Valedictions Furfur

[tcpip]

In April 2010 I encountered a angora guinea pig running along the side of the road after dark. Rescuing said critter, he was named Furfur, after the demonic Earl. In November however it was apparaent that he'd lost a great deal of weight and had developed a malocclusion. We arranged for his back teeth to be ground down and for the past two months we'd kept on a steady diet of things he would and could eat, along with quite a lot of critical care, most of which applied by caseopaya who did a champion job over the past two months keeping him fed and in company. The poor critter - already very thin - just didn't gain any weight however, and indeed, he started losing it further. He was happy, playful, and very social (and even with our cat), but you can tell that he was hungry and just not getting better.

On Sunday morning we took him to the vet, put him to sleep, and then he received a lethal injection. I feel absolutely terrible about this, but there really was nothing that could be done. Malocclusions are a genetic defect, and short of having Furfur getting his back teeth ground back every couple of months, the problem was going to keep on returning. At this point his quality of life was still very high - but was about to decline and continue to do so. So, valedictions Furfur, a surprisingly chatty, friendly, and playful little foundling guinea pig, which contributed much amusement and pleasure to our household.

Comments

[sebastianne.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear of your loss, currently in the same boat with my eldest cat and still don't know what to do- such a hard decision to make! :(

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Really does depend so much on what their current state is and what it's likely to become. I think poor Fur had just crossed the border where he was really feeling his disease - he started to refuse critical care, although he would munch on nectarine, bread, and corn. But he just wasn't improving.

[sebastianne.livejournal.com]

Her state is never going to get better, needs permanent medication (cortisone) and even then she is still in some pain when she eats which is the only activity she has ever liked apart from sleeping, so it's hard to judge where her quality of life is at.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, that's a tricky one. Does she still sleep comfortably?

[sebastianne.livejournal.com]

Seems to, she's never been playful or active (traumatised rescue kitten) so spends most her time sleeping or lying on her bed :)