# The Final Decision - life or let her pass?!



## Stephanie76 (Nov 2, 2009)

Hi all,

Been a long time since I have posted on here. I am still the owner of 3 lovely hogs and they are still pampered beyond belief. 

My newest rescue, whom I took in from a Craigslist ad about a year ago, is not fairing so well. Her name is Boleyn (like Ann Boleyn) and she has made a rather drastic switch to not eating, period. We have tried treats, we have tried leaving the kibble by her in her sleeping bag, we have tried a selection of foods and putting them in piles to see if she favors one... and nothing. 
My husband and I started to notice that she wasn't touching her kibble on Monday morning. We right away started weighing her daily to measure the decline in weight. She is averaging a 6-7 grams a day loss. She started at 408 and is now 389. I get her out and have checked her belly region, checked the jaw region... no masses. I also notice that she will still get up to drink her water which really causes more confusion. 

With this rapid of a decline, my husband and I are thinking of possibly putting her down tonight as with her age (she is around 4 1/2 years old), treating her with any sort of antibiotics and possibly not seeing results would cause more suffering and I made that mistake with my last girl that passed (I waited too long, and I still live with that guilt). 

My question is, does this sound like old age just taking over or does this sound like there might be some tooth discomfort? She seems extremely disinterested in food -period. BUT, she will get up to get water after I have taken her out of her pen and smothered her with kisses (otherwise she does not move in her pen).


Anyone had similar situations?

Thank you,
Stephanie


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## hedgiebuddy (Jun 27, 2011)

Have you tried syringe feeding her? You can mix up some wet cat food and water and put that in a needle-less syringe. But this sounds like you need to get her to a vet ASAP if she still won't eat. I am by no means an expert, so hopefully a breeder will come by soon like Nancy. Keeping her in my prayers!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

She needs to be syringe fed. What type of food has she been eating? If hard kibble it is very likely too hard for her to crunch at her age which is very common. You can try dampening her kibble to see if that helps.

She may have a mouth issue so a vet visit would be a good idea. Also, I've found sometimes the elders will decide not to eat and need a bit of persuasion. My Lucy is doing that right now. She eats fine for a few weeks, then quits. I syringe her for a few nights and she goes back to eating again. Try syringe feeding her and see if her appetite kicks back in.


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## Stephanie76 (Nov 2, 2009)

I syringe fed my last girl who eventually passed on. I just am arguing the stress it going to cause her. If old age is taking her, I feel it is not wise of me to make her last days not so great... I think the passing of my last really weighed heavy on me as I should of let her go a few days before I did and I fear there was suffering due to that poor decision. 

Thanks for the advice. She will be seeing a vet tonight, and I am hoping it is something that can be easily adjusted without making her quality of life poor.


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2011)

Stephanie76 said:


> I syringe fed my last girl who eventually passed on. I just am arguing the stress it going to cause her. If old age is taking her, I feel it is not wise of me to make her last days not so great... I think the passing of my last really weighed heavy on me as I should of let her go a few days before I did and I fear there was suffering due to that poor decision.
> 
> Thanks for the advice. She will be seeing a vet tonight, and I am hoping it is something that can be easily adjusted without making her quality of life poor.


I believe Nancy gets that, however it may not be her time to go and from what I understand after a few days of not eating they need syringe feeding to jump-start them into wanting to eat on their own again because of those days of not eating makes them feel so icky.

4 1/2 years is old ages for a hedgie still it may not be her time just because she's refusing to eat, hopefully the vet can give you something that will help resolve it if nothing can be done then I suppose that will be the option to take.

Like Nancy said is her food softened or soft? As they get older they tend to have issues with kibble as it is and need to be moved to a soft food diet as Nancy mentioned


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

It's emotionally hard to make decisions when the loss of another is still fresh in your mind. Only you know what is best for your pet...and have to live with your actions. We all know the right answers by intuition. Having fostered many senior palliative care animals I know it is never easy. You are left feeling "what if i had done this that or whatever" Or "Why didn't I let them go before this that or the other happened" there is no winning...sigh. 

I have found personally that giving them every opportunity I possibly could to rally back always left me feeling that I did the right thing even if I still ended up having to let them go in the end. I once syringe fed a 140# dog with diabetic ketoacidosis for nearly a month until we got her insulin injection levels correct...nearly every day I questioned if this was the right thing to do but she plugged along with me. (It took me 11 years to get this dog out of a breeders hands living in filth and I was NOT going to allow her to die without having seriously been loved) She lived another 2 years very happily hoggin my bed but boy was it a rough go when she was real sick  Another 14 y/o bratty old very proud (NEVER excepting help on stairs or ANY lame old dog stuff lol) foster of mine would not eat for 3 days and when she let me carry her up the stairs after a pee because she just couldn't make it...I knew she was DONE. I respected her too much to allow her anything less then to go in complete dignity her way. Every pet is so very different in how we know what is right for them. 

