I need you to tell me I’m doing the right thing. (Eye / tumour related).

[Bagelsandbrie]

We have four guinea pigs in a huge c and c cage in our kitchen / diner, it runs along the whole side of the long wall. They are absolutely part of the family and we love them so much. They wheek when the fridge opens, get fresh veggies and cuddles every day etc etc.

Yesterday we noticed one of them - the oldest one, had a very sore looking bulgy eye. Cloudy and red and just didn’t look good. So we got an emergency appointment at the vets today and the news wasn’t good

Essentially they think he has a tumour either in his top jaw or head that is pressing on the eye and causing it to bulge out. They say without an x ray and c t scan they can’t be sure but this would be £300 and then if it’s a tumour it wouldn’t “solve” it anyway and then he would need the eye removed which is £500 plus £180 for the anaesthetic- which is always risky with older guinea pigs. And then two consultations afterwards and meds which adds another £300. I absolutely do not want this to be about money but of course I’m human and I’m broke; the only way I can afford this is credit card. And overriding this is the fact that even if we do do this I’m not sure it’s the right thing to do to put poor gp through so much suffering when it’s clearly old and struggling already.

I am very sad. The vets gave me some painkillers and antibiotic eye drops and eye lubricant as he can’t shut his eye and I’ve booked to return on Tuesday. I think they’re half hoping by some miracle his eye will shrink / get better but its not hopeful.

I feel so sad for the kids (8 with autism, and 17) as well. They are heartbroken. He is such a lovely little character and the fave piggy.

I don’t even know why I’m writing this. Just feeling awful all round really. I know this is all part of having a pet. It just sucks.

I'm sorry to read this.

Pets burrow into our lives and completely change them. It's phenominal.

Im not a vet so I’m possibly havering but it seems to have come up very quickly for a tumour?

Surely those things take a while to grow? You would have noticed before today? Or perhaps it’s different in small furries?

Perhaps it’s an abscess and antibiotics might help?

Dunno about one being that high right enough so I’m probably clutching at straws.

Failing that it seems like the treatment for a tumour is quite heavy going on the old piggie.

Once you lose an eye you have an increased rate if losing the other one too.

It might be time to say a sad farewell. It’s a horrible thing to have to do, but the kindest, as I you know and are already dreading the day.

Thank you for your kind words. I have had guinea pigs my whole life and he has had the most character out of all of them. He growls and stomps about but is a complete wimp really. He’s the only boy. He was bullied by his previous cage mate and we rescued him and had him neutered and then got 3 “girlfriends” for him to live with. When he first saw them all he popcorned so much we literally thought he was going to have a heart attack with excitement.

We’ve had the most awful year, my Mum died of bowel cancer at the end of 2019, my eldest dd was particularly close to her and then obviously everything with Covid like everyone else and now this. And my car was written off two weeks ago. And I was diagnosed with more chronic long term health conditions. I’m just struggling to keep going and keep things happy for the kids.

I’ll be fine, just needed to share with others who understand. Thank you.

I did think that about the tumour too. We get them out every day so it’s very sudden or we would have noticed. The vet did say sometimes these things do suddenly happen like this in guinea pigs as their eyes are so close to their jaw etc. It doesn’t take much for them to suddenly pop out - as horrendous as that sounds.

I would put to sleep in this situation without question. It's cruel to put an animal through that much vetinary intervention. Your children may be sad but death is a part of life that they need to be able to see and deal with. End of life decisions are part of pet ownership.

@SirSamuelVimesBlackboardMonito Thank you; I needed to hear that. I’ve been talking to the children about it all day on and off. There have been a lot of tears. But I know it’s part of the great cycle of life as it were and something we need to let our children experience as part of having a pet.

Oh op horrible decision. GP are really cute and chatty little fur balls, but my experience of the little beasties is they don't cope well with invasive procedures. I think your piggies survival rate following the op would be small, as they have to be eating regularly or they develop digestive issues. Given he's an older piggy, I think it's kinder to let him go.

Thank you. It’s very hard with pets because so much of their care is down to us and costs and what we decide is best. As they can’t speak for themselves.

I really appreciate the replies from you all.

