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Lost Bumble To Uri / Pneumonia?

lauraboara

lauraboara

Adult Guinea Pig
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Havent been posting much recently as been battling with two poorly pigs needing extra care but then I am so sad to say I lost little Bumble last night. I know no advice is much use now but I am struggling with the speed of his death.
Wednesday he was fine in the morning, pottering about, talking to me etc. Wednesday night he looked a bit soggy which I thought may be heat related so did extra cooling options in piggie room. Thursday morning I could see he was actually poorly, runny eyes, tick when breathing and obvious side movements when breathing. Having bits of veg but no hay. Got into vet at 4pm, he looked worse by then in terms of activity and effort breathing. Vet was good and went straight in with pain relief, septrin, Zantac, emperid etc - full works and Bisolvon to take home. I was looking into nebulisers too.
He picked up after pain killers and ate a little veg. But then at 10pm ish he looked rough. I picked him up. His ears were cold. I tried to syringe feed him as worried about guts. He resisted and only 2mls offered, most went on me. I put him down, he started wobbling, picked him up and he had a few final silent breaths in my arms and was gone.
I held him and then must have been in shock as I threw up pretty violently. Just can't get over how quickly he went from OK to gone. How can it be so quick? I have been panicking that my syringe feed attempts led to aspiration but the vet and @pig in the city reassure me that would not have been so sudden and quiet. Just so sad to have lost him and feel very cheated as he was a healthy 3 year old doing so well with his cage mate Ozzy :( . After all that I had to top up feed my two poorly ones whilst panicking they would aspirate but they were fine.
Not entirely sure why I'm posting this but just sharing feelings of shock I think :(
 
I am very sorry for your loss,

Talking is great therapy and can help us sort through what has happened to help come to terms with it,

It sounds like it was very quick, and you did the best you could,
He had pain relief so you know that he wasn't in any pain in the end, which is wonderful,

Sometimes we can't do anything when we lose them, which is heartbreaking but you did the best you could.

I hope your other Piggie will have a swift recovery,
Thinking of you
 
lauraboara said:
Havent been posting much recently as been battling with two poorly pigs needing extra care but then I am so sad to say I lost little Bumble last night. I know no advice is much use now but I am struggling with the speed of his death.
Wednesday he was fine in the morning, pottering about, talking to me etc. Wednesday night he looked a bit soggy which I thought may be heat related so did extra cooling options in piggie room. Thursday morning I could see he was actually poorly, runny eyes, tick when breathing and obvious side movements when breathing. Having bits of veg but no hay. Got into vet at 4pm, he looked worse by then in terms of activity and effort breathing. Vet was good and went straight in with pain relief, septrin, Zantac, emperid etc - full works and Bisolvon to take home. I was looking into nebulisers too.
He picked up after pain killers and ate a little veg. But then at 10pm ish he looked rough. I picked him up. His ears were cold. I tried to syringe feed him as worried about guts. He resisted and only 2mls offered, most went on me. I put him down, he started wobbling, picked him up and he had a few final silent breaths in my arms and was gone.
I held him and then must have been in shock as I threw up pretty violently. Just can't get over how quickly he went from OK to gone. How can it be so quick? I have been panicking that my syringe feed attempts led to aspiration but the vet and @pig in the city reassure me that would not have been so sudden and quiet. Just so sad to have lost him and feel very cheated as he was a healthy 3 year old doing so well with his cage mate Ozzy :( . After all that I had to top up feed my two poorly ones whilst panicking they would aspirate but they were fine.
Not entirely sure why I'm posting this but just sharing feelings of shock I think :(
Click to expand...

HUGS

I am ever so sorry for your loss!

Please take a deep breath and try to calm down! Yes, guinea pigs can indeed go down with pneumonia right out of the blue within the space of hours and despite prompt vet and home care.
It would take a post mortem to figure out whether it is pneumonia or a pneumococcal infection. if you are a long term owner, you are likely to come up against something that strikes out of the blue and very quickly sooner or later.
@helen105281

Thankfully, it is extremely rare that any healthy companion catches it and comes down with it, too.

