Am I making the wrong decision?

[wheekly]

Hi everyone,

My guinea pig has been having dental issues for a while and has been surviving off of critical care since she cannot chew hay herself.

Today was supposed to be the day where her teeth were filed down but after being sedated and examined, the vet could not find anything wrong with her teeth. They were all perfect length and none of them were overgrown. She did a very thorough exam to make sure.

I asked for an x-ray and she obliged. The x-ray showed pretty badly elongated roots. One of them is getting close to her eye and two of them are getting very close to her lower jaw. My vet said she usually sees this issue in younger pigs so believes that there might be an underlying issue of some sort that has caused this (maybe kidney disease or something else that’s progressive). She did bloodwork and is going to call me with the results tomorrow.

I was presented with two options: keep her comfortable (syringe food & pain meds until it’s her time) or take her 3 hours away for a CT scan and to have her molars pulled.

She is turning 6 very soon so she’s not a young pig by any means. I believe the kindest option is euthanasia BEFORE she suffers even more. I don’t want to wait until she is in severe pain and dies a traumatizing death when I can avoid all of that suffering and misery. The vet told me that her quality of life would suffer and she would likely be on syringe food and pain meds for the rest of her life. I don’t want that for her.

I’m in the U.S. - so I’m envious that those in the U.K. have significantly better access to pet care (I read about Simon who does piggy dentals) than we do. My exotic vet knows her stuff too. She is board certified in exotics and I trust her. She has even had patients before (piggies, bunnies etc) with elongated roots and knew a lot about them.

She doesn’t think that putting her to sleep before she suffers more is a bad idea. She already believes she’s in a lot more pain than she’s letting on and would only get worse. Even if I did do the expensive procedure, her quality of life would be horrible afterwards.

I think that the kindest thing to do is PTS. Am I wrong? She’s already an old pig and admittedly being an exotic pet owner in the U.S. absolutely sucks. I’m lucky to even have a vet who is as knowledgeable as mine.

I feel guilty. If I were to choose PTS I was thinking about doing it on Friday to spend some time with her before then. I don’t know if I’m “giving up” on her or how much hope there is. I feel lost.

 

[ScrufflesRules]

I'm so sorry that you're in this situation.
You're not giving up on her. You have tried so many different options, and are obviously an extremely caring owner.
Unfortunately vets can't fix everything, and in some cases it is not right to pursue further medical interventions.
Whatever decision you make will be the right one, and in my opinion 'a day too early is better than a day too late', as reflected in the forum guides to terminal illnesses and euthanasia. A Practical and Sensitive Guide to Dying, Terminal Illness and Euthanasia in Guinea Pigs
Please look after youself- you will always find support on the forum if you need it. ❤

 

[wheekly]

I'm so sorry that you're in this situation.
You're not giving up on her. You have tried so many different options, and are obviously an extremely caring owner.
Unfortunately vets can't fix everything, and in some cases it is not right to pursue further medical interventions.
Whatever decision you make will be the right one, and in my opinion 'a day too early is better than a day too late', as reflected in the forum guides to terminal illnesses and euthanasia. A Practical and Sensitive Guide to Dying, Terminal Illness and Euthanasia in Guinea Pigs
Please look after youself- you will always find support on the forum if you need it. ❤

Thank you for this . I just feel guilty because I saw so many posts of people saying that elongated roots don’t have to be a death sentence but even if I pursue the option of pulling the affected teeth is she really living at that point, or just surviving? I’m trying to consider her quality of life as much as I want to be selfish and keep her as long as I can…I’d rather her go peacefully as her normal feisty self rather than wake up one day, see her in intense pain, and not be able to get her in on time.

 

[piggieminder]

It's such a hard decision but sparing an animal further pain is the kindest thing a loving owner can do. Sending you and your piggy my very best wishes.

