Bloated Possible tumor and bloat. Advice needed.

[Shybandit]

Thanks everyone.

Tofu has diarrhea almost every time he poops and needs his bum to be wiped. I'm worried about him getting another UTI if he doesn't have one already because I work long hours. Being pretty weak, he hobbles around and still approaches me for food. He is also taking prednisone.

He was taking famotidine? Which I have one hand incase he gets bloat again.

Is there anything else I can do to stop diarrhea? He's eating carrots, some hay, lettuce and critical care; he really prefers the lettuce over the rest.

 

[peachyteen]

What kind of lettuce are you feeding? if it has too high a water content, I would think that could cause an issue (I'm not entirely sure though)

 

[bpatters]

@peachyteen, that is not true. Please don't make suggestions on medical threads unless you are absolutely certain they are correct.

ALL lettuce is mostly water. The only lettuce that's not recommended is iceberg, and that's because it has almost no nutritional content at all.
@Shybandit, you could try taking him off all veggies for 48 hours and see if the diarrhea clears up. If it doesn't, that would tell you that the medication is the most likely cause. If it does, then add veggies back, one at a time, 48 hours before each new one, and see if you can find the culprit.

 

[Shybandit]

@peachyteen, that is not true. Please don't make suggestions on medical threads unless you are absolutely certain they are correct.

ALL lettuce is mostly water. The only lettuce that's not recommended is iceberg, and that's because it has almost no nutritional content at all.
@Shybandit, you could try taking him off all veggies for 48 hours and see if the diarrhea clears up. If it doesn't, that would tell you that the medication is the most likely cause. If it does, then add veggies back, one at a time, 48 hours before each new one, and see if you can find the culprit.

I'll have to force feed him the critical care then I guess. He might be bloated again so I'll giving him some famotidine.

 

[bpatters]

Definitely force feed if you have to. He's gotta eat, or he'll die.

 

[Shybandit]

When I was cleaning Tofu's feet (covered in diarrhea poo) and force feeding him, my dad couldn't still struggled to hold him properly (I've taught him countless times how to hold him but usually Tofu was fine) so he was twisting and turning PLUS he was fidgeting.

When we put him back down, Tofu's leg seemed a bit useless and he now has an even harder time moving. He was eating but he didn't go back inside his house, he just laid there after he finished eating.

My dad said his stomach felt like it was stuffed up?

I just made his situation worse by trying to clean him up & feed him more. I feel bad.

So if he can't get to the water bottle, I should take him to the vet for euthanization this Saturday? I won't know if his status tomorrow because I'm leave early morning and come back at night.

 

[Shybandit]

After I had my dad hold him to feed him a little, and clean his poo soaked feet, his walking situation worsened considerably.

I taught my dad how to hold him countless times, Tofu usually was fine afterwards but this time, when my dad struggled hold him right, the twisting and turning might have done something bad.

I put him down and that's when he had trouble standing up straight. I help him out and he started eating hay right away, but he didn't go back into his house..he just laid there after eating. My dad said his stomach felt "stuffed up"? I can't quite translate what he said.

If he can't get to the water bottle on his own, should I put him down this Saturday?

 

[Shybandit]

Not sure if he has impaction, but he just has difficulty pushing his poo out.

Half the time, I think he's about to pass away, but then he perks up and wants food.

When he's still eating, drinking, asking for food (not as much as he used to): is it to early too euthanize him? He's not going to get any better. He's almost out of his steroids, which is not cheap if I recall correctly.


I don't want to prolong his suffering, but I'd feel like crap too if I put him down and turns out he had considerably more time left. Weeks ago, my vet said there's not much to do. I have a busy schedule plus city traffic eats up my a day a bit so I'm worried that it'll be too late to euthanize him.

What would you guys do in this situation? Owners here who have put their guinea pigs down, when was it the right time and why?


Thanks everyone.

 

[bpatters]

I always opt for putting an animal down when it's in pain that can't be managed, or has a condition that will lead to death and the quality of life is gone. They don't have any concept of time, and I think keeping them around for my benefit when they're miserable is just selfish on my part.

It's a hard decision to have to make. I'm sorry you're faced with it.