The recent heat/damp weather has possibly aided the outbreak, as it is very hard on the old, the very young and the frailer and can help bring out any underlying issues or weaknesses. We always see a spate of deaths in these groups in the wake of a heat spike. :(

It sounds to me that by the time you tried to feed Bumble, the body was already going into failure. Total refusal is often a sign that a very ill piggy is no longer able to process food. It takes more fluid to lead to aspiration, and there is usual some coughing and sputtering involved if that was the case. It is just your imagination going into overdrive and searching for things that you could have done wrong. that is a very normal reaction to a quick or sudden death; we all experience these feelings of guilt/failure when a piggy dies, but depending on the circumstances, you tend to go through every possible detail more strongly and can set off on a real trip of self-bashing - I know it, I have been there myself!
Please tell yourself that there is nothing you have done wrong, you have not killed or failed Bumble in any way; that it is just your perfectly normal reaction to the devastating speed of the illness as you are trying to make sense of what has happened. As a loving owner, of course you start with examining your own actions first; we all do. A sudden unexpected death can really shake you up from the core and can quite literally leave you shaking like a leaf. :(

The diaphragmic breathing (heaving sides) can be caused by either pneumonia, a fluid filled chest and/or acute heart failure. When a body is cold to the touch, it is usually a sign that the body is closing down. Make sure that in those circumstances you keep your piggy warm, but not hot (a half-heated snugglesafe or your own body warmth are fine until the piggy is trying to move off on its own volition.)

If you feel that it would help you to cope better with the shock, please consider ringing a free pet bereavement line. Talking is the best thing you can do right now. The people manning these lines are specially trained to listen and help you find a constructive way of dealing with the feelings that are currently overwhelming you. They are also absolutely confidential.
Please be also aware that you are going to feel very blue and somewhat hungover once the current adrenaline rush is running out in a day or two. The pure physical effects can enhance your emotional swings by going from one extreme to the other. It is going to take time for you to come to terms with it all - right now you have got both the shock and the loss to cope with it, and that is a lot at once. :(
SupportLine - Problems: Pet Bereavement: Advice, support and information
 
I'm so sorry. It sounds like it could have been walking (atypical) pneumonia which strikes very quickly. I lost my Rosie to it a few years ago. Please don't blame yourself though, you did everything you could.
 
So very sorry Laura, l know how special Bumble is to you and your family and to his friend Ozzy.
Losing a pig so quickly is devastating and we always look to blame ourselves, wondering what we missed,should l have done this or that, but sometimes there literally is nothing that you can do. I have lost pigs quickly to respiratory issues in the past, they have a very high mortality rate. You are the best piggy carer, that's why l trusted you with O and B, l knew that they would have a wonderful life and the best possible care. Thankyou for looking after him so well. R.I.P Little black bumblebee, we will miss your zoomies xx
 
I'm so sorry. :( It's so hard to see. If it's any consolation, the last two pigs I lost were only ill on the last day of their lives. Both were fine the day previous, and even fine the morning of. Sundae literally went from us seeing that she was not herself around 2 p.m. to passing away around 6 p.m. It was that fast, and for no apparent cause that we could pin down other than her age. Linney was pretty similar, although she had some signs of some sort of systemic disease in the weeks and months leading up to her death and I wonder if she had some kind of malignancy. But both were that quick. It's nothing that you did and you gave him a wonderful life. ((HUGS.))
 
I'm so sorry that you lost Bumble so quickly. What a shock for you. You are a dedicated and devoted owner. Please don't torment yourself by thinking that something you did/did not do caused his sudden passing. You loved and cared for him, got him prompt veterinary treatment, but sometimes whatever has overcome them can't be beaten. Huge hugs to you. Popcorn free Bumble xx
 
Thank you for all your kind thoughts. I am still quite stunned to be honest. Ozzy just looks 'wrong' without little Bumble by his side - they were a really close pair. Ozzy is doing OK though, I am keeping a close eye on him.
It is reassuring to know that others have experienced that scarily rapid decline and there is not much intervention that you can do or it doesn't make much difference.
 
