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Piggy has a tumor :(

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Gems

Gems

Adult Guinea Pig
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I noticed 2 days ago that one of my piggies was bleeding from her rear end. Took her to the vets the next day and was told she has a growth in her intestine and there's nothing they can do for her. I'm absolutely heartbroken. She's still running round, eating, pop corning etc so doesn't seem to be in any pain so the vet said while she still seems happy to just leave her be but obviously if she starts showing any signs of pain or distress we have to take her in to be put to sleep.

They've given her some antibiotics and a pro biotic to put in her food for a week to see if that helps stop the bleeding and if that helps then she'll prescribe it over a longer period. My question is can I do anything else to help her? We don't know how much time she has left, I suspect it may only be weeks so I want to make it as happy and comfortable for her as possible.

Went to buy her her favourite treats last night, every time I see her running round I just want to cry. We only have 2 pigs and they are inseparable so I've no idea how the other will cope when she goes :(
 
Hi Gems, welcome to the forum.

I am very sorry to hear your girl has been diagnosed with such an illness. I also faced a similar situation, in June 2007 my Charlie was diagnosed with a kidney tumour. He lived for 9 months post-diagnosis despite battling other illnesses, including abscesses. His 'treatment' was merely Reiki and occasional pain-relief (Metacam), although he did not need the Metacam routinely until 6 months after he was diagnosed.
I too found it hard to accept and understand his condition, the diagnosis was a total shock as - due to his symptoms - I suspected bladder stones. I did a photo shoot the next day and started offering him more of his favourite foods, wondering if he only had days or weeks left.

How was your piggie's diagnosis made? Xray, or just by feeling the abdomen? I would be inclined to seek a second opinion just to double check the diagnosis, before you start to accept that she's definitely got this condition.

I think you are managing it well though, the best thing to do is to allow her to live comfortably and happily as long as she can, with pain relief if necessary, and then help ease her suffering when she is no longer interested in life. That's the apporach I used with my own pig and I was blessed with many months more, of the whole 9 months he had only 3 'down' days where I wondered if it was his time but always maintained a level of interest in life, in eating, until his last day.
 
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She just felt her tummy, she was having a feel round for about 15 minutes so I didn't feel like it was a rushed diagnosis. She said that they could do further tests to confirm exactly what it was but that guinea pigs don't do well under anesthetic so she thought the best thing was just to leave her as there's no guarantee she would survive the surgery.

There aren't really any vets in my area that specialise in small animals ( that I know of, I spent some time looking and couldn't find any ) and I can't help but feel that unless a vet is confident in operating on a small animal they advise against it. They weighed her while she was there and she is 1.17 kilos, although I'm not sure if this is a healthy weight or not? She looks small next to my other piggie, but she is quite big so I've never been concerned about that before.

She's just over 2.5 years so I thought she would be with us for some time yet. I think when she does go we'll have to get a friend for our other piggie, I know they don't cope well alone.
 
Her weight sounds fine, anything between 900g - 1800g can be normal for adult piggies. Similarly, sme guineas are naturally large and chunky while others may be dainty but perfectly healthy.

If you are confident with the diagnosis, then do just enjoy your time with her, she may just surprise you and live a while or she may leave you sooner. You just don't know how long she's got, so try to treat her as normal and spend as much time with her as you can. The fact she seems otherwise well is a good sign.

I would recommend that you request an analgesic so you are able to offer pain-relief if she does show any signs of being uncomfortable or in pain; Metacam (meloxicam) or Rimadyl (carprofen) are the most common ones prescribed.

Good luck with her, I hope she's with you for a while yet.
 
Don't get upset or distressed. I would not accept this "diagnosis" without further questions and/or a second opinion.
Bleeding from "the back end" could be from the gut, the urinary tract or the reproductive system.
The "gropwth" could even be a bladder stone or a cystic ovary.
Whereabouts are you?
 
She said she was confident it was coming from her anus so ruled out any bladder problems? Athena ( the piggie ) has a habit of eating the vet bed ( despite having a constant supply of hay, dry food and being fed fresh food twice a day! ) so I initially thought that was what was causing the problem.

I live in Chester le Street, I spent hours on the internet trying to find a vet that specialises in small animals in the area ( Tyne & Wear, Sunderland & Durham ) but didn't have much luck
 
May I suggest that you give Vedra a call at the CCT on 07721 026401.
 
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