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Sick piggy died

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Mutlow

Mutlow

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My poor piggy has died, put to sleep yesterday as he has pneumonia. He has had a uri for ages which wouldnt go, runny nose, snuffling etc and suddenly this.
I'm so sad about him dying as he was my cuddly boy :'(
 
I am very sorry for your loss. It sounds like you have lost a special friend. :0

Was he your only piggy or does he have a companion?
 
I have one left now, Jerrys brother Fudge but he isnt right. Such a bad year piggy wise, I did have 3 boys, all living in big cages seperately in our garage (no cars) as they used to fight bad within a few months of getting them. They could see/hear etc each other so had company really. All have had ailments this year and Spike died only last month having been poorly and a scan revealed bladder cancer, I reluctantly put him to sleep and now my Jerry has died of pneumonia, I'm so upset and no-one really understands. Ive looked after, cuddled, fed, bathed etc him for over 5 1/2 years and now he has gone.
I keep going over things that have happened this week, did I miss the signs or does pneumonia really attack at such speed? Jerry was on Septrin for over a month but it made no difference so I stopped it. Now I wonder if I should have kept him on it. I put them out in the garden the day before he fell ill, it was warm and sunny. But maybe not warm enough.
Strangely Fudge doesnt seem bothered by being alone in the garage, I suppose as they were all seperate anyway they are used to being alone. I used to pop in to say hello 3 times a day and then spend time cleaning the cages and having big cuddles of an evening but I'm going out more now as he is on his own. He is eating ok and it was so nice out I put him in the garden for an hour this afternoon and he seemed ok grazing away.
 
So sorry for your loss.

Unfortunatly yes pneumonia can strike very quickly and suddenly. Sorry to hear your boys didnt get on, but three boys together very very rarely do get on, they are much better in pairs.

x.
 
Awwww... I'm so sorry for your loss. ((HUGS)) to you.
 
Unfortunately, pneumonia, like a few other things, can strike at speed and there is nothing you can do despite the best of care and medication! Your feelings of guilt are very normal for a loving, responsible owner at this point; we all feel we should have done better when one of ours dies. mallethead

Your boy has known love and care, and you have given and are giving them all the best of lives. That is all you can do. They are very lucky piggies to have such a caring mummy! Please accept that you have not failed Jerry in any way.

PS: If poorly Fudge is better or if he seems very lonely and lost in the days to come, there is always the possibility to "boar date" him under expert supervision at a good rescue for a new character compatible friend. It works for piggies of all ages. Rescues often have piggies of a whole range of ages and will try their best to match up boars accordingly.
Here is our list of recommended (and vetted) good standard, practice and ethics guinea pig rescues. Sadly, there is none directly in Essex, but there are others that may be within your reach and have suitable piggies for Fudge to meet and cheer him up.
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=209994852075231951564.0004b8fd9391b4257d8eb&msa=0

Until then, please give Fudge a soft cuddly toy or fleece to snuggle into.

PS: 5 1/2 years is a very respectable age for guinea pigs nowadays.
 
Very sorry for your loss x
 
Thanks Wiebke for your kind words. Really appreciated as I feel a bit low today, worse than yesterday for some reason:0. We took Jerry down to the pet crematorium yesterday which was hard as it was a final bye. He looked so sweet wrapped up in his blanket in his favorite cardboard box. I cant velieve only a coyple of days ago he was in it knawing away.They are so good there and when I asked for a piece of his fur they said they would bound up a piece and put it in a pretty bag with his ashes. I chose a pretty wooden box for him to match Spikes box.

I'm keeping a close eye on Fudge, he seems ok, i let him sniff Jerry so he knew he had died, he licked him and grumbled like he does but he must understand as i havnt seen him looking for him in the cage next door (which i have now moved away) funny the day Jerry was ill he spent most of the day up against the wire looking in Jerrys cage, he must have known Jerry was poorly. It's me that is fretting over him being lonely. Doesn't help that winter is close by and that means not going outside for months. He isn't too bright
health wise himself with his UTI and is on critical care still. I'm monitoring him
and have put him back on Septrin (had a pot full for Jerry still in fridge) and if no improvement I'll take him back to the vet. He had a ultrasound scan ten days ago which only showed up his UTI, no stones there or worse. I can see me losing him too before long as his weight has dropped a bit again. Saying that I left him with his head in his bowl eating grass. Bit worried tho.
 
Cremating and burying a piggy is always a low point! It also takes time to retrain yourself to not automatically look and do things for Jerry; until then, any small gesture, look or thought can bring it all up again out of the blue. That is the nature of grieving. 8...

Piggies know exactly when one of theirs is ill or has died; they may not make much of a fuss, but they know! I dated one of my bereaved girls who had repeated bladder stones/chronic UTI issues at a rescue once. Her date made a beeline for Minx, touched the side of her body where her bladder is located (NOT her privates) and glued herself to Minx. She was a most devoted friend during the seven months Minx still had to live. If one of my piggies dies now, the whole crowd, whether in the same group or not, is very quiet and subdued for a few days.

I hope that Fudge will be feeling better soon. Grieving lowers the immune system. Have you tried using barley water additionally, as it has bladder healing qualities? Just let him have as much as he'll have several times a day. Lots of vitamin C (contained in cranberry juice) and some mild diuretics like dandelion and cucumber may also help. I also ask my vets for metacam with a cystitis, especially for the initial stages, in order to make a piggy feel better in itself, help with the inflammation and the appetite and I mix in a pinch of probiotics into their Critical Care or sprinkle it over their veg if they don't need topping up. I usually use avipro plus, as it doesn't contain any extra calcium, which makes it ideal for bladder piggies.
Here are more tips: http://www.guinealynx.info/uti.html
 
What's this Avipro plus and where can I get some?

Funny you say about dandelions as we havnt had any for months in our garden but yesterday morning one solitary dandelion appeared in my piggy grazing area so I gave it to Fudge, he loves dandelions :)

I done a crazy thing half hour ago after my 5th visit... I have an old kids school fleece I use for piggy cuddles and I cut half the arm off and put it in Fudges cage. It must have various piggy smells on it as he snuggled up and is still on it. Bless.

Cucumber is his favourite I'm certain he would eat a whole one if I put in in there, when he was really poorly few months back that's all I could get him to eat, I worried it might make his poop sloppy but it didn't.

I might also get some parsley, he likes that also.
 
I'm so sorry about your year with your piggies :( i hope fudge feels better very very soon <3
 
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