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Lymphoma last days now

It must be so confusing getting conflicting advice. ☹️ . I agree with your boyfriend. I’d definitely get some more piggies tomorrow if I didn’t have to worry about the vet bills. Hope ginger continues to defy the odds 🤞

Hope Leia’s eye settles down too.
 
Aw, sending big hugs, you are coping so well with two poorly piggies. I would have 30 too if I could afford the vets bills, four is more than enough for me! remember to take some “me time” as emotionally it’s a rollercoaster which is exhausting with its ups and downs
Hope you have plenty more happy days with your little girlies x
 
Thank you everyone. I’m having a hard evening. There’s a lot going on in my life right now and the piggies have always been a constant, that I rush home to, speak to constantly, hand feed and cuddle all the time. I had to focus on a job interview not long ago but after their diagnoses. I got the job (which I’ve wanted for about 3 years) but I haven’t been excited about it, in fact I’m dreading it. And I think I’m realising that going through two end of life journeys is breaking me emotionally. I’ve stayed strong for a while to get the job and support my boyfriend through his breakdowns that tonight I sit here having cried myself to exhaustion for a couple of hours over them. A lot more anticipatory grief even though the vet said they looked really well at the moment. It’s like I can’t get enough of them. It’s like I can’t remember the memories because I’m too down right now, but I expect they’ll come back in the future. I try to cherish them as much as I can without annoying them, hug and kiss them, tell them how amazing they are and have lots of photos and videos, but it’s like it won’t be enough. There’s a lot of change coming my way shortly and I’m not feeling ready for it. I’ve been through this with a lot of other pets growing up but I think these piggies have been such a huge close part of my life the past four years since they were little babies. It makes me wonder if I’ll ever get more after these ones. I suspect I will as I did get other pets over the years but piggies just don’t seem to live long enough.

I just needed a space I could express some of my emotions.
 
Fluffbabies said:
Thank you everyone. I’m having a hard evening. There’s a lot going on in my life right now and the piggies have always been a constant, that I rush home to, speak to constantly, hand feed and cuddle all the time. I had to focus on a job interview not long ago but after their diagnoses. I got the job (which I’ve wanted for about 3 years) but I haven’t been excited about it, in fact I’m dreading it. And I think I’m realising that going through two end of life journeys is breaking me emotionally. I’ve stayed strong for a while to get the job and support my boyfriend through his breakdowns that tonight I sit here having cried myself to exhaustion for a couple of hours over them. A lot more anticipatory grief even though the vet said they looked really well at the moment. It’s like I can’t get enough of them. It’s like I can’t remember the memories because I’m too down right now, but I expect they’ll come back in the future. I try to cherish them as much as I can without annoying them, hug and kiss them, tell them how amazing they are and have lots of photos and videos, but it’s like it won’t be enough. There’s a lot of change coming my way shortly and I’m not feeling ready for it. I’ve been through this with a lot of other pets growing up but I think these piggies have been such a huge close part of my life the past four years since they were little babies. It makes me wonder if I’ll ever get more after these ones. I suspect I will as I did get other pets over the years but piggies just don’t seem to live long enough.

I just needed a space I could express some of my emotions.
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Sorry you’re going through all of this. I was in a similar (but different) position a few months ago; job hunting and dealing with a sick piggy. He was up and down so many times, and I thought he was going to make it and he suddenly took a bad turn and passed. I was so upset. I’d already signed my contract and was due to start in less than a month. I knew I was not in the right place of mind to be throwing myself 100% into a new role, so I rang up my new employers and asked them if I could start a few weeks later. I said suffered bereavement, I didn’t mention any more details than that and they didn’t ask. I think in these times we’re in, bereavement is very common and they aren’t likely to want to ask any more. They agreed to my new start date. Just having those few extra weeks of space did me so much good and I started my new job in the right place of mind.

