Our girl Cherry has taken ill and has lost some of her appetite

Post Reply
duskern

Post   » Fri Apr 17, 2020 6:23 pm


Since I last wrote some more bad stuff has happened. Cherry slowly started eating less. We found out she had pus leaking from the wound the vet made under her chin. We initially thought it was just the wound closing that had this kind of crust, but we later saw fresh pus that was leaking from the wound.

We took her to the vet on the 16th and they did some surgery again. They cleaned the root channel, or something like that, and found out that some hay may have gotten into the channel. They gave her a couple of stitches there to keep it closed and reopened the wound under her chin to make a way for pus to come out.

She was very tired from being drugged from the surgery. We are giving here pain meds and antibiotics as well as Critical care and Fibreplex. So far she haven't been doing that well. She is not really eating yet, except for a few small leaves of leaf celery that I've found out she would take. Haven't seen her eat anything else, not even hay. This is her 4th surgery in the last 1.5 months, so I'm still hoping she will snap out of it and start to get better.

If she isn't doing better come Monday, I really fear this is goodbye :( I can't begin to express how unlucky I feel we have been with her. I love her so much, and this was not in any way how I was hoping our time with her would end :(

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Fri Apr 17, 2020 7:04 pm


Oh no, poor little girl. I'm awfully sorry. Was this a very lengthy procedure? I would have expected it to be relatively quick and straightforward, so it's indeed concerning that she would have issues with the anesthesia. What is the pain med and which antibiotic are you giving her now, and at what dosage? What is her current weight? How much and how often are you handfeeding her? Is she drinking at all on her own, or are you giving her fluids?

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Fri Apr 17, 2020 7:34 pm


That poor pig. Hoping for the best.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Apr 17, 2020 9:52 pm


I am so sorry you are both struggling through this. I so hoped there would be a good outcome.

duskern

Post   » Sat Apr 18, 2020 8:19 am


I am still hoping for the best and have been slightly optimistic today. She has been eating a little bit on her own today, some salad and some pellets. I'm not sure how lengthy the procedure was, but as she was stitched in her mouth, I think that's what's causing the problems for her, but ofc I'm not sure. The pain meds is 0.15ml Loxicom (1.5mg/ml Meloxicam), morning and night. The antibiotics are 0.7ml Baytril once pr day. I think her current weight is around 950g. We are currently giving her 3ml critical care every 3 hours. We also give her 1ml of fibreplex twice pr day, and then I only give her 2ml of critical care so it adds up to 3 ml in total. I do that not to fill her up completely so there's a chance she might eat something. She is not really drinking on her own. We are not giving her any fluids, but there's of course some water in critical care.

Any advice?

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Apr 18, 2020 9:28 am


Continue to weigh her at least once or even twice a day and adjust Critical Care upward if you are seeing loss (there will be minor variations - try to be regular in your timing of weighing). I think you are aware that often Baytril causes inappetence. Hopefully you will still be able to bring her around.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sat Apr 18, 2020 9:32 am


I'd just make sure she stays well-hydrated in addition to getting enough CC and hay in her system. You can syringe water to her periodically throughout the day. The Metacam dose is a little on the higher side, as it is being given twice a day vs. q24, but hopefully it's doing a good job of managing pain.

Reminder to give the probiotic roughly an hour after the Baytril.

duskern

Post   » Sat Apr 18, 2020 10:40 am


I was actually not aware that Baytril could cause inappetence. She is not really a fan of going over the 3ml of CC. Our vet recommended not giving more than 3ml to help her get some appetite back and make her eat. They argument is that if she is already full from getting CC she is less likely to start eating on her own. We are currently giving her Fibreplex twice a day and in the morning it's 3 hours after Baytril.

Our vet didn't mention anything about keeping her hydrated and a fried warned me that giving a pig water in a syringe, it was likely to get into the lungs. She isn't really eating any hay as it is right now. Mostly she is just sitting in hiding. She did eat a bit of leaf celery earlier.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sat Apr 18, 2020 12:32 pm


If she isn't eating well on her own, you must handfeed her and weigh daily (at the same time of day) to make sure she's getting enough food in her system to keep her gut moving and to keep her weight on. She has been ill and has had the trauma of repeated procedures, and her body is trying to recover. This isn't a simple matter of just being a picky eater. So I would disagree about feeding her only a small amount of CC and then expecting her to try to eat more on her own. If she has to choose between lying around vs. eating while she is weak and doesn't feel like eating, she will choose to stay in her hidey.

Also, if she isn't drinking well on her own and she's not getting a lot of Critical Care, there is the potential for her to become dehydrated--which will make her feel even worse. It also puts additional load on her kidneys while she's on an NSAID. You give fluids orally the same way as the Critical Care: via 1cc syringe, with the syringe pushed past the front teeth towards the back teeth and at a slight angle. If you do it slowly, a little bit at a time, it will be fine. You only need to worry about aspiration if you're pushing too much fluid or CC at a time or delivering it too forcefully/quickly.

Her best chance at recovery is going to be you ensuring that she is getting adequate nutrition, fluids and pain management until she feels up to eating more on her own. '

User avatar
ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Sat Apr 18, 2020 2:00 pm


If she has a little interest in leafy veggies, you might try feeding a little CC, then give her a leafy veggie that has been dipped in water to help with hydration. This worked for my pig when she was ill. It helped to keep her hydrated, but it also helped me know she was swallowing the CC properly.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sat Apr 18, 2020 5:41 pm


Good suggestion. I have done that; rinsed off veggies and put them in a bowl while still dripping wet.

duskern

Post   » Sun Apr 19, 2020 7:17 am


She actually ate a bit on her own last night. She took some hay, carrot tops, carrot, leaf celery, salad and a bit of cucumber as well as some pellets. She has been eating a bit today as well. She seems a little better today than yesterday. Also, when I give the pigs food I always make this kissing sound when I call from them. She's quite often really alert when this happens, and often comes running to the cage opening, stands up with her front paws on the edge of the cage to try to get a hold of the food. It seems she's pretty interested in food, but she doesn't always want to eat it when she finds out what I'm bringing.

Post Reply