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URGENT - Very ill/dying guinea pig

Wiebke said:
All the best - grunting is a sign of pain, so it is good that you have had her seen. Has your vet considered a diuretic in case it there is a fluid build up in her chest or lungs, which can cause the heavy breathing?

Please try your very best to get 60 ml or more syringe feed into her in 24 hours by feeding ever 2-3 hours, including feeds throughout the night. She's run out of energy now, so you have to supply it.
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Yes, she has stopped grunting (it sounded like snoring) since we left to go to the vets, the vet didn't consider that as she's lost quite a bit of weight and is weak so even if there was something we don't think it would be fair to put her through it, we've gone for the antibiotics as all (hopefully) points to URI or a more sinister problem. She did offer taking conscious x rays etc when we went before but as we thought she was too weak to survive and go through with any procedure or anaesthetic.
I will attempt to get my parents to help me feed her through the night, I've kissed 2 days of school to syringe her, but the vet thinks she doesn't stand much chance of surviving but we will keep her as comfortable as possible, and syringe feed her as much as she can swallow, as she is quite weak so we don't want it going into her lungs as it comes out suddenly if she cannot swallow it.
 
She's now literally collapsing, her breathing is now crackly and she's resting her head on the ground and grunting slightly. Igave her a tiny bit of the recovery food but it seemed very cruel and she didn't really have the strength to lift her head up herself and have it :(
 
I'm sorry to hear this. I'm thinking, as others have said, maybe it's time to help her over the bridge.....
 
I'm so sorry, may pop her to the vets & see if anything can be done. Take her as an emergency. If poppy is very much in pain let the vet help her. My thoughts are with you
 
@PiggyOwner @furryfriends (TEAS) @Tiamolly123 She's already had pain relief, and the vet said that this and all her others fluids that she recieved was slightly better than putting her to sleep, as she'll be at home with her friend and in her familiar cage and hidey hole rather than being stressed at the vets with all the dogs barking etc.
 
I’m so sorry but it really does sound like the kindest thing you can do for her is to take her to the vets so that she can be PTS in a calm and pain free way. It’s heartbreaking for you, I know, but sometimes you have to love them enough to let them go x
 
I tend to agree with the others.
Is it possible to call the vet and see if you can bring her in at the end of evening surgery when it's a bit quieter?
Letting her linger at home will be harder in the long run for her and for you.
Huge hugs at this difficult time.
 
I am so sorry but letting go is sometimes the most loving thing we can do for our pets.
Watching her suffer only hurts you too.
Holding you in my thoughts and prayers
 
I’m sorry to say this but I agree with everyone else. Please take her to the vet to have her helped over the bridge. I know it isn’t what you want to hear but the time has come to let go as she is clearly suffering.

Any good vet will make the passing as peaceful as possible

(((Hugs))) xx
 
Maisy and Poppy said:
@PiggyOwner @furryfriends (TEAS) @Tiamolly123 She's already had pain relief, and the vet said that this and all her others fluids that she recieved was slightly better than putting her to sleep, as she'll be at home with her friend and in her familiar cage and hidey hole rather than being stressed at the vets with all the dogs barking etc.
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I'm sorry but I have to disagree with your vet. She'll be stressed at home, unable to breath and eat. The kindest thing you can do to help her is have her euthanised. I'm sorry but it is something we have to do as pet owners.
 
I have to agree with everyone above, do the best for her and have her quietly put to sleep so she doesn't suffer. *hugs* xx
 
Thank you all. Yesterday morning her breathing had returned to normal, she wasnt making any noises when breathing and her body wasn't making huge visible efforts to breathe so the antibiotics had helped. She slipped away peacefully at around 2/3pm that afternoon, whilst on painkiller, with her friend talking to her in the cage next door. Part of me thinks that we should have tried harder and more agressively with the syringe feeding and started sooner, but she may have had a nasty underlying problem that had spread. She looks very peaceful and that's what matters to me.

We consulted a very guinea pig savy friend who said to show Poppy's body to her friend Maisy, so we placed Maisy in Poppy's cage, she just ate Poppy's food and then stepped/walked over Poppy, but Poppy was the piggy who needed love and a friend and Maisy was happy to be left alone. Maisy is nto her normal self now, and looked very frightened for a few hours after Poppy has passed, she's hiding away more and like me hasn't got her full appetite back.

We do not want to buy another guinea pig from a pet shop or breeder, as Maisy has a tumour and we are uncertain for how long she'll live for, she's already just turned 4 years old last month. I've been trawling the internet and have found a couple of guinea pig rescues, all about an hour away, and part of me thinks that we should get a neutered boar to be her companion temporarily, and then return him once she passes, but I am unusure if any rescue would allow this.

I keep thinking maybe she should have been pts, but me personally and my beliefs think that it would have been inhumane, and as her breathing improved drastically (back to normal) and she was fighting until the end, it was better for her to be in her cage, sucking on a piece of cucumber, with her friend next to her in the other cage.
 
I'm so sorry you lost your girl but she is at peace now and no longer in pain. You've been an excellent piggy mum x
 
I’m so sorry to hear this, I hope you’re all okay.

It’s likely that Maisy is grieving rather than it being her tumour. It would be worth looking at the bereaved guides on here and perhaps contacting rescues to see if they do a loan piggy for older pigs.

I’d weight Maisy daily to make sure she’s not losing too much weight, they do grieve the same way we do so may need top up feeds.
 
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