 

[fluffysal]

You know your little lady better than anyone else does, from the way you talk about her I think you will decide what's best for her ❤

 

[wheekly]

Thanks everyone…she’s currently cuddling with her snugglesafe and is about get some critical care

 

[Merab]

So sorry for your difficult situation.
Whatever you decide will be the right decision because you are making it out of love.
Feeling guilty over PTS is a natural feeling, even if you know it’s right.
Holding you in my heart

 

[weepweeps]

I’m sorry you are having to make this decision. Whatever you choose to do the decision will be made with love at the heart of it.

 

[wheekly]

I’m struggling…

I know for a fact I don’t want to put her through the stress and pain of having multiple procedures done and being force fed for the rest of her life.

But not doing the “treatment” for the elongated roots means that she’s going to continue to be in pain and they will only get worse. She still won’t eat hay by herself so critical care would likely be necessary permanently, anyways.

It seems like a lose-lose situation either way.

My struggle is knowing if I should put off euthanasia or not. I could continue to keep her comfortable and give her CC until the day comes where I can tell that she’s no longer herself. But is it even worth waiting for that point if it means she will suffer more in the end?

On the other hand, what if takes many more months to get to that point? By euthanizing her now am I robbing her of the time she has left?

She’s still very much herself. Other than not eating normally, she still is so active, alert, playful and cuddly. She still eats her treats and fruits and veggies, albeit slowly. She still loves pellets and rumbling at me and exploring.

I feel like I would be willingly killing her by euthanizing now.

But then again, I think of when she’s no longer herself anymore…is it worth waiting for that? Is it selfish to keep her or it is it selfish to not? Is there no right answer?

The vet thinks she must be in more pain in her jaw than she’s letting on, anyways. So maybe it’s not as good as it seems.

I wish I could know how much good quality time she has left. The “what if’s” are going to haunt me.

 

[wheekly]

What makes the decision hard is the fact that she is still very much herself. With my other pigs, the decision to PTS was very clear. I could just tell they were done.

I’ve never experienced something like this before. I’ve only ever had to choose to PTS for pets who were already pretty much at death’s door.

I have to try to look at it from both sides. Sure, she could have a few more “ok” months in her, or she could have a week. Who really knows? At the end of the day, each day would be a gamble of if it would be the day she drastically declined or not. With how bad the roots are, I wouldn’t want to see her suffer the complications of them. I am sure she’s hiding the majority of the pain she already feels.

If I did the molar extraction, that’d likely just cause more issues than it would solve. If I did planings, which I don’t even know would be effective because her teeth are perfectly aligned and short (my vet thinks she just got genetically unlucky with the roots issue), then she would have to undergo a long drive every few weeks and be put under anesthesia many times as an older pig. These sound like horrible options for her.

Continued palliative care at home would mean I’d run the risk of her suffering in the end. My vet said it’d probably happen on a holiday or a day she wasn’t in the office, with the cruel way the universe works. Waiting to PTS until it’s absolutely necessary may also just be a horrible option.

So… Maybe PTS before she starts to truly suffer is what’s best for her.

It’s so difficult.

 

[weepweeps]

It’s so hard isn’t it? It sounds like you know removing the molars isn’t really going to help. I feel from your comments that’s not going to be an option. As she is quite well in herself at the moment maybe she could get maximum pain relief for a while to see if that perks her up for a while. That way you will feel like you’ve tried something, given her some more happy days and it will buy you some time to come to terms with her diagnosis. Sending you a hug

 

[wheekly]

It’s so hard isn’t it? It sounds like you know removing the molars isn’t really going to help. I feel from your comments that’s not going to be an option. As she is quite well in herself at the moment maybe she could get maximum pain relief for a while to see if that perks her up for a while. That way you will feel like you’ve tried something, given her some more happy days and it will buy you some time to come to terms with her diagnosis. Sending you a hug

Thank you

 

[Piggies&buns]

I'm so sorry to hear this.
It is never an easy decision even in situations where it is definitely the right time. If you are in a grey area then it is even harder. Have a discussion with your vet about the pain they think she is in and what they consider to be the right thing from a clinical point of view.