I know our circumstances are slightly different, but I thought I’d share my story. I also started a memory book for my boy. That really helped as well to remember the happy times we had. I got a scrap book and lots of his photos and wrote some bits about him and what he liked and his personality. It really helped. I think the photos were good prompts, and helped remind me of the good days. His passing was really traumatic and so it helped me remember the good, healthy days he had.

Sending you lots of hugs right now.
 
I’d be inclined to listen to Simon about the fluid medication rather than your local vet, it’s a shame they won’t fulfil the prescription. I’d try and ring round all your local vets as well as check online to see if anywhere can fulfil it. I’ve had struggles getting prescriptions fulfilled when emailed to us by Simon, but usually I can manage to find someone who will fulfil it. Sometimes they also require the vet notes too, if that’s the case then C&R can easily send the notes over.

I really sympathise with your situation, it really all is heart breaking. One thing I’ve learned is that you can never be prepared for loss. Even when you know they’re living on borrowed time, that hope that they may overcome their illness doesn’t really ever seem to die. Every bit of progress brings with it a faint glimmer of hope, even though you already know what the near future will hold. And even the smallest decline can feel like a punch in the stomach. At the end of the day, all we want is for them to be okay and sometimes that means having to let them go selflessly. I lost my 6 and a half year old cuddle buddy just over a month back, we’ve been having cuddles almost every day for 6 years (at his request and complete enjoyment). It’s so strange that it’s been so long since I had Little fast asleep in the crook of my arm with his eyes shut for almost two hours. Often times, I feel like getting him out for his cuddle only to remember he’s no longer there.
Loss is never easy, and doesn’t get easier the more you lose. It is simply the price we pay for loving them. Piggies are such small and fragile creatures, but they leave huge imprints on our hearts. I know right now you can’t seem to remember the good times, but that’s because you’re currently grieving (even though they’re still here). Right now you’re grieving earlier than a lot of pet owners, usually grief comes afterwards and all you can think about is how much you miss them and what you should’ve done better, etc. During that grief, you don’t remember or think about the good times because your pain is so intense you can only focus on the present where the pet has passed away. Because you’re dealing with a terminal illness, where anything can happen in a single day - even a single hour, it’s natural you can’t remember or focus on the good memories, because you’re so focused on getting your piggies through the next minute. You’re in pain because you know they’re leaving and so you’re grieving, and that’s okay. If you weren’t struggling with this emotionally, then I’d be very concerned. Once you’re through the worst of your grief, you will be able to look back at pictures and videos and smile more than you cry, I promise. I wish I could say more, but it’s late and I’m really tired, not to mention very emotional now just by writing this! It’s just so awful to lose them, I really do feel for you. It’s true what they say, that if love alone could keep them here then they would live forever. It’s beautiful how much we can love such small creatures that are so different to us in every way, and that they can trust us and love us back in return.
 
It's so hard when we lose a pet or have a terminal diagnosis. The thing to remember is that your piggies don't know they are ill. They will keep doing bimbly piggy stuff until they can't any more. Piggies live for today and measure their lives in happy days. Make lots of happy day memories with them that will help you through these dark days. It's so very hard what you are going through. We are here for you. The support of this Forum was amazing when I lost my two boys within 4 days of each other 5 months ago. Have a virtual hug. :hug:
 
Well I never thought I’d be posting this in September, but we lost Gingie today. She fought the cancer and ovarian cysts incredibly hard, surprising all the vets she saw locally and at Northlands, living 4.5 months after her diagnosis instead of the 7-10 days that they originally thought she had.

** I’m sorry it’s a long one. But I needed somewhere to express my grief and guilt and I guess it’s cathartic. Even if no one reads it all, I feel like I’m talking to someone by writing on this forum, and someone who knows what it’s like to love and lose a piggy that was like their baby. Our piggies are a massive part of us and now Ginger has joined Leia over the rainbow bridge, big parts of my heart are gone. **

She was eating salad one moment and under half an hour later she fell over, walked before collapsing again. I found her laying on the floor with her legs out weird and as soon as I picked her up I realised she was dying as she was floppy and couldn’t move her legs or hold herself up. My boyfriend had seen her fall minutes before but as she got straight back up he didn’t realise what was happening til she fell again. We put her on a fluffy blanket and comforted her thinking she would be gone any minute. She didn’t appear to be with us anymore just her body.