Poor little love, if it is a tumour or something similar then I think the kindest thing would be to let him go

I'm really sorry you are going through this with your poor little pig. Honestly, I'd say that if he doesn't improve then loads of treatment is probably not the kindest option, and I'd say that even if you could easily afford it.

Oh very bagel

Can I give you sme of my last piggies eye story , I don't know if it will help you with your decision?

Our last old lady GP7 . She had lost her long term cagemate in the October , then she married our neutered boar GP6 a week later (they'd side-by-sided , GP8 didn't like him)
GP6 died in the New Year .

In the April, GP7 had a clouded eye .
?injury

Usually with a cagemate to groom with the power of Guinea-Pig Spit ( it is rich with probiotic , in the first poo eating ) and removal of hay , warm salt water and care , their eyes healed within 24 hours .

So she had an emergency vet visit , drops + gel 4x daily , waking up during the night to do too.. Then 3x then 2x

The vet couldn't see any foreign body , I thought scratch or haypoke but yes , tumour was at the back of my mind but the onset was quick.

Her eye looked awful, red , bulging . But she was eating, accepted her drops/gel . Big ring of slough came away with gauze ( I do woundcare NHS so I'm not squeamish)
She had weekly check ups .

On the 4th visit ( so three weeks ) the vet said her eye looked good , he reckoned she had not lost sight
He said he was going to suggest surgery or PTS if no drastic improvement within the first week.

I wouldn't have gone for surgery , she was old , on her own as she was last pig ( didn't take to our other pigs until she was left just with GP6 and often snapped at GP8 )

DD and I felt all at having done so well.......................she saw the Vet on the Friday and died in her sleep , calmly without ceremony on the Sunday night .
The guinea room was next to DH& I , no door on their room so we'd hear them.

Did we make the right choice ?
We think so , she wasn't in pain. ( When you know your guinea-pig you can read the subtle signs ) DD sat her on her bed to cuddle .
We gave her another few weeks .

If her eye hadn't improved hugely , if she'd showed any signs , or stopped eating , I'd have had her PTS straight away .

slough is dead tissue , when it came away I could see her eye was getting there and most important the bulging went down and the redness went . If she'd been blind in one eye she'd have coped .

I know you've had some awful things happening in your life at this time and this seems the final straw but you have the power to make the choices here . Sometimes you need to say to your Vet "Yes I know surgery is available but hand-on-heart I don't think it's best for MY pet "
If you suspect your boar is in pain or hiding pain , do the right thing for him. That's the best gift you can give him.
He sounds like he's had a great life with you .

We were weighing up because this was our third Old Piggie Loss in 6 months and though we didn't want her to go , we didn't want to drag her along if she was ill.

Thank you for your replies and for sharing your story @70isaLimitNotaTarget. I’m sorry to hear about your piggy. These things are never easy are they?

The eye looks just as sore and bulging today as it did yesterday but we will keep on with the meds. I am feeling really bad for even doing those as he really doesn’t like it being messed about with even though I am being as gentle as I can. One of the drops is 5 times a day, once is 7 and he has two lots of pain relief meds as well. The eye drops can’t be done at the same time as each other so poor little thing I feel like I’m constantly taking him in and out of the cage to squeeze stuff in his eye and it’s stressful for him.

He’s munching on some cabbage now with the others. I do feel at least I am trying to do my best.

Poor lad , they don't like being medicated do they (unless it's Loxicom, ours hurtled to the syringe for their doses )

They do get used to it , it's a two person job we found to hold and administer without stressing them ( and they don't understand its For Their Own Good , bless 'em )
Ours had one drop then 15 minutes later the gel.

I reckon trust your vet and trust your instincts .
They wouldn't have let you take him home with medications if it was in his best interest to PTS straight away , but you know your piggie best so you'll know what signs to look for .

My GP5 (who was one of GP6 first wives) was sitting oddly , in the floorspace of the Pighouse not in with GP6 and GP7 . The Pighouse was nice and cosy and they had a deep fresh hay bed . She hadn't squabbled with them (actually she was a litle tyrant who would've booted them out !) sitting by the foodbowl not eating. Just gentle rocking and nodding but sort of tucked up .
The signs can be that subtle of a Guinea Pig Going Downhill