To wait till morning to get hamster seen at vets

[ChitterChatter1987]

I found our little hamster seriously unwell in her cage this evening....she is only 9mths old and belongs to my daughter.
I think she has 'wet tail' as that area is wet, her chest is wet, she is hunched over, lethargic, making sort of coughing
/raspy noises and her eyes are all puffy.

My gut feeling is it's not looking good.
I worry we have found her too late.

I don't want her to suffer but the out of hours vets want £270 just for consultation, not alone any treatment or dare I say it euthanasia if it came to it.
We really don't have that sort of money lying about .I could borrow it from my mum if needed, but (and I don't want to sound cruel here) would it actually be worth it or is the likelihood of her being saved very minimal at this stage?

I spoke to my friend who is a vet nurse and said it doesn't sound good..
The out of hours vets said often small animals don't come through things like this....but if I wait til the morning to go to our own vets and she dies I'm worried I'll feel so guilty that maybe she could have been saved, and it's my youngest daughters birthday tomorrow.....really don't want my oldest having her hamster (who she only got on her last birthday) dying on her sisters :(

Oh please help me know what to do....

Exactly, even if you have to cut back in other areas for a while.

Your pet is suffering and you’re just thinking of leaving it?! Why even post?!

People like you are why I gave up being a vet tbh. Negligent owners with no empathy or consideration for the animals in their care.

No decent pet owner leaves an animal to suffer.

I won't say any more as I once got so angry on a similar thread that I ended up having my post deleted and earning myself a ticking off from MNHQ.

I would absolutely take it to the vets. If you don't have the money then I guess you can't but it is reckless and cruel to buy pets if you cannot afford to care for them.

Why do you think that? I have for a mouse and for a chicken.

Yes I have. Maybe during COVID times but I've never heard this happen to anyone 🤔

That's not my experience and I've taken my dog to the out of hours three times now, most recent last month.

I took my cat to one once.

@yarnbarn

if she wasn’t concerned about the animal she wouldn’t have bothered to post on here about it would she?!

I've been to one at 7am if that counts. £48 to walk in the door. £48 to have my guinea pig put to sleep. Almost £100 but I know he didn't suffer more than a short time.

I was a vet for twenty years. OOH calls every other week for fifteen of those years. I never left an animal in a car park and neither did my practice.

No vet would.

I get it's super expensive but I wouldn't leave my hamster in obviously discomfort it's quite cruel actually

I’ve been at the OOH vet a number of times in the past few years , you call , they give you a time , you go and wait in the waiting room just like a normal vets .

Oh the paw prints 😭❤️ I'm sorry.

Oh I had a massive post on this. People were going mental at me for moaning about the cost of having a hamster PTS out of hours.

I still did it!!

Naive. Probably posted to have her non guilt salved.

I understand how you feel. I’ve had small vets and sadly they decline rapidly when they are unwell sometimes.

Try calling round a few different vets or PDSA if you are struggling to afford it. Hope you can get the treatment to make little guy comfortable.

Honestly some of the posts on here lack empathy and understanding.

Yes - I have, unfortunately. It cost me £600 to have my animal seen and PTS but it was much better than him suffering all night long with a horrible drawn out death. Not sure where you live but your previous post indicates there’s some kind of old school method of being given a ticket and being called to be seen and that’s never been the case around in my experience. You call, the vet meets you at the practice and you go in. Just how many people do you think are calling the emergency vets in one night to be given a number and sat outside waiting? It’s not like an NHS A&E waiting room!!

I have, for my dog. Waited about 10 minutes to be seen. The only other person there was someone who had found a dead cat and took it in to be scanned for a chip.

No way would I spend upwards of £300 on a hamster. Let's face it if it was human and attended a and E the wait would be 12 hours most likely.
Get it in first thing tomorrow and don't feel guilty

Depends on the vet - some of them are like an a and E waiting room (not as busy but same idea)

I think you’ve had a harsh time on here OP. I understand why you’re feeling conflicted / unsure / panicked about what the right course of action could be, given the time at night and your daughters bday and the likely prognosis (and yes, the cost), versus your obvious recognition and acknowledgement of the wee thing’s suffering.

I personally think you painted an anguished and nuanced dilemma, and people have been very quick to harshly and unfairly pile-on and make you feel shit about yourself.

Hoping for a comfortable and kind resolution for you, hammy and the family. 💐 x

Well I guess it depends on how close your night vet is and how well your area is serviced. Ours is not and quite frankly, it would not have been worth going for a dying hamster sadly.

The empathy and understanding is for the poor creature who is suffering, not for the lazy, selfish, negligent owner.

That's false logic as A&E is triaged. If you went in, in a life threatening condition you would not be waiting 12 hours, you'd be straight into resus. And if you were there with pain, you're likely to have already taken some pain relief.