I know it’s a normal part of grief but I feel intense guilt over a lot of things :’( even though I loved her every day and was always trying to do what was best for her. We could tell she was a bit worse about a week or two ago but I took her to the local vet for an emergency appointment and was told she was happy, bright, eating drinking and trotting around the cage. The vet said she was on enough metacam, not in pain and we would know when it was time because she would stop eating, drinking and moving around.

She had lost a lot of weight recently and was bony but she was still chewing all the hard treats, eating, loving salad especially so we let her carry on. She was gradually slowing down, eating less and sitting still more and we considered taking her back to the vet each time. I think it was so gradual and we were waiting for her to stop completely that we didn’t realise how close to the end she was. She wasn’t right the past day or two but she was eating all the way to the end. Then this came as such a huge shock.

Having looked back at videos from 2 weeks ago and seeing the stark difference I feel so guilty that we didn’t PTS a few days ago. We still saw life in her but I worry that she was in pain or becoming miserable and that she was carrying on eating here and there because that’s what piggies do. When we had to put Leia a few months back she didn’t stop either and barely showed signs of being in pain. The vet had to tell us it was time and said because they were so tame and handled they just carried on. Thinking back we should have taken her when she lost the weight and stopped eating much hay. But because she had the lumps and ovaries I didn’t realise how bony she had got and we weren’t handling her much because Simon said months ago when her cancer had just started that she wouldn’t enjoy being held as much, and she ate so much salad, was desperate for salad and veg that it made us happy how much she was eating :( :( :( Now we can see the signs and feel awful.

The other thing is how she passed. It’s the time I’ve watched a pet die. In the past I have PTS in time not to see the whole process. I feel traumatised and can’t get the images out of my head. I don’t know how much she was aware of. She didn’t seem aware of start with as soon as she lost the ability to move. She just lay there but then she had some small fits, a get up and look around to then go still again, a few seconds of “running” and I thought that it was all happening so quickly there was no point going to a vet but to keep her with us. Then I read that you should be hands off and leave her with her cage mates so we stopped stroking her and put her back in the cage on the fluffy blanket. The other two kind of looked around her from a distance then removed themselves and huddled in the house on the other side of the cage. She started to take deep intermittent breaths with the sound of expelling air almost then started making little squeak noises which horrified me because was she aware and scared or in pain? We agonised over do we try to make it to the vet or leave her at home with us and the piggies, quiet and on soft blanket?

We both had read on the forums several times about what’s involved in piggy deaths and thought we were prepared and knew if we’d go to the vet or not but it all happened so quickly. After the squeaking and it had been half an hour we decided to take her to the out of hour vet. We gently laid her in a super soft bed with a flannel over her and got in the car. She looked like she was struggling to breathe and I put the flannel loosely over her to block out the streetlights. Half way there about 5-10 minutes later I lifted it to see if she was still breathing and she was still. As I’m not a vet I wondered if it was just so shallow I couldn’t see it, so I lifted the flannel off her face and what I saw horrified me :,(

Ginger was really heavy and stiff, her head was pulled back toward her back, her mouth was pulled open with her teeth protruding out and her eyes were held tight but with loads of thick white discharge coming out of them down her face. I tried to touch her but she was so heavy and stiff. When I lifted her little face her eyes and mouth made me burst into uncontrollable tears. It was like she was roadkill that had been dead for an hour. I had NO idea they could do like that within minutes. I had to cover her with the flannel because I couldn’t look at her or touch her like that. We drove to the vet to have her paw prints taken and have her cremated.