Hugs & healing thoughts


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## Stephanie76 (Nov 2, 2009)

I decided to come home and look at her once more to really see if she would let me know what to do. She wiggled in my hands and wanted to walk around despite being quite wobbly due to lethargy. Too much energy still left in this one, so I think she was letting me know she isn't ready to go. 

I decided to explore the tooth/mouth problem possibility but didn't know if *I* would be able to discern anything by looking with my untrained eye. Sure enough, I pushed up her little snout and saw on one of her front teeth, a patch of dried blood. She has an AM appointment tomorrow with the vet. In the meantime, I ran over to my local vet to start the whole a/d routine. 

Boleyn surprisingly took the a/d quite well. My Leroux and Pequop did not like a/d one bit, so I am relieved that she is making this round a bit easier. I managed to get about 2 cc's in her on the first attempt. I will do another feeding before I hit the sheets.

Should I do one in the middle of the night Nanc?

Thank you all for your advice. I really really appreciate it.


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

That's great news!  Nancy may already be in bed not sure, I would say yes for sure to the middle of the night feeding.


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## Herisson (Jan 7, 2009)

LarryT said:


> That's great news!  Nancy may already be in bed not sure, I would say yes for sure to the middle of the night feeding.


I would also offer a middle of the night feeding. I'm sorry to hear you are going through another difficult situation. (((hugs)))


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## Stephanie76 (Nov 2, 2009)

Thanks you two. *hugs*


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

I'm so sorry Bolyn is having a hard time. Tooth pain is so painful. It sounds like you are taking great care of her. I'm glad she's eating the A/D. Hang in there. Praying for you guys and sending Hedgie Hugs to you.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Yes to middle of the night feeding. I usually go by how much the hedgehog has eaten as to when I give the next syringing. If only 2-3 mls, then I syringe again in 1 or 2 hours. I try to get enough in them during the day that I don't have to get up multiple times at night to feed. You will probably find that as she gets used to syringing, she will eat more per session. What size of syringe are you using? I have both 1ml and 10 ml sizes and find for most, the 10 ml works best. Often they just get going and the 1ml is empty. Having to take it out of their mouth and reload, frequently will make them loose interest. 

If there is nothing obvious wrong with her mouth when at the vet, don't rule mouth issues out. Often their old jaws just get weak and they no longer have the strength to crunch the food. Also, trying to crunch the food with weak jaws will sometimes cause cuts and sores as they move the food around in their mouth. 

A heating pad under her cage might give her a bit of a boost right now even if she isn't feeling cool. Wrap it in towels so there is just a slight amount of heat. Often the oldies like extra heat anyways. 

I hope the vet visit goes well.


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## Stephanie76 (Nov 2, 2009)

Boleyn was just laid to rest this morning. After numerous feedings throughout the night, she still managed to drop another 10 grams in 24 hours and continued to weaken. I was up in 3 hour sequences throughout the night to feed her and saw her struggling to move around in the wee hours of the morning. I then made the decision that the quality of life was very poor and decided to help her cross. 


Thank you all again, for your words of comfort and knowledge.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

I'm so sorry.


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## KathyTNY (Jan 21, 2011)

(((((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))))))) Let me just say here and now, only YOU can make the decision you did. You rallied, you tried and you did your best ....everything filled with love. In my very newbie humble opinion...... I think you did the right thing. I just had to go thru this with my 16 year old feline baby and I was selfish for about three days ---- I did NOT want to let her go....... her kidneys had shut down and I tried everything and the vet said I would know the time when she had to be put down. I knew and finally I pushed my selfish heart out of the way and helped her cross over to the other side. I gave her strick instructions to wait for me! That was back in July and I still cry a couple tears thinking about her final days. Very dark days for sure.

I have an older rehomed pog and she is a sweetheart.............I will serve and love her as long as she is happy and healthy.......... It is never an easy decision to let them go.

((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))
KathyTNY


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

So sorry
Hugs Larry


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Oh, I'm so sorry. That is one of the most difficult decisions in life. It's heartbreaking to see someone you love go through so much pain. I'm so sorry for your loss. Hang in there. Praying for you and your family.

Hugs.

Rainy, Harvey and Izzy


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

RIP little Boleyn


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I'm so sorry. 

Hugs


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