Lump on R's neck
Thank you both for your kind words. After some more sudden and sad experiences with past pets, it was so comforting to have her go peacefully at home. It was a vet who has treated her her whole life, and she was very kind.
I am sad and will miss her a lot, but I'm at peace with the decision and timing. I don't know how many guinea pigs live until 8, but none of mine ever have before. I am already thinking of all her good times running around the cage, eating her favorite treats (oranges and parsley), sniffing her little nose up in the air to beg for more, and falling asleep on my lap for hours at a time. She was the best little friend.
I am sad and will miss her a lot, but I'm at peace with the decision and timing. I don't know how many guinea pigs live until 8, but none of mine ever have before. I am already thinking of all her good times running around the cage, eating her favorite treats (oranges and parsley), sniffing her little nose up in the air to beg for more, and falling asleep on my lap for hours at a time. She was the best little friend.
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- For the Love of Pigs
I am so sorry. Eight years is s good, long time, but the loss is always painful. That's so great that the vet made a house call.
Lisa12 - out of 14 pigs we've had only one that lived to 8 in spite of the fact that she had a lot wrong with her over the years. Her mother lived 7 years, also a record for us at the time. It seems there was a genetic component there.
Lisa12 - out of 14 pigs we've had only one that lived to 8 in spite of the fact that she had a lot wrong with her over the years. Her mother lived 7 years, also a record for us at the time. It seems there was a genetic component there.
Thanks again for all your nice words and support.
I really wanted to know once and for all what the lump on her neck was, so we decided to do a necropsy. It turns out that the lump was indeed cancer - fibrosarcoma. So it definitely wasn't anything treatable by antibiotics. Our only option would have been surgery, and even then it could still have come back.
We also found out that she had myocarditis, and masses on her heart and spleen. The lab identified the masses as xanthomas, which I have never heard of. Our vet said they are also cancerous. Between the myocarditis and the mass on her heart, she likely wouldn't have survived surgery anyway.
With this additional information, I feel even more strongly that we made the right decision when we chose not to treat the neck lump any further. Keeping her comfortable with pain meds was the best course for her. It's brought me a lot of closure to know for sure. (Though I will take away the lesson to push harder for a culture for infection if this ever happens to another guinea pig in the future, just in case!)
I really wanted to know once and for all what the lump on her neck was, so we decided to do a necropsy. It turns out that the lump was indeed cancer - fibrosarcoma. So it definitely wasn't anything treatable by antibiotics. Our only option would have been surgery, and even then it could still have come back.
We also found out that she had myocarditis, and masses on her heart and spleen. The lab identified the masses as xanthomas, which I have never heard of. Our vet said they are also cancerous. Between the myocarditis and the mass on her heart, she likely wouldn't have survived surgery anyway.
With this additional information, I feel even more strongly that we made the right decision when we chose not to treat the neck lump any further. Keeping her comfortable with pain meds was the best course for her. It's brought me a lot of closure to know for sure. (Though I will take away the lesson to push harder for a culture for infection if this ever happens to another guinea pig in the future, just in case!)
Yeah, the necropsy was definitely $$$. It was lucky that it happened right as we were getting our stimulus checks...helped make the decision easier! It was worth it to me for the closure. If we'd been able to diagnose the lump while she was alive, I wouldn't have done the necropsy, though.