I try to be guided by - a day too soon is better than a day too late. Each situation is different and only you will know when that day is the right one.

I had to let my elderly rabbit go around 18 months ago. Age had caught up with him although he was still happy, eating and hopping about. He was on daily painkillers but we had nowhere else to go. He wasn’t going to pass naturally any time soon but he would be spending the rest of his time uncomfortable and declining despite him still appearing to be the happy boy i’d always known. After an honest discussion with the vet she said that I would not be wrong in making the decision to let him go at that point rather than waiting. I made the decision to take him home for one more day in the sun with loads of unhealthy treats and lots of love and to take him back the next day. I questioned the entire time whether it was right, I felt bad that I had to do that. But, looking back on it, it was the right time - his last day was a lovely one spent relatively comfortable but sunbathing and happy rather than being taken in in a more rushed situation, and that memory means so much to me now.

Sending you lots of hugs

 

[wheekly]

Wow, thank you so much for sharing. I am so sorry about your rabbit, but it sounds like you gave him an amazing life and did right by him. Your story really helped a lot. My vet said something similar; she didn’t push for euthanasia, but said I wouldn’t be wrong for going that route to avoid the inevitable emergency PTS with more suffering attached.

Thank you

I'm so sorry to hear this.
It is never an easy decision even in situations where it is definitely the right time. If you are in a grey area then it is even harder. Have a discussion with your vet about the pain they think she is in and what they consider to be the right thing from a clinical point of view.

I try to be guided by - a day too soon is better than a day too late. Each situation is different and only you will know when that day is the right one.

I had to let my elderly rabbit go around 18 months ago. Age had caught up with him although he was still happy, eating and hopping about. He was on daily painkillers but we had nowhere else to go. He wasn’t going to pass naturally any time soon but he would be spending the rest of his time uncomfortable and declining despite him still appearing to be the happy boy i’d always known. After an honest discussion with the vet she said that I would not be wrong in making the decision to let him go at that point rather than waiting. I made the decision to take him home for one more day in the sun with loads of unhealthy treats and lots of love and to take him back the next day. I questioned the entire time whether it was right, I felt bad that I had to do that. But, looking back on it, it was the right time - his last day was a lovely one spent relatively comfortable but sunbathing and happy rather than being taken in in a more rushed situation, and that memory means so much to me now.

Sending you lots of hugs

 

[Bill & Ted]

I am so very sorry for you and your little piggie, sending hugs I’ve had a dental piggie Ted, who’s one molar grew a spur which grew into his cheek if not regularly filed down so I completely understand the emotional trauma you feel. Ted managed very well with conscious dentals for around 2.5 years and had to be PTS for a totally different issue at almost 6 years old. I don’t think removing any molars is an option. I asked my vet the very same thing once and he said it would completely unbalance the rest of his mouth and make things worse. I hope this helps you, although it’s probably not what you would want to hear and the dental issues may be different but I think they need all their molars to eat and grind together and keep ground down x

 

[wheekly]

Thank you!

I’m confident that removing the molars isn’t an option; it would definitely just decrease her quality of life and at that point I’d probably just wished I’d kept them. I hate how complicated these issues can be sometimes.

I was really hoping that the issue was an overgrown tooth that could be filed. It really sucks that it has to be the roots. Not much you can do for the roots. Unfortunately some piggies just don’t win the genetic lottery!

Thanks for sharing your story about your piggie x

I am so very sorry for you and your little piggie, sending hugs I’ve had a dental piggie Ted, who’s one molar grew a spur which grew into his cheek if not regularly filed down so I completely understand the emotional trauma you feel. Ted managed very well with conscious dentals for around 2.5 years and had to be PTS for a totally different issue at almost 6 years old. I don’t think removing any molars is an option. I asked my vet the very same thing once and he said it would completely unbalance the rest of his mouth and make things worse. I hope this helps you, although it’s probably not what you would want to hear and the dental issues may be different but I think they need all their molars to eat and grind together and keep ground down x

 

[VickiA]

I’m so sorry that you are in this position and it’s so clear that you love your piggy very much. Decisions like this are so very hard to make but whatever decision you make is clearly being made out of immense love so just go gently. If it isn’t urgent at the moment you could just sit with your decision a little while and make peace with it. But planning ahead to avoid a sudden decline and reduction of quality of life is a good idea so that your don’t end up with an emergency situation that would be traumatic for you. Huge hugs.

