[Gpdd] Health: Doris Not Eating (Sorry --- Pretty Long)

[pat schuett]

Hello all you wise piggie people out there,
 
My sweet little elderly piggie Doris has gone into a bit of a decline.  She had been eating well and was remarkably active for a piggie of her age (as near as I can tell, she is somewhere close to seven years old), bustling about and always the first to yank the cucumber slice out of my hand or demand a second blueberry when everyone else was only getting one.
 
On Sunday, though. she ate breakfast well but would not touch her supper salad plate.  She had taken her afternoon cucumber with the usual enthusiasm, but when I checked, she'd left most of it uneaten in her pigloo.  Over the evening, she began to look very bad, lying on her side (which she never does) with a dull look in her eye.  I was afraid she was going to leave me right then, so I gave her some metacam in case she was in pain and moved a little space heater into the pig room to keep her extra warm.
 
After a while, she began to perk up a little and lay down in her usual position, greeting the other piggies when they came over to visit.  She still would not eat anything but seemed more comfortable and alert.  Monday morning, she ate a bit of her salad plate but wouldn't finish it and ignored her usual favourite snack offerings like red pepper.  She didn't seem to be drinking so I syringe-fed her some water-soaked pellets with babyfood sweet potato mostly for the liquid and added a bit of infant simethicone in case she had gas (which they often seem to get when their digestive system is more empty than usual).
 
I was really torn about whether or not to take her to the vet since the one I go to for the  pigs is not very experienced with small animals (there really is not anyone local who specializes in small animals), but I called the vet in the afternoon and it happened to be very quiet in the clinic so I did end up taking Doris over.  The vet really could not see anything particular amiss, as I suspected would happen.  No tumors or sensitivity anywhere she could feel, nothing that made her suspect an infection (Doris has been prone to UTIs in the past but never stopped eating because of one).  Doris was her usual feisty self, objecting strenuously to the vet being so overly familiar with her person and refusing entirely to co-operate with the molar exam.  So we went home again. 
 
Over the evening, she began to look worse again so I gave her more metacam and syringe -fed her twice.  Again, she perked up a bit after a few hours but is not eating on her own more than a bite of any one thing and often not even one bite.  
 
She is still pooping but the poops are softer than usual, (which I guess would be to be expected since she normally eats a lot of hay and I have not seen her eat any since this began).  She is being fairly co-operative about the syringe feeding, though it's very slow going since she has to chew each tiny mouthful very thoroughly and I have to keep the bowl in a pan of warm water so it doesn't cool off before we finish.
 
So, what to do next?  The vet suggested I bring Doris back for an x-ray if she didn't improve, but I'm undecided about that since the vet couldn't point to anything particular she was hoping to learn from this.  I am tempted to just continue as I am doing, trying to keep Doris warm and comfortable and get some minimum of food and liquid into her as long as it doesn't seem to be upsetting her.  
 
As usual, it would be so good and so helpful to hear YOUR thoughts on this ---- Doris is the oldest piggie I've ever had so this is new territory for me.  Her friend Audrey (who was the same age) died last spring, going downhill very quickly and dying less than 48 hours from the first sign of illness.   
 
Doris is one of those really special piggies, the first one who really showed me what a deep relationship you could have with one of these complicated little creatures. I would do anything I could to keep her going if she will continue to enjoy life, but I know that realistically, she does not have a lot of time left regardless of what I do, and I'm wary of going for any aggressive medical treatment just for the sake of doing something.  
 
Please, any thoughts???
 
                                                                                   Pat S.