My guinea pig very ill. I don't believe is assisted death.

[pantingdeer]

My guinea pig Edmund has a tumour on his underbelly and he has also developed a problem called mallocussion which means his teeth have overgrown making it very hard for hime to eat and drink.
He is losing weight rapidly and seems to gasp to air.
The vet said it could be put down but I don't think it is right as it's essentially euthanasia and I don't want to decide my animals death.
The only other possibility would maybe have his teeth filed down every 6 weeks for the rest of his life but that is very expensive and maybe not worth it if he has a tumour.
Please help and pray. Edmund is in pain.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

My guinea pig Edmund has a tumour on his underbelly and he has also developed a problem called mallocussion which means his teeth have overgrown making it very hard for hime to eat and drink.
He is losing weight rapidly and seems to gasp to air.
The vet said it could be put down but I don't think it is right as it's essentially euthanasia and I don't want to decide my animals death.
The only other possibility would maybe have his teeth filed down every 6 weeks for the rest of his life but that is very expensive and maybe not worth it if he has a tumour.
Please help and pray. Edmund is in pain.

I had a 17 year old kitty cat who was unwell and off her food, so I fed her with a syringe (without the needle of course!) into her mouth for nearly a year before she died.

 

[Stabat Mater dolorosa]

Put him down, it's not even remotely morally comparable to putting people to sleep. Its an animal not a human being anyway.
I'm sorry for your loss though.

 

[Mary Meg]

We have also nursed cats and dogs through their final weeks and months. We don't like putting them down either. I believe that they were much happier passing away at home, held in our loving arms, than on a cold table in a scary vet's office. (They always hate the vet's office -- They sense the death there.)

 

[Stabat Mater dolorosa]

A general warning to all participants of this thread, beware the danger of pantheism which is lurking and even worse it's already part of this vegan-neo paganism trend of our time.

 

[vinsight4u]

We have been given authority over the beasts. We are to be merciful to them. It is not easy to do, but you want to show your pet love. Why should it suffer any longer? I'm so sorry, I, too, have had to make this very difficult type of decision a few times.

 

[pantingdeer]

The vet accidentally killed my other guinea pig that had nothing wrong with it. He was given something and it paralysed him within 30 minutes and had fits until it died. I don't really trust if vets know what they're doing.

 

[JCFantasy23]

I'm sorry about Edmund! Sent up a prayer

 

[brinny]

Praying for precious Edmund, and you too Andrew (((hug)))

 

[mmksparbud]

I do not believe in cruelty. To humans or animals. All my animals have died in my arms, whether at the vets or at home. It is cruel to leave an animal in pain. They can not tell you what they want, a human can say whether they wish to die or not. My last 2 dogs we waited too long before taking them to the vet, they both died the night before.
Buddy, I knew was suffering and in the morning we were going to the vet, he started to cry that night, which he hadn't done before and then he started to yelp, I wrapped him in a doggie training pad (he had an anal bleed out from drugs he was on)--I held him like a baby in my arms, on his back, and rubbed his tummy. He immediately quieted and looked at me with eyes I can never forget. They were filled with trust and love. He kept his eyes glued to mine and I watched the life leave those beautiful eyes. Some vets are now making house calls for this.
To not be able to eat means that poor animal is starving to death. I couldn't stand that. I have mixed a lethal dose of sleeping pills once which the vet approved of. Poor kitty had stomach cancer and was in too much pain, and though eating 4 cans of cat food she could not gain any weight, she had been 15 lbs--not fat. She was pooping constantly. She ate so much in order to ease the pain.
God gives us these animals to care for. Not to be cruel to them. And, in some states, leaving an animal in that condition, would be considered animal cruelty and you could go to jail.

 

[rhawk]

My guinea pig Edmund has a tumour on his underbelly and he has also developed a problem called mallocussion which means his teeth have overgrown making it very hard for hime to eat and drink.
He is losing weight rapidly and seems to gasp to air.

The only other possibility would maybe have his teeth filed down every 6 weeks for the rest of his life but that is very expensive and maybe not worth it if he has a tumour.
Please help and pray. Edmund is in pain.

​

I am sorry about Edmunds health issues. My take is that if the tumor is not going to kill him quickly and he is not in pain from it, then the issue at hand is the teeth. I would have them filed down, which will allow him to eat and be able to use his mouth properly. Not doing that is cruel. A Guinea Pig's teeth continually grow and if they do not have a way to keep them "filed" down, it can kill them in horrible ways. Have them filed down AND speak to your vet about the best things to help Edmund with his teeth. It may be as simple as proper chew sticks for him to allow him to keep his own teeth right.

My take is that if the teeth are the only immediate issue (assuming the tumor is not life threatening right now), once you get past the teeth, you can have them look at the tumor. It may be removable and not come back.

Owning pets can hurt, financially, emotionally and use up time. I look at pets as a contract between you and them where you have promised to properly care for them, love them, spend time with them. I have had a lot of cats in my time and have had to go through the angst of letting them go because of advanced illness and the cost of trying to help them. It is not fun, but well worth the positives you get from the relationship.

This will be a hard decision you face and I do not envy you on this, though I am sadly dealing with 4 senior cats now and each has health issues now that do not have happy outcomes. I cherish what time I have with them now.

I will keep you and Edmond in my prayers.

