Penny Pig had what was a suspected tumour. She'd had noisy breathing for several months and we tried many things to alleviate this, and in the end the vet said that as nothing had really made a difference, the likelihood was that it was a tumour. We could have done further investigations, but as treatment would be impossible, we decided to let her live however long she had left in peace.
She looked absolutely fine during all of this, was eating and socialising with the others. It was just at the end that she found it hard to eat, and went off on her own to sit in a corner. That's when we went off to the vet for that last injection. The thing in her nose had started to affect her eyes also by then. It all seemed to happen in a rush, so at least she had a good quality of life, up to the end.
I still can't decide which is worse - knowing the end is coming, or a sudden crash with no warning. Either way it's not an easy time, for us who care for them x