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Making an elderly pig happy

baleofhay

baleofhay

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
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Location
Melbourne, Australia
For the last 8 and a half years I've had the pleasure of sharing my life with one special girl named Zora. I think my little girl is preparing to cross the rainbow bridge. This last week she hasn't much interest in moving and her poos are generally very watery and yucky. I have to shift her so she isn't sitting in her own waste, bathing her so she doesn't have it stick to her. I might have pts already but she still has a big interest in eating and will still excitedly sniff the air when I have goodies. She is on meloxicam for arthritic pain relief and frusimide for a heart murmur. I feel like she hasn't lost her spark yet, but I fear that I might be prolonging her life when she is ready to go.

The other day I found her trapped in her hay, unable to get out and it was a bit of a shock knowing how much she loved nesting and burrowing in it. I've taken out the hay except for a small amount for snacking. Leaving the house or going to bed fills me with anxiety thinking that she might start to go or suffer without me there to help. I've had many pigs pass and will have many more pass and it doesn't get easier. I'm just torn between waiting and pts. Her brother passed in my arms at home in the middle of night in 2017 and I'm not sure if I'd rather that or go to vet.

She deserves the world, but strawberry treats are the best I can do.
 
What a really good age she is. Does she suffer from arthiritis atall? Because glucosamine can help that alot. But as for the poos, thats what happened with my 7 year old boar when he was getting close to his end.
 
baleofhay said:
For the last 8 and a half years I've had the pleasure of sharing my life with one special girl named Zora. I think my little girl is preparing to cross the rainbow bridge. This last week she hasn't much interest in moving and her poos are generally very watery and yucky. I have to shift her so she isn't sitting in her own waste, bathing her so she doesn't have it stick to her. I might have pts already but she still has a big interest in eating and will still excitedly sniff the air when I have goodies. She is on meloxicam for arthritic pain relief and frusimide for a heart murmur. I feel like she hasn't lost her spark yet, but I fear that I might be prolonging her life when she is ready to go.

The other day I found her trapped in her hay, unable to get out and it was a bit of a shock knowing how much she loved nesting and burrowing in it. I've taken out the hay except for a small amount for snacking. Leaving the house or going to bed fills me with anxiety thinking that she might start to go or suffer without me there to help. I've had many pigs pass and will have many more pass and it doesn't get easier. I'm just torn between waiting and pts. Her brother passed in my arms at home in the middle of night in 2017 and I'm not sure if I'd rather that or go to vet.

She deserves the world, but strawberry treats are the best I can do.
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome!

What a great age! But it doesn't sadly make it any easier...

Please keep her comfy and warm, but not hot. A snugglesafe that is heated only half the maximum time and exchanged more often is ideal. Always make sure that a piggy has the option to get off whenever it feels too hot.

Instead of rationing the hay (which is making over 80% of the daily food intake and could be at the bottom of the watery poos), please cut it into smaller pieces that cannot trap her to eat and lie in if she enjoys that. Just offer it on some newspaper so you can fold it up and disposed of any soiled hay easily and she doesn't have to climb. Place it close by her sleeping area, together with the lowered water bottle so she can drinky without having to raise her head (difficult in old piggies whose spine is badly affected by arthritis).

Offer additional syringe feed (pure or mixed with mushed up pellets for a more familiar taste and with a pinch of probiotics added).
If you want to avoid falling into the support feed dependency trap, let your piggy either eat this from a bowl or a spoon, so it is her decision how much she wants at all times; I have found this helpful with my own borderline elderlies.

Change the cosies/bedding in the areas she is sitting all the time 2-3 times daily. If you can, switch to vet bed bedding, which is softest in order to prevent urine scald on her genitalia, belly and the underside of her feet. Clean her soiled bits gently with baby warm water or a wet wipe (please do not flush any wipes).
Check her front paw pads regularly for signs of bumblefoot. Foot infection is not uncommon in old guinea pigs those with limited mobility/bad circulation/the inability to take the weight off the weight bearing front legs if they struggle/are unable to get up again.

How much metacam/meloxicam is she on? You can usually go up further in a terminal piggy. The next step would be tramadol.
 
The way my vet explained it to me, all older piggys have arthritis, so we never tested for it. She's not recieveing anything else but meloxicam for it. Up until the last week or so, she was relatively mobile. She just seems more tired than anything. Yeah the poo is watery and a bit smelly. I know when I need to go spot clean as I can smell it across the room.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi and welcome!

What a great age! But it doesn't sadly make it any easier...

Please keep her comfy and warm, but not hot.

Instead of rationing the hay (which is making over 80% of the daily food intake and could be at the bottom of the watery poos), please cut it into smaller pieces that cannot trap her to eat and lie in.