I asked the vet if she would go floppy again and if she could be cleaned up to look more like how I want to remind her and the vet said yes but it could take 1-2 hours. We were welcome to wait in the car or could go home and they’d call us. Half way home they called up to say she’d gone floppy again and we could say our goodbyes. I hadn’t stopped crying waiting for the vet or driving back home. All I could think about was how she’d rolled onto her back with the scared piggy eyes at home when she couldn’t hold herself and how she looked after she’d died. I was SO SO happy we went back to say goodbyes as she looked peaceful and “normal”. So the last time I saw her was close to how she was when she was alive. Although I still can’t forget the horrible images.

We are beyond devastated. We haven‘t finished grieving for Leia and now Ginger is gone too. It doesn’t seem real. I just can’t believe it. It’s been a long time coming and it was like she was just going to keep going. We‘ve known it was coming for so long but would never have been ready. Part of me wishes we had PTS a day or two earlier to save her going through that process. I hate that someone I love so so deeply went through that and there’s any chance however tiny that she was scared for even a moment.
 
Does anyone know how she went like that sooo quickly within minutes? And what the white stuff coming out her eyes was? The vet nurse said it might have been caused by an infection. And is it normal for them to go floppy so quickly after as well? I know Leia was PTS but she was floppy for much longer and we got to say our goodbyes at the vet. And I’ve read on here that people keep holding their piggy after they have gone and they don’t go stiff immediately.

I’m trying not to feel guilt about taking her in a noisy, bumpy car in her final minutes as well, and not watching her the whole time. It seems like maybe she passed not long after we set off.
 
Hello Fluffbabies I’m sooooooo very sad to hear you lost Ginger and coming so soon after Leia - I cannot answer your questions but I know you did all you could for Ginger at that time. It seemed the right thing then. We can always look back and think if only, should I , I could have but …at that moment you did the very best you could. They are so precious to us and I really get that you have two big holes in your heart. To love them means it damn hurts so much when they leave us. Please don’t be hard on yourself …. grief is difficult and in time those awful visions will go. Focus on Ginger when she was ok and find a lovely photo of her to remind you how beautiful she was. You gave her ( and Leia) a lovely happy home and that’s a wonderful thing to do.
Beautiful Ginger is at peace and playing with all the other piggies at rainbow bridge.
keep in touch on here as we know what you’re going thru and we’re all here for you. Sending a big hug to you and your bf x
 
I also feel bad because even though she was unresponsive within a couple of minutes and we tried to be calm, we cried a lot and it wasn’t peaceful for her :( and we took her out of the cage to comfort her without her cage mates. Although we did put her back and they seemed to acknowledge her from a short distance away before retreating. I just want us to do everything right by her and in the end some things weren’t how they should have been and I feel awful. I’m so relieved she is at peace now although I will always miss her terribly. I’ve done some more reading and she was gone in about 30-40 minutes from when she collapsed and the fitting didn’t last long at all and except for the one running moment is was quite gentle
 
Please don’t feel awful … it was a big shock for it to happen that way and so suddenly. It’s never easy to know what to do. I think you did the best you could for Ginger . Remember her running about and munching on the hay
 
Roselina said:
Hello Fluffbabies I’m sooooooo very sad to hear you lost Ginger and coming so soon after Leia - I cannot answer your questions but I know you did all you could for Ginger at that time. It seemed the right thing then. We can always look back and think if only, should I , I could have but …at that moment you did the very best you could. They are so precious to us and I really get that you have two big holes in your heart. To love them means it damn hurts so much when they leave us. Please don’t be hard on yourself …. grief is difficult and in time those awful visions will go. Focus on Ginger when she was ok and find a lovely photo of her to remind you how beautiful she was. You gave her ( and Leia) a lovely happy home and that’s a wonderful thing to do.
Beautiful Ginger is at peace and playing with all the other piggies at rainbow bridge.
keep in touch on here as we know what you’re going thru and we’re all here for you. Sending a big hug to you and your bf x
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Hi Roselina thank you so much for your message. It means so much to receive a reply. I know what you’re saying is true but just having someone else say it, who gets it, is much needed. I know our piggies have amazing lives but you always feel you can do more and pour every part of yourself into them. And dont they make you feel it! When they look up at you or beg and they’re the most adorable thing ever that you love with all your heart and you’d do anything for them. After Leia passed my bf encouraged me to talk to her as that helped him and I’d tell her “I would have looked after you forever.” I even feel like I’d give decades off my life to give to them so we could be our family for longer. They really are our babies. I’m not just saying that either. We would take them everywhere if we could and they wouldn’t be scared/unsafe. We have just Oreo and Nugget left now. Oreo is the last of the original three and she’s so soppy that I worry how sad she must be. We’ve had Nugget for a year and a half. I know they‘lol keep each other company but Leia and Ginger were the two most active ones. Nugget is very shy and Oreo has always been lazy and sleeps a lot. It feels completely different since Leia and Ginger got sick, and have now passed.
 