 

[Claire W]

I am very sorry for the situation you are in

My Ella had an incisor removed back in June after a growth started to grow in her jaw. The incisor had already broken and was causing her great pain and she couldn’t eat.

The vet managed to remove the growth and after a few weeks of syringe feeding which she hated she was able to eat again and she gained the weight she lost. We thought everything was ok until she started to not eat again.

We took her back to the vet who confirmed our fears that the growth which my vet highly suspected was cancerous had grown back. We were given the option of sending her to a dental specialist to have part of her jaw cut out to be sent for biopsy but this would cost hundreds of pounds on top or what we’d already spent and would cause her even more pain. The second option was pts or the vet could try and remove some more of the growth but she would need constant syringe feeding and it would just grow back.

We chose pts which broke my heart as she was still acting her normal self and seemed happy and healthy. But the vet explained she was in great pain and it was heartbreaking that she couldn’t eat and had lost a lost of weight.

Deep down, I know I made the right decision to end her suffering even though it still hurts so much

I always go with the saying that it’s better a day to early than an hour too late but whatever decision you make for your girl will be the right one as you will make it out of love.

My heart really does go out to you as we were faced with a similar decision with Ella x

 

[wheekly]

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for all of your well wishes and shared stories. It has helped a lot.

I’ve decided to schedule the euthanasia for this Friday afternoon.

I was tempted to try max painkillers first, but I realized that I was just trying to buy myself more time with her. Even if I did get a few more weeks - or even months - with her, the day would eventually come where she would have to suffer because of her condition.

By euthanizing now, I can spare her that future inevitable suffering.

It was a difficult decision to make and it took everything in me not to put it off or try to load her up with meloxicam first.

Eventually the painkillers would stop working and she’d have to suffer as the roots continue to grow. They are very close to her lower jaw and one of her eyes. It’s not like it’s the very beginning of this condition, it is very advanced.

I still feel guilty but I know that I was put between a rock and a hard place. I probably would have felt guilty in the future, too, if I decided to not euthanize and one day I woke up to her suffering and in pain.

I wish I could know for sure if I am making the right decision, but I feel like I am because at the end of the day I’m making it to avoid her having to feel unnecessary amounts of pain in the coming future. She might not even have months, it might have been weeks. There’s truly no way to know.

I wish I could tell her that I only have her best interest at heart.

Her bloodwork came back normal so unfortunately I think the roots are just a bad genetic issue.

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

I'm in the UK and run a sanctuary for guinea pigs with ongoing dental issues. When I set up the charity I put an ethos in place that what we do is 'to extend good quality life, but never to prolong suffering'. I am lucky in that Simon is our vet and he has worked wonders with so many of our piggies. However, it isn't always a good outcome and for those who can never get to the point where they can eat normally for themselves, with just a quick tidy up of their teeth at whatever interval Simon recommends, then I opt for euthanasia, as I don't think it is ethical to just keep piggies alive, even though I can syringe feed really well. Guinea pigs enjoy grazing on food, whenever they are awake and when an animal can't display normal, species specific behaviour, it is the right decision to let them go.