pig in the city said:
So very sorry Laura, l know how special Bumble is to you and your family and to his friend Ozzy.
Losing a pig so quickly is devastating and we always look to blame ourselves, wondering what we missed,should l have done this or that, but sometimes there literally is nothing that you can do. I have lost pigs quickly to respiratory issues in the past, they have a very high mortality rate. You are the best piggy carer, that's why l trusted you with O and B, l knew that they would have a wonderful life and the best possible care. Thankyou for looking after him so well. R.I.P Little black bumblebee, we will miss your zoomies xx
Click to expand...
Don't you will make me cry again! Just gutted he is gone and Ozzy has lost his best friend. I am already missing the zoomies and the neck snuggle I got from Bumble every evening on the way to the playpen. I am glad you did entrust him to us though @pig in the city because he has been a big part of our family this last year.
 
Wiebke said:
HUGS

I am ever so sorry for your loss!

Please take a deep breath and try to calm down! Yes, guinea pigs can indeed go down with pneumonia right out of the blue within the space of hours and despite prompt vet and home care.
It would take a post mortem to figure out whether it is pneumonia or a pneumococcal infection. if you are a long term owner, you are likely to come up against something that strikes out of the blue and very quickly sooner or later.
@helen105281

Thankfully, it is extremely rare that any healthy companion catches it and comes down with it, too.

The recent heat/damp weather has possibly aided the outbreak, as it is very hard on the old, the very young and the frailer and can help bring out any underlying issues or weaknesses. We always see a spate of deaths in these groups in the wake of a heat spike. :(

It sounds to me that by the time you tried to feed Bumble, the body was already going into failure. Total refusal is often a sign that a very ill piggy is no longer able to process food. It takes more fluid to lead to aspiration, and there is usual some coughing and sputtering involved if that was the case. It is just your imagination going into overdrive and searching for things that you could have done wrong. that is a very normal reaction to a quick or sudden death; we all experience these feelings of guilt/failure when a piggy dies, but depending on the circumstances, you tend to go through every possible detail more strongly and can set off on a real trip of self-bashing - I know it, I have been there myself!
Please tell yourself that there is nothing you have done wrong, you have not killed or failed Bumble in any way; that it is just your perfectly normal reaction to the devastating speed of the illness as you are trying to make sense of what has happened. As a loving owner, of course you start with examining your own actions first; we all do. A sudden unexpected death can really shake you up from the core and can quite literally leave you shaking like a leaf. :(

The diaphragmic breathing (heaving sides) can be caused by either pneumonia, a fluid filled chest and/or acute heart failure. When a body is cold to the touch, it is usually a sign that the body is closing down. Make sure that in those circumstances you keep your piggy warm, but not hot (a half-heated snugglesafe or your own body warmth are fine until the piggy is trying to move off on its own volition.)

If you feel that it would help you to cope better with the shock, please consider ringing a free pet bereavement line. Talking is the best thing you can do right now. The people manning these lines are specially trained to listen and help you find a constructive way of dealing with the feelings that are currently overwhelming you. They are also absolutely confidential.
Please be also aware that you are going to feel very blue and somewhat hungover once the current adrenaline rush is running out in a day or two. The pure physical effects can enhance your emotional swings by going from one extreme to the other. It is going to take time for you to come to terms with it all - right now you have got both the shock and the loss to cope with it, and that is a lot at once. :(
SupportLine - Problems: Pet Bereavement: Advice, support and information
Click to expand...
Our daughtor was devastated when she lost her first piggy. She's 11 after it happened she went in her room and just started screaming, throwing things, I just let her go, it was her way of dealing with the loss, we got up that morning was gonna take him to get his nails clipped, he was perfect that night, as my daughtor was holding him, she said mom he's not breathing right, I ran in and his back was caving in! We got him to the vet asap! By then he was wide mouth open breathing! He passed away, my daughtor kept saying, why didn't I see it lastnight? None of us did, its devastating! It takes time, they for sure are very special friends so sorry for your loss, I know exactly how u feel, big hugs to u hun
 
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