Ah it must feel very different without Leia and Ginger…..As you say they are just so adorable and those little faces just melt our hearts. I’m glad you have Oreo and Nugget to help you both cope with this loss. It does help to hear what other people say as we all feel so upset , bereft and are often far too hard on ourselves. It can be a lonely time too. It is so hard but you’re doing the right thing to share your feelings and it will give you some comfort that we understand this.
 
I do feel really lonely in my grief like I did for Leia, because most people don’t understand especially with a guinea pig. I have my bf and he’s asleep beside me as we speak. I have to be up for a 9 hour shift in 3 hours but almost too scared to sleep in case I have bad dreams and because I know I’ll forget, wake up and my first thought as it has been for past 4.5months is to give Gingie her meds.. and I’ll have to realise all over that she’s gone. At work I’ll be expected to carry on and act like nothing has happened because my piggies aren’t immediate family members, even though that doesn’t dictate how much someone has an impact or how big a hole they leave in your heart.

Strangely enough, I was preparing for a job interview when Leia and Ginger both got diagnosed with different cancer on same day. And we had to put Leia to sleep the day after I started the new job. I’m applying for another new job and I’ve been so focused on it because I don’t have much time to get up to scratch. And it’s eating me up that I’ve been doing that on Ginger‘s last couple of days. I had barely seen her at all today because I was in a rush to finish my application. :( I know we can’t stop our lives as they will go on. And I know she wouldnt have wanted to have cuddles with how she was. But when my bf was shaking the salad bag its the only time she was down the wrong end of the cage and she was actually looking in my direction. My bf put the salad in front of her and she had some before collapsing half hour later. I wonder if she was looking after me because she knew I was out there and she hadn’t seen me all day. It breaks my heart and I guess I’m torturing myself. I think it’s part of trying to come to terms with what happened. As my bf said, I’ve looked after her every day for 4.5 years, showed her love and gave her everything she could have wanted. I wasn’t to know she was going to pass so quickly. And if I had I would have spent all day sat by her cage with her. And he said as soon as I saw her collapsed I picked her up and did everything I could to reassure her, make her comfortable and tried to do right by her.
 
I am so so so SO sorry to hear of your loss and grief. Please try not to feel guilty, you did absolute wonders for her and even though she may have looked like she was in pain during her last few moments I assure you she wouldn’t have probably been unconscious and didn’t know what was she was doing. Her little brain would have been sleeping, her body was just going through a process. I am so sorry you had to witness a very sad sight for her last moments. I totally and utterly understand as when I lost my Spike to bloat a couple of years ago I couldn’t sleep for weeks after through the guilt and pain of losing him so suddenly. He also died on my lap in the car on the way to the vets, it was awful as the vets is an hour away. And I remember him having fits on my lap, it was traumatising. But I look back now and I did everything I could for him (I took him straight to the vets in the morning who sent me home with medication, he rapidly declined at night) but I blamed myself for letting the stupid young vet send him home when I knew deep down he was so sick. I still remember it all so well.
I also lost another Boar to bloat at the start of the year, he was back and fourth to the vets for a week or 2. Syringe feeding, medication, stress, worry, anxiety, sadness. Naturally I felt huge guilt with him too, should I have let him go sooner etc. But we must remember we do what we feels right at the time. Our gut instinct. If I’d let him go sooner I would have had guilt that I’d given up on him, what if he’d survived?.. so which ever way we go, we would question our decision. We must hold onto that we did what we felt right at the time.
I have also lost a girly to lymphoma, It was such a tiring and sad few weeks.
You’re sweet girl is asleep now, wheeking up in heaven no longer with cancer. She’s happy. And she has you to thank for her wonderful life.
I best go wipe away my tears now. My heart hurts for you. Sending virtual hugs, take care. x
 