​

 

[pantingdeer]

I am sorry about Edmunds health issues. My take is that if the tumor is not going to kill him quickly and he is not in pain from it, then the issue at hand is the teeth. I would have them filed down, which will allow him to eat and be able to use his mouth properly. Not doing that is cruel. A Guinea Pig's teeth continually grow and if they do not have a way to keep them "filed" down, it can kill them in horrible ways. Have them filed down AND speak to your vet about the best things to help Edmund with his teeth. It may be as simple as proper chew sticks for him to allow him to keep his own teeth right.

My take is that if the teeth are the only immediate issue (assuming the tumor is not life threatening right now), once you get past the teeth, you can have them look at the tumor. It may be removable and not come back.

Owning pets can hurt, financially, emotionally and use up time. I look at pets as a contract between you and them where you have promised to properly care for them, love them, spend time with them. I have had a lot of cats in my time and have had to go through the angst of letting them go because of advanced illness and the cost of trying to help them. It is not fun, but well worth the positives you get from the relationship.

This will be a hard decision you face and I do not envy you on this, though I am sadly dealing with 4 senior cats now and each has health issues now that do not have happy outcomes. I cherish what time I have with them now.

I will keep you and Edmond in my prayers.

​

I have fed Edmund lots of vegetables today and he is drinking a little water and hay. I am giving him some water orally too.
Do you think I could put a little coconut oil on his vegetables to give more calories to put weight on more quickly.
There is a tumour looking thing the size of a golf bar on his chest. It is just about touching floor and it is squidgy and wobbly

 

[rhawk]

I have fed Edmund lots of vegetables today and he is drinking a little water and hay. I am giving him some water orally too.
Do you think I could put a little coconut oil on his vegetables to give more calories to put weight on more quickly.
There is a tumour looking thing the size of a golf bar on his chest. It is just about touching floor and it is squidgy and wobbly

I know little about health issues for Guinea Pigs, but I believe that your best option would be to go to the vet and have the tumor looked at and they can figure out if you should have it removed or not. If they think it is then have it removed and the teeth shaved in one visit and find out about chew sticks. Also, take a look here: Guinea Pigs and Teeth: What You Need to Know they talk about chew sticks and what you can use. Hopefully that helps.

Don't give up on him.

 

[brinny]

Good advice rhawk. Continuing to pray, Andrew (((hug)))

 

[pantingdeer]

I know little about health issues for Guinea Pigs, but I believe that your best option would be to go to the vet and have the tumor looked at and they can figure out if you should have it removed or not. If they think it is then have it removed and the teeth shaved in one visit and find out about chew sticks. Also, take a look here: Guinea Pigs and Teeth: What You Need to Know they talk about chew sticks and what you can use. Hopefully that helps.

Don't give up on him.

The vet told me there was no point as he's old and he'll probably get more issues soon.

 

[rhawk]

The vet told me there was no point as he's old and he'll probably get more issues soon.

That is a wrench in the gears. Guinea Pigs seem to have a 4 to 5 year life span as pets. If Edmond is 4 or 5 years old then it may not be good to work on the tumor. This comes from experience with my cat ^Itchy^. He had Lymphosarcoma. My first really ill cat and I decided to deal with it. We had to have a section of his intestine removed and then went through chemo for many many months. The surgery was invasive to say the least.

(in the hospital after surgery)
He was 6 at the time. I had no idea that the cancer would return and be worse. (his bio: https://www.coolcybercats.com/bios/Itchy if interested)
I would not do something so invasive on an older pet, simply because you need to balance recovery time, how invasive it is, likelihood of the issue returning, quality of life during recovery and after and a lot more.

IF you are not happy with your vet, or just to get a second opinion, you may want to take Edmond to another vet (unrelated to your current vet and office). Tell them how old Edmond is and let him/her look Edmond over. At worse case you simply hear the same thing and that may help you decide and at best they may have information you were not given or they feel differently. It also does not hurt to ask their opinion of what you should do, more to chew on for you. Talk to family as well. But in the end you need to do what is ultimately best for Edmond, not what makes you feel better or what you want. I say that last part because many pet owners (myself included) will make decision based on our feelings, wants and desires, not medical facts and what is ultimately best for our pet. My want to save ^Itchy^ at all costs and my acting like I knew his feelings and desires led me to some poor choices that I may not make today if given the same situation. We live and learn, and often our learning process is fueled by pain and sadness.

I cannot make the decision for you, but I can say to make sure you get all the facts and review the pros and cons carefully. Remember that a life is in your hands when you are responsible for a pet. I know how much we can love those lives. I sure do with mine.

Please keep us updated on what happens and I will continue to keep you and Edmond in my prayers.

 

[keith99]

We have been given authority over the beasts. We are to be merciful to them. It is not easy to do, but you want to show your pet love. Why should it suffer any longer? I'm so sorry, I, too, have had to make this very difficult type of decision a few times.

I've had to make it twice, but I was spared a difficult decision. The first time the dog was struggling for each breath. The second the vet basically said there was nothing more to do except pain management which would not succeed.

Easy call, still not pleasant to make.

At times I think we treat pets better than people.

 

[pantingdeer]

Edmund died this morning. He was in his wee orange house and then he came out and a few minutes later he fell on his side and shook his little leg. I stroked him and he passed away. The Lord had mercy on Edmund and didn't let him suffer.
I've had guinea pigs for 11 years - over half my life - and today is a very sad day for me to take. They are lovely wee things and I can't believe my 5 guinea pigs are all gone.

 

[vinsight4u]

So very sorry that you lost Edmund today. Very sad for you friend.
Do you have any pictures of him to show us? You gave each other much love!! He had a good home with you!

 

[rhawk]

I am sorry you had to lose him that way and glad he did not suffer.