It is never an easy decision, but you will be showing your guinea pig the last act of love that you can give her. My thoughts are with you x

 

[wheekly]

I'm in the UK and run a sanctuary for guinea pigs with ongoing dental issues. When I set up the charity I put an ethos in place that what we do is 'to extend good quality life, but never to prolong suffering'. I am lucky in that Simon is our vet and he has worked wonders with so many of our piggies. However, it isn't always a good outcome and for those who can never get to the point where they can eat normally for themselves, with just a quick tidy up of their teeth at whatever interval Simon recommends, then I opt for euthanasia, as I don't think it is ethical to just keep piggies alive, even though I can syringe feed really well. Guinea pigs enjoy grazing on food, whenever they are awake and when an animal can't display normal, species specific behaviour, it is the right decision to let them go.

It is never an easy decision, but you will be showing your guinea pig the last act of love that you can give her. My thoughts are with you x

Thank you for this That is what I considered too. Most of what guinea pigs do constantly is eat. Although she can eat some things like pellets and fruits, she does it with great discomfort, and she still needs to be fed critical care since she cannot eat hay by herself. There was no improvement even with the start of meloxicam. I did not want to keep her alive just for the sake of her existing, because at that point she’s not really living. It just pains me because she’s still such a curious and happy piggie otherwise, that’s what makes the decision so difficult. But I know that she’s probably just an expert at hiding the actual amount of pain she’s in, and eventually, it WILL get worse. Sparing her that future pain in exchange for some time with her seems like the most ethical and loving thing to do for her.

 

[Betsy]

So sorry you're in this difficult decision. Piggies are very good at hiding the pain they are in. To prey animals a sign of pain is a sign of weakness. When they start to show they are in pain they are really struggling. Making the decision to PTS is not selfish it's your last act of love. Hugs.

 

[wheekly]

Thank you so much

So sorry you're in this difficult decision. Piggies are very good at hiding the pain they are in. To prey animals a sign of pain is a sign of weakness. When they start to show they are in pain they are really struggling. Making the decision to PTS is not selfish it's your last act of love. Hugs.

 

[artcasper]

ah I am so sorry you are going through this... thinking of you x

 

[Merab]

I had to have my Priscilla pts earlier this year.
It felt as if it was too soon in some ways but she had an inoperable mass and was only coping on painkillers and syringe food.
As others have said about their own experiences it’s not easy.
You are already grieving because you have made this decision.
Guilt is a normal part of grieving.
Holding you in my heart

 

[wheekly]

Thank you for sharing I’m very sorry about Priscilla, but you did right by her.

That’s how I feel about my piggie, there’s really no operation that I can have done that won’t just make everything worse.

So although it feels too soon, she doesn’t have to suffer.

I had to have my Priscilla pts earlier this year.
It felt as if it was too soon in some ways but she had an inoperable mass and was only coping on painkillers and syringe food.
As others have said about their own experiences it’s not easy.
You are already grieving because you have made this decision.
Guilt is a normal part of grieving.
Holding you in my heart

 

[Bill & Ted]

Sending huge hugs, I think you made the right decision and it was made from the heart because you loved her so much. Take care x

 

[wheekly]

Today’s a difficult day.

It’s my last full day with her. Friday is PTS.

I’ve been crying with her for like an hour. She’s clearly enjoying it because she’s been licking the tears off my face the entire time

I love her so much. I’m going to miss her. Part of me wants to cancel the euthanasia tomorrow. But I know that I would be selfish to do that. Any day now the roots are going to get too painful for her to bear. I’m sparing her the suffering…trying to remember that.

It just feels so bad when she’s still so much herself. But I know that she’s fighting through the pain.

I lost my pigs in pretty quick succession and before I could get another one this happened…so I guess this is the end of the piggy cycle for me. I emotionally cannot handle it anymore…at least for a few years.

It’s going to be so weird not having piggies around…I’ve always had them. It’s been 10 years (almost 11) of having piggies in the house. I started in 2013. I’ve learned so much since then.

At least she’ll get to be reunited with her cagemates. I am sure she’s missed them.

I just wish i could be selfish and hold onto her forever. I’m going to miss her so much.

 

[wheekly]

 

[ScrufflesRules]

I'm so sorry, it must be so hard for you.
I made the decision to end the piggy cycle (for now) a few years ago too. ❤