Fluffbabies said:
Does anyone know how she went like that sooo quickly within minutes? And what the white stuff coming out her eyes was? The vet nurse said it might have been caused by an infection. And is it normal for them to go floppy so quickly after as well? I know Leia was PTS but she was floppy for much longer and we got to say our goodbyes at the vet. And I’ve read on here that people keep holding their piggy after they have gone and they don’t go stiff immediately.

I’m trying not to feel guilt about taking her in a noisy, bumpy car in her final minutes as well, and not watching her the whole time. It seems like maybe she passed not long after we set off.
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I'm really sorry for your loss. It's really hard to see a pet pass... it's a more physical process than we tend to think. A lot of what you describe is pretty consistent with the physical act of dying... the running motions definitely bring back memories. People call it 'running to the Rainbow Bridge.' Anything white from the eyes is likely just normal tears (in guinea pigs the tears used to clean their faces are whitish) that are expelled when they pass. I've definitely seen that with pigs of mine who passed at home. It's very likely that she was already pretty unaware of what was going on.

Please don't beat yourself up. It sounds as though you gave her all the care in the world. She was clearly much loved, you took care of her through her illness and gave her many months of happiness, and she passed with people who loved her. You gave her a beautiful life. ((HUGS)) to you.
 
Thank you to you all for your replies. I tried to sleep for a couple of hours but I either dreamt about it or was half asleep half awake thinking about it. So no sleep for me. Got to get through 9 hours of work then maybe I will fall asleep 😩😩

Oreo and Nugget did not want to be disturbed last night which is understandable. Poor Nugget who was a rescue from neglect and had bonded strongly with Ginger the boss piggy, spent some time sniffing the bed she passed on which I returned to the cage, before looking around the cage a few times. Oreo hasn’t really come out and has laid down/slept most of the time and rumbled at me when I went to check on her. I wish we could talk to them. It felt so weird to get up and not have Gingie there waiting for her metacam and to give some breakfast salad to only two piggies. They both had some some Oreo continued to rumble at me. I hope they can find what they need in each other having lost their two besties in such short time. And Oreo the two cage mates since she was a baby.

I will reply to any other messages when I can around work. I expect I’ll be going out to cry in my car quite a lot today.
 
I'm so sorry for your loss xx
Know that she had an amazing life with you, and she would have known how much she was loved.
Sleep tight gorgeous girl 💕🌈
 
I am so very sorry for your loss, she had a wonderful life with you. Huge hugs x
 
Sending you lots of love. It is horrible but you did absolutely everything you could. I lost my boy Harry a few weeks ago. Like your gorgeous girl he collapsed and couldn't get up. I woke up at 4am and that is how I found him. I don't know what woke me. Maybe instinct.

Although he was still breathing he was lifeless. I gave him a snuggle and popped him into a cosy bed. I told him it was okay for him to go now. He moved his paw on to my finger as if to say goodbye and he slipped away about an hour later.

Be kind to yourself. Grief will come in waves. Sleep tight little one 🌈🌈
 
I’m so so sorry for your loss. You did everything you could for Ginger. She knew how much you loved and cared about her. I had a piggy a few years ago who fell on his side. As I rushed him off to the vets he started the “running to the bridge”. Once I got to the vets he did a few tests on Sunny and told me he was unconscious. Even though he looked like he was awake. The vet said he wasn’t feeling anything at all. So please know that Ginger would definitely, 100% not have known what was going on around her. She would not have been scared or in pain. Please don’t feel bad for not PTS days before. She was still eating so why would you have thought to do that? Don’t look back to the what ifs. You are a fantastic piggy mummy. Take care of yourself, Oreo and Nugget. Ginger is munching away on the greenest grass over the bridge with her buddy Leia. ❤️
 
I am so sorry that you have lost your gorgeous girl.

