Sudden heart failure - exhausted owner who is tired of pigs dying

[4boipigs]

Originally, I came to this forum for that very problem...really bad CHF in a guinea pig who'd been abandoned in a box. Now my oldest has it. I got Amigo in 2020 with his brother Chico. Chico died in April. Not sure on their age, but they're definitely seniors by now. Back in April, I took Amigo to the vet for bladder stones. His xrays showed a normal heart. A couple days ago, I noticed he was clicking when he breathed. New xrays showed heart failure. His lungs are clear, but the doctor heard junk in his chest and believes there is fluid around his heart. He also has a cough. The doctor prescribed furosemide, theophylline, and pimobendan. I found the furosemide at a pharmacy, but the other 2 have to be compounded and ordered online. Currently, Amigo is eating less and is puffed up. He is not nearly as bad off as my original CHF pig who had lots of fluid in his lungs and meds helped little to none. But he still seems uncomfortable.

I'm more experienced with pigs and CHF than when I first came here. I know there is no coming back from heart failure, and there is limited time.

I'm starting to think about pts and the future for my pigs. I got my first pigs in 2020, and since then I've had 4 die (heart failure, old age, bloat/torsion, GI stasis) - 2 died just a few months ago. I'm so tired of guinea pigs, having to pay for these expensive conditions, and watching them die. I did get a new friend for Amigo, who is a year old. Soon he'll be alone again, but I do have 2 boys in a divided cage so he'll have someone around. I don't want to get another pig just to have this happen all over again. I don't like divided cages, but if the boys can all live side by side and be happy, I'll take that for now.

 

[Bill & Ted]

I’m so sorry you’ve had so many losses, sending hugs. I can only imagine how hard it must be for you, i must be so disheartening, but try and remember all the lovely times you’ve had with them and what a great life you gave them x

Living side by side is fine until at some point you may feel like taking some more on, but for now take time to grieve

 

[Merab]

So sorry that you’re having such a hard time.
Although Amigo is still with you this kind of diagnosis starts the grieving process so be patient and gentle with yourself.
Holding you in my heart

 

[piggl]

So sorry to hear this, it’s so hard losing piggies.

I’ve taken in a group of abandoned piggies and lost them all quite quickly to a disease and this was a hard time for me, let alone over the course of years.

Holding you in my thoughts and wishing luck at this hard time, take care of yourself xx

 

[Hope4gem]

So sorry to hear this. I can relate to what you're sharing. We started our guinea pig journey in 2020 and since then about 6 guinea pigs have died. Two died as babies right after we got them. A third died the same day they were rescued from a pet shop surrender so we didn't know the age, potential illnesses, etc. The other three pigs died after we had them for over a year - two suddenly from unknown causes and one after a several-week long illness. We have 3 pigs now and each of them has chronic health issues. One is likely terminal. I know that guinea pigs can be very frail and often hide their illnesses, but I've come to wonder if the guinea pigs in my area (Northeastern USA) are seriously inbred which has led to worsening genetics/health issues in the local population. It's just a guess, but I can't figure out what else it would be as we take exceptionally good care of our piggies. Only the best hay, pellets, quality vet care, etc. I have spent thousands on vet bills in just two years. As of right now, we won't be getting any more piggies because it's just too hard. I get so attached and it rips my heart out when they're gone. I try to remind myself of the great life that we gave them and remember the good times, but it doesn't change the harsh reality of how fragile they are. Hope I haven't hijacked your thread. Just wanted you to know that you're not alone. I love guinea pigs so much, but like you, I'm also feeling exhausted about the horrible luck we've been having with them.

 

[Princess Dustmop]

I'm so sorry to read of your troubles with losing piggies.
I've only encountered heart disease in one of our piggies. He was of unknown age and had recovered from an undisclosed illness shortly before we adopted him, and we'd had him for a few healthy years while when we lost him. It developed quite quickly, we had planned to leave him and his cagemate with a family member while we were out of town for a few days. A couple days before, we took him to the vet for fluid collecting in front of his chest; they drained the fluid, and it was decided he should stay at the vet's instead for our trip. We visited him again later that day when we picked up our carrier (needed to transport his friend), and he hopped over to say hi. We got a call the following morning that he'd passed away overnight. The vet requested to do a necropsy (no cost to us, as she wanted to know more), which revealed a very enlarged heart and confirmed congestive heart failure. She had never seen it before in a guinea pig despite being a very good exotics vet (this was about 19 years ago). He had shown no indication of anything wrong until everything was wrong and it was too late.
You can treat Amigo, but as you've already accepted, it's incurable, so you need to consider what's best for both you and Amigo. It's never an easy decision, but it's sounds like you've been a wonderful pet owner and caretaker for your piggies; please be sure to consider your own well being too in any decisions you make.

For your new piggy, he will be okay for a bit, so you don't have to rush into any decisions. If I'm reading this correctly, and you have two other piggies that he can interact with through cage bars, that can be sufficient interaction for him, so you certainly don't need to rush out to get him a cagemate. I'm picturing the other boys as a pair, which would making bonding them into a trio questionable at best and could cause strife to the existing bond, but if I'm misunderstanding and the other piggies are each housed singly but adjacent, perhaps you could bond him to one of them when the time comes.