Offer additional syringe feed (alone or mixed with mushed up pellets for a more familiar taste and with a pinch of probiotics added).
If you want to avoid falling into the support feed dependency trap, let your piggy either eat this from a bowl or a spoon, so it is her decision how much she wants at all times; I have found this helpful with my own borderline elderlies.

Change the cosies/bedding in the areas she is sitting all the time 2-3 times daily. If you can, switch to vet bed bedding, which is softest in order to prevent urine scald on her genitalia, belly and the underside of her feet. Clean her soiled bits gently with baby warm water or a wet wipe (please do not flush any wipes).
Check her front paw pads regularly for signs of bumblefoot. Foot infection is not uncommon in old guinea pigs those with limited mobility/bad circulation/the inability to take the weight off the weight bearing front legs if they struggle/are unable to get up again.
Click to expand...

I will be cutting up the hay into smaller pieces, good idea. The poos were like this before the hay incident. She's always been a lover of hay. She also loves her critical care, I have been offering her squishy balls of it and she will eat it without syringing.

Yes I have been using vet bed, been fighting to keep up with washing/drying to change her. I will be extra checking her feet.

Another really concerning thing is she has lost quite a bit of weight. about 100g in a week. Thought about syringe feeding her cc but don't want to stress her out when she was happily eating it from a bowl already.

Thank you for your replies. In the intro thread I should introduce her.
 
baleofhay said:
I will be cutting up the hay into smaller pieces, good idea. The poos were like this before the hay incident. She's always been a lover of hay. She also loves her critical care, I have been offering her squishy balls of it and she will eat it without syringing.

Yes I have been using vet bed, been fighting to keep up with washing/drying to change her. I will be extra checking her feet.

Another really concerning thing is she has lost quite a bit of weight. about 100g in a week. Thought about syringe feeding her cc but don't want to stress her out when she was happily eating it from a bowl already.

Thank you for your replies. In the intro thread I should introduce her.
Click to expand...

Fingers crossed. All you can do is making her last days as comfy as possible and sending her to the Rainbow Bridge when she loses her zest for life.

I am currently in the same position with my 7 year old Hafren.
 
Hey. Made an observation of Zora. One of her back legs are cold. She hasn't been particularly mobile in a while, possibly sitting on this leg. Her other legs are normal. Still voraciously eating. Poos are a little more normal today, individuals and not as sticky or smelly. Also she is on .2 ml Meloxicam twice a day and .2 ml frusimide twice a day.
 
Just a thought, but if you know Zora has a heart murmur already, try asking the vet if you can try "Nelio" it's an ACE Inhibitor (or Fortekor) , this would help her circulation, possibly increasing the temperature of her cold leg/mobility & decrease the likelihood of bumblefoot in all of her paws?
The Frusimide is a diuretic, so this could be making her poops on the slightly sticky side, as it's the body's way of getting rid of excess water, as well as urinating more.
Some of my Guineas have also had slightly stickier poops with the meloxicam.

8.5yrs is a great age you're obviously doing something right :tu:
My Ellie was nearly 8 when she was diagnosed with a heart murmur.

When Zora is ready to go, you will know, she will tell you. It doesn't sound like she's ready yet if she's still eating & happy.
Her quality of life is the most important thing & this must be your guide along with her.

But please discuss with your vet the heart meds, as this might make a difference to her comfortableness & longevity, possibly a new lease of life? :)
Let us know how she gets on.

Love the girls & I. Xx
 
I took Zora to the vet and don't have good news for you. It's her back legs, whether it is a fracture or a neurological issue. Remember the cold foot? I realised it was also swollen and I think it probably had something to do with the accident in the hay. At her age, treatment isnt really viable or fair. My mum talked me out of pts right then at the vet as we want to give her a really good last day or so and I didn't even have a strawberry to give her. So we have some tramadol to treat keep her comfortable and to give me a little time to say goodbye. It feels selfish and I'm not sure it was the right decision, but I'm also not sure if I was entirely ready at that point to let her go then. Without vet intervention, I reckon she'd still happily eat forever but also be in worsening pain and I don't want that. We will be back at the vet very soon, too soon but at least she'll have had a few more strawberries.
 
What a hard situation for you. My heart really goes out to you. You know your piggy best and you have to do what you think is the best for her. She has had a life full of love and happiness with you and the final act of love you can give her is to help her over The Rainbow Bridge. Have a hug cos you clearly need one :hug:
 
Just cherish her and make her last day or so with you very special. Hugs.
 
Sending you lots of hugs, it’s an awful decision to make. She knows she is dearly loved and you have given her a wonderful life full of cuddles x
 
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