Nothing can really prepare us for witnessing a gradual death in progress, so it’s no wonder that you are so distressed. We usually either find them passed away or they are PTS by the vet. It’s heartbreaking witnessing the stages and not being sure what the right thing to do is for our pets.

Please try to focus on the loving home that you gave her and the good life that she had with you over many years and months rather than the final moments as she passed. Try to remember her at her glorious best and not as she was at the end. Her soul remained beautiful and strong throughout, it was just her body that failed. She knew she was loved and that is something that not all piggies experience.

If you feel you need to talk to someone about what you’ve been through, there are recommendations in Wiebkes really helpful guide. Human Bereavement: Grieving, Coping and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children

Big hugs to you.
 
@Fluffbabies
Hi I read this thread sat and ment to comment sorry I didn’t but I will now
You did amazing thing with Gingie and the love and support tlc you gave her was fantastic you can be very very proud of that.
As for the way she died and how she looked just let that go Seriously remember the chin rubs hugs etc.
i lost a girlie on the op table and to see her like that hurt but I’m ok with it now
You are a brill slave and pls take care.
Rip little fighter Gingie you all fixed now in beautiful rainbow 🌈 world xx
 
I’m so sorry you’ve lost Ginger, sending you big hugs, I know how very sad you must be feeling x
Please don’t blame yourself for any bad thoughts you have about the way she died. Ginger passed away at home surrounded by the people and companions who loved her and she will have known that. I think we always look back and think “if onlys“ no matter what happens to our piggies at the end. I don’t think there’s the perfect passing, it’s either so sudden and you don’t get chance to say goodbye or you watch a beloved piggie faded away to illness or old age.
Treasure your lovely memories of Ginger and Leia x
Sleep tight little Ginger 🌈 go meet Leia
 
Hi!
BIG HUGS

Yes, piggies can go just like that. No infection, just likely a series of mini strokes or major heart or pother organ stoppages short-circuiting the body and closing it down. If your piggy is very weak, then it can go very quickly indeed; it is like watching a house of cards fall. :(

It is very normal for bodily fluids (including blood in some cases) to come out of any orifices in the body in the dying moments or shortly after as muscle control fails; it is not at all uncommon in multiple organ failure. The white fluid may have been eye cleaning fluid.
Dying is a much more physical process than most people expect because it is in our sanitised world happening discretely behind closed doors and the actual physical process of it is very much still a firm taboo subject...

Keep in mind that the current heat spike is providing just the extra stress factor that can tip a frail and/or elderly piggy over the edge. I have seen this in too many of my own oldies and hate any sudden heat spike because it could just push one of my frailer ones over the edge, despite my best efforts.

Please try not to get hung up over Ginger's last moments and take consolation thal the natural dying process was so quick for her and that she didn't suffer for very long and was relatively soon no longer fully with it. It is just a shock the first time you are confronted with what is actually a normal process; the individual issues can vary depending on what organ goes first and in which order the body closes down but rest assured from your desrcription that your girl did not suffer a painful death; just mostly a confusing one in early stages.
With dying such a taboo, we are just no longer getting prepared for when it actually happens in our home and we tend to underestimate just how quickly frail piggies can pass away. For the piggies themselves, a quick and comparatively gentle death like Ginger's is rather a blessing, if it weren't for the bad shock for the owner!

Thanks to your good care, Ginger has had a lot more time than she would have otherwise had.

This guide here may help you make more sense of having witnessed multiple organ failure in the latter stages: A Practical and Sensitive Guide to Dying, Terminal Illness and Euthanasia in Guinea Pigs

Popcorn healthy and happy again at the Rainbow Bridge, Ginge!
 
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