Time to say goodbye?

[Wetherill]

My not-so-baby boy Rory is likely to be around 4-6 years old at this point. He has seen 4 vets within the past month yet has only taken a turn for the worse. He is being fed almost exclusively critical care as he will not eat, drinking water through a syringe, and he is on four medications. Yet his stools are tiny, his urine is an off orange color, he is severely thin, and spends all his time cooped up in one spot with his glossy, teary eyes half opened. I am doing everything I can for him, but when I do give him some alone time he spends it looking miserable and not moving a muscle for hours at a time. He’s lost the strength for ‘t rexes’ and is not even touching some of his favorite snacks. I try to keep him as chunky as possibly currently with the critical care but he hates it so much and it does not seem to be doing him any good. He was X rayed recently and all was well. Should I bring him to a fifth vet, or is it his time?

 

[Lady Kelly]

I'm so sorry you find yourself in this situation. Every vet should be able to discuss in full your options and what is likely in the best interests of Rory. Is it a case that the vets you have seen have been unable to find the cause? If so, how experienced with guinea pigs are they and have they suggested a referral to a specialist? For me personally, at this stage, I would expect to be only going to a new vet if their experience put them in a position of being more likely to find the cause.

An example is my late Bumble. She had tests done at my usual and fairly experienced vets and nothing was found. We went to the specialist who repeated the tests and found marked arthritis in her spine. She was able to live comfortably a while longer on pain relief.

A second example is my current Boris who has a hazy area on his abdomen in x-rays. My vets is 90% certain this is a mass. I expect that a specialist would just be able to confirm this. Surgery for the location and potential malignancy of the mass is not recommended so I don't expect the outcome to change sadly. He is on pain relief and gaining weight now and I expect to keep him on this until he is ready to leave us.

It's hard to know the right thing to do as we have so much emotionally invested in our pets but whatever decision you make I am sure you make with Rory's best interests at heart and therefore cannot ever be the wrong decision

 

[Wetherill]

I'm so sorry you find yourself in this situation. Every vet should be able to discuss in full your options and what is likely in the best interests of Rory. Is it a case that the vets you have seen have been unable to find the cause? If so, how experienced with guinea pigs are they and have they suggested a referral to a specialist? For me personally, at this stage, I would expect to be only going to a new vet if their experience put them in a position of being more likely to find the cause.

An example is my late Bumble. She had tests done at my usual and fairly experienced vets and nothing was found. We went to the specialist who repeated the tests and found marked arthritis in her spine. She was able to live comfortably a while longer on pain relief.

A second example is my current Boris who has a hazy area on his abdomen in x-rays. My vets is 90% certain this is a mass. I expect that a specialist would just be able to confirm this. Surgery for the location and potential malignancy of the mass is not recommended so I don't expect the outcome to change sadly. He is on pain relief and gaining weight now and I expect to keep him on this until he is ready to leave us.

It's hard to know the right thing to do as we have so much emotionally invested in our pets but whatever decision you make I am sure you make with Rory's best interests at heart and therefore cannot ever be the wrong decision

Thank you. I decided I will bring him to an emergency vet later today to see if they can pinpoint what exactly is the issue. My previous vet stated that if he does not begin to heal and feel better (which he hasnt) that cancer may be a possibility. I will have to see today I guess. Thank you again for your understanding

 

[Swissgreys]

Sorry you are going through this - it is always such a difficult time.

You say you have seen 4 vets so far, so clearly you are trying everything, and from your description it does sound like he has some serious medical issues.
What tests have been done and what medication has been used so far?
I am guessing at least some antibiotics and painkillers, as in cases of uncertainty this would be the usual starting point.
4 - 6 isn't terribly old for a guinea pig, so hopefully an experienced vet will be able to come up with a treatment plan to help him feel better.

 

[Wetherill]

Hi, we are currently at the emergency vet and he is being seen He has tried mylicon and metacam twice, and is currently on metacam again, bene-bac, flagyl and baytril. Also getting syringed food and water daily. Hopefully this vet will be helpful, although they have let me down a few times it is the only guinea pig friendly emergency vet on long island where we live… thank you for the reply

 

[Bill & Ted]

So sorry for the situation you are in. It’s really hard on you and for little Rory too, hope you get some answers soon x

 

[Merab]

Sorry that you are in such a difficult situation.
Holding you in my thoughts