Loss Guinea pig passed away unexpectedly

[ibeabluedevil]

This evening I found my Guinea pig Cotton has passed away unexpectedly. This morning he and his cage mate Yogi were fine, running around, wheeking, eating their hay. They were doing everything they normally do without any indication that this was going to happen. He was not sick, no nasal or eye discharge. He was eating and drinking just fine and his poop was normal shape and size. There was absolutely nothing to indicate to me that he was sick in any way shape or form. With my other 2 pigs that passed away last year, they were clearly sick with a URI and even with proper meds and vet care they sadly didn't pull through. I have had Cotton for 4 and a half years and he has been healthy for all of it until now. I know that they don't live very long, but 4 and a half years for an otherwise healthy plump little guy just seems too short of a life in my opinion. Was there something I could have missed? I handled them and checked them over all the time, trimmed their nails and weighed them frequently. What went wrong? I am at a loss.

 

[bpatters]

I'm very sorry you lost him. But please don't blame yourself. Obviously something very serious happened, but there's really no way to know what unless you have a necropsy done. He may have had heart failure, or a stroke, or an overwhelming infection.

If you do decide to have a necropsy done, wrap him and put him in the refrigerator (NOT the freezer) until you can get him to the vet.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

I'm so sorry you've lost Cotton.

Pigs are no different than people. Every now and again you hear of someone that passes unexpectedly, and of natural causes. It's especially hard because they're so young, that it makes it very difficult to accept.

Everything you've said sounds to me like you've done everything right. I know it's of little consolation, but sometimes it just happens. It doesn't mean you did anything wrong, nor does it mean there's anything you could have done. I've spent the last year and a half trying to come to the same realization after losing one of my own.

Rest in peace, sweet Cotton.

 

[LittleSqueakers]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I just recently lost my last pig as well, but he was 6. His cagemate passed in January; she was a little over 4. My other two I've had died relatively young.

Unfortunately, because guinea pigs are relatively fragile and short-lived, they can slip away without warning. If he was acting normally and giving you no cause for concern, then there was no way you could have known anything was wrong and nothing you could have done. Sometimes, there really was nothing wrong and it might've just been a freak thing, like a heart attack. But if you decide to do a necropsy, it might help to give you some closure.

It can be very hard sometimes to love guinea pigs the way we do because they're such fragile little creatures with short lifespans. Sometimes it just feels like we're setting ourselves up for heartbreak, but most of us will willingly go back into it all over again with a new one. In time, I hope that this will be the case with you as well.

Rest in peace, Cotton.

 

[ibeabluedevil]

Thank you everyone for your kind words. I just decided to go ahead and bury him, which I did earlier today. I buried him in my back yard near where my other 2 are buried. I don't think I could bring myself to have the poor little guy cut open to try and pinpoint why or how his death may have been caused. I just hope that however it happened that he didn't suffer any, and I take comfort in knowing that he had 4 and a half great years with me and his cage mate Yogi. Today Yogi seems a bit lost without him and much more reserved than he normally is and the other 2 pigs seem to sense that something is amiss too. Their cages are joined together with a seperation barrier in the middle, so Yogi can still interact with the other 2 they just can't be together. Hopefully with time and knowing the other 2 are near he will be okay.