familiar surroundings. Wouldn't we rather suffer the extra pain of the shock of a sudden death than watching them go slowly and be unable to help?

Bianca knew she was loved and cherished. You have given her the happiest of piggy lives. She was blessed to have found you and you have been blessed to have her in your life for so long. We can only ever give our piggies the best of cavy lives but we can never choose when and in which way the end comes; that is not in our control.

Be sad but please don't feel bad. You haven't failed Bianca in any way. Take your time to grieve but seek help if you struggle. We are here for you to give you community support and the free (UK) Blue Cross pet bereavement services will be available weekdays if you have questions that bug you or you feel that speaking about your thought loops or overwhelming emotions would help you. We now have got a special new section for End of Life and Bereavement support.

Human Bereavement: Grieving, Processing and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children
Looking After a Bereaved Guinea Pig
 
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