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Force-feeding - when does it become "animal abuse"?

Guinea Pig Magazine said:
Goodnight Little Miss.
Snøhvit will need lots of cuddles too. She will most likely be grieving. We like to let our other Pigggies see the deceased one to let them know where it has gone.
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Yes, we will cuddle her alot now - and we did let her see Gullfaks and sniff on her - until she decided to walk to another part of the cage - I hope it helped her realize what has happened ❤
 
I’m terribly sorry for your loss. You did all you could as a loving owner. Rip little one
 
I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s a horrible situation to be in when a pig stops eating and the vets aren’t able to help. She will be at peace now ❤️❤
 
I’m so sorry
Reading it reminds me my Jerry. Only difference is that he did get better after vet visits. He passed away on Monday. It all happened very quickly, Sunday he nibbled a bit of parsley and by Monday he did lost 200grams. So very sorry
 
So very sorry that despite everything you did Gullfaks didn’t make it.
Be gentle with yourself as you grieve.
You will find a lot of support here.
We understand the pain of not being able to save our beloved piggies
 
I’ve just seen this. I am so sorry that she has made her way to join the fun and games at the Rainbow Bridge. Piggies leave great big holes in our hearts when they leave us. Please feel free to post a tribute to her in our Rainbow Bridge section. Hugs to you.
 
Thanks a lot for all the support, all of you! ❤ It is good to be part of a community that understands the grief and the big impact these wonderful, little animals have on our lives :wub: I am grateful that my other piggie seems to be dealing with the grief ok - she is still eating and enjoying the new cage setup - so I try to focus on her moving forward ❤
 
I have read this thread and wondered if Gullfaks your little guinea pig you were syringe feeding last August got better or if you had to let him/her go?
 
Sorry, I obviously didn't read down to the bottom of the thread. So sorry Gullfaks you lost your little piggie. My little boy pig, Oscar, died in my arms yesterday morning and I've been beating myself up thinking I was trying to get too much syringe feed into him and he got fluid into his lungs. I did read somewhere that guinea pigs are only swallowing when they are moving their mouths (I don't know if thats true maybe someone out there could enlighten me). Need to speak to my vet to get his opinion on whether anything I did contributed to his death. I tried my best but maybe it just wasn't good enough. All these things are learning experiences to take into the future. With each guinea pig you have, you learn something new as they're all so different.
 
Forestgirl said:
Sorry, I obviously didn't read down to the bottom of the thread. So sorry Gullfaks you lost your little piggie. My little boy pig, Oscar, died in my arms yesterday morning and I've been beating myself up thinking I was trying to get too much syringe feed into him and he got fluid into his lungs. I did read somewhere that guinea pigs are only swallowing when they are moving their mouths (I don't know if thats true maybe someone out there could enlighten me). Need to speak to my vet to get his opinion on whether anything I did contributed to his death. I tried my best but maybe it just wasn't good enough. All these things are learning experiences to take into the future. With each guinea pig you have, you learn something new as they're all so different.
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I’m sorry for your loss. You’re welcome to post about your boy in the rainbow pet section. I think when you lose them you always think about the what ifs. But sometimes it’s just their time, no matter how much we try to help keep them with us.
 
Forestgirl said:
Sorry, I obviously didn't read down to the bottom of the thread. So sorry Gullfaks you lost your little piggie. My little boy pig, Oscar, died in my arms yesterday morning and I've been beating myself up thinking I was trying to get too much syringe feed into him and he got fluid into his lungs. I did read somewhere that guinea pigs are only swallowing when they are moving their mouths (I don't know if thats true maybe someone out there could enlighten me). Need to speak to my vet to get his opinion on whether anything I did contributed to his death. I tried my best but maybe it just wasn't good enough. All these things are learning experiences to take into the future. With each guinea pig you have, you learn something new as they're all so different.
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Hi Forestgirl! Yes, we unfortunately had to let Gullfaks go after 2 weeks of syringe-feeding and a continuous weight-loss. Our little pig and ourselves were exhausted after syringe-feeding day and night, and together with the vet we decided that it was best to let her go, as the vet could not find out what was wrong.

I am so sorry to hear about little Oscar ❤️ It is heartbreaking to see them go in our arms, but I think it also feels good to be there with them until the end. Regarding what you mention about swallowing, I am not sure - I hope someone else can comment on this that have more experience. But I am sure you did everything you could, and did your best for your little pig.

Although it has been almost a year since Gullfaks passed, we still think about her often, and the difficulties with syringe feeding and seeing her getting weaker over time was horrible back then, and it still brings me to tears to think about.
We also of course wonder if there was anything we could have done differently, or better regarding the syringe feeding and caring for our sick pig. But as you say - we must take the experiences with us into the future. As good owners, we know our pigs the best and we are the only ones that are able to be there 24/7 for them, so together with good advice and directions from the vet - we just have to do our best, and thats all a lucky little pig can ask for ;)

Its not easy, but rather than spending energy thinking in the past on Gullfaks, we think about the good moments we had with her and try to focus on giving the two pigs we have now our best care 💕
 
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