Autonerd
Junior Guinea Pig
Summary: Our vet has said the time for euthanasia is drawing near, and we're trying to decide how long to keep Oreo going, as he seems to be happy at the moment.
The story (I'll try to keep it short, but it's a long one...)
Oreo is an unneutered male, and we think he's around 6, maybe a bit older. Several weeks back he stopped eating and was lethargic. Turns out his molars were growing together keeping him from eating. He'd dropped from 1300+g (which our vet said was a bit on the heavy side) to the mid-800s. Vet X-rayed and found an empty gut. He gave him subcutaneous fluids, prescribed Meloxicam (anti-inflammatory) and advised us to syringe-feed. Give him a couple of days and if he was doing well, we could decide about having his teeth done.
Within a couple of days he recovered quite nicely. Besides the syringe food he was eating soft veggies, moving around the cage, showing signs of happiness. On re-check his weight had risen to 1050g (our vet was ecstatic!) so we decided to go ahead and have the molars cut, which involved anesthesia.
His recovery this time didn't go as well. We syringe-fed about 5x per day, but he would not eat much on his own, even when we upped the Meloxicam (at the vet's request). We could not get weight on him; he dropped to low 900s. In the cage he was lying a lot in one spot, and we often found his left leg wet, indicating he was lying in his pee. We could not get him to move around. He appeared to have trouble getting up, though once up, he could walk. I didn't think he was drinking much water and I knew he wasn't eating pellets. We had him back for a re-check and continued syringe feeding, but saw no change and no weight gain, and in fact some loss.
Our primary concern was his comfort. Vet said we were doing all it was possible to do, but he was not bouncing back, and compassionate euthanasia might end up being our best option.
My wife wanted to wait a day or two more, which the vet thought was OK to do (we wouldn't be torturing the poor guy -- Oreo, not the vet). And then... he started eating more veggies, even a little hay, though his weight dropped as low as 820g. Still lying down a lot, still having some trouble getting up, but he became more eager for veggies, getting up and wheeking at feeding time. (We'd been feeding more often, much to the utter delight of his cage-mate, Harrison).
We talked to vet again; he said waiting a few more days would be OK. (My wife, meanwhile, got a bad flu, so I wanted to wait for that.) We stopped syringe- and hand-feeding, and his attitude improved and he started eating pellets, which he has not done since this whole thing began. Today I noticed the water in the bottle was dropping like normal. Weight-wise, he's still not gaining, but he is holding steady around 850g.
And this is where we are. No hand feeding. He's still lying around a lot (either in the open-ended "rainbow" hide or on/borrowed under hay) and and sometimes struggles to get up, and that left flank feels wet when I pick him up to weigh him. But he gets up to greet me if he thinks I'm bringing veggies and he tears into them eagerly. His activity level is reduced but he's showing signs of happiness, at least at meal time. When he's not eating, he lies aronud. He even looks pretty good -- attached photos show him eating and lazing.
So... we're kind of at a loss for what to do. We don't think he's going to spring back to where he was and I think his date with destiny is coming. We don't want to wait until he's suffering, but nor do we want to end his life if it's a happy one. (As I write this, I feel like I'm biasing what I write to keep him going.)
What are your thoughts? What would you do if Oreo was yours?
Thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts!
The story (I'll try to keep it short, but it's a long one...)
Oreo is an unneutered male, and we think he's around 6, maybe a bit older. Several weeks back he stopped eating and was lethargic. Turns out his molars were growing together keeping him from eating. He'd dropped from 1300+g (which our vet said was a bit on the heavy side) to the mid-800s. Vet X-rayed and found an empty gut. He gave him subcutaneous fluids, prescribed Meloxicam (anti-inflammatory) and advised us to syringe-feed. Give him a couple of days and if he was doing well, we could decide about having his teeth done.
Within a couple of days he recovered quite nicely. Besides the syringe food he was eating soft veggies, moving around the cage, showing signs of happiness. On re-check his weight had risen to 1050g (our vet was ecstatic!) so we decided to go ahead and have the molars cut, which involved anesthesia.
His recovery this time didn't go as well. We syringe-fed about 5x per day, but he would not eat much on his own, even when we upped the Meloxicam (at the vet's request). We could not get weight on him; he dropped to low 900s. In the cage he was lying a lot in one spot, and we often found his left leg wet, indicating he was lying in his pee. We could not get him to move around. He appeared to have trouble getting up, though once up, he could walk. I didn't think he was drinking much water and I knew he wasn't eating pellets. We had him back for a re-check and continued syringe feeding, but saw no change and no weight gain, and in fact some loss.
Our primary concern was his comfort. Vet said we were doing all it was possible to do, but he was not bouncing back, and compassionate euthanasia might end up being our best option.
My wife wanted to wait a day or two more, which the vet thought was OK to do (we wouldn't be torturing the poor guy -- Oreo, not the vet). And then... he started eating more veggies, even a little hay, though his weight dropped as low as 820g. Still lying down a lot, still having some trouble getting up, but he became more eager for veggies, getting up and wheeking at feeding time. (We'd been feeding more often, much to the utter delight of his cage-mate, Harrison).
We talked to vet again; he said waiting a few more days would be OK. (My wife, meanwhile, got a bad flu, so I wanted to wait for that.) We stopped syringe- and hand-feeding, and his attitude improved and he started eating pellets, which he has not done since this whole thing began. Today I noticed the water in the bottle was dropping like normal. Weight-wise, he's still not gaining, but he is holding steady around 850g.
And this is where we are. No hand feeding. He's still lying around a lot (either in the open-ended "rainbow" hide or on/borrowed under hay) and and sometimes struggles to get up, and that left flank feels wet when I pick him up to weigh him. But he gets up to greet me if he thinks I'm bringing veggies and he tears into them eagerly. His activity level is reduced but he's showing signs of happiness, at least at meal time. When he's not eating, he lies aronud. He even looks pretty good -- attached photos show him eating and lazing.
So... we're kind of at a loss for what to do. We don't think he's going to spring back to where he was and I think his date with destiny is coming. We don't want to wait until he's suffering, but nor do we want to end his life if it's a happy one. (As I write this, I feel like I'm biasing what I write to keep him going.)
What are your thoughts? What would you do if Oreo was yours?
Thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts!
Seriously, this was a huge help, as are all the FAQs and guides on this site -- thank you for putting it together. I am convinced our pigs have led better lives because of all you have written.
