Animal Lovers Web Blog

Trouble, our Syrian hamster, became increasingly unwell over the weekend.  He didn’t seem to be eating much food and his mobility was becoming very compromised by his hugely swollen abdomen.  Every time he woke up, he couldn’t open his eyes and we had to bathe them regularly to try and help him to see.

It seemed inevitable that Trouble would have to be put to sleep and, with a heavy heart, an appointment was made at our vets last night.  We made Trouble a comfy home inside a cardboard box for his last journey and, chocking back the tears, popped him into the car.

The vet was very understanding and a familiar face to us.  He knew Trouble and his health problems very well and felt that it was the right time for us to say our goodbyes.  No matter how many times people say that “You’re doing the right thing” or “Well, he’s had a good life” - the pain of making the decision to have your beloved pet put to sleep feels very raw, with your heart and head pulling in very different directions.

Trouble died very quickly once he had his injection and he looked so peaceful and calm, it was hard not to think that he was just asleep.  The vet placed him back in his carry box and we took him home. 

The evening hours were difficult for us.  Trouble lay in his box and, as we stroked him, we chatted about all the memorable things that had made him OUR special little boy.  In between crying and laughing we realised just how special Trouble was and the important place that he had within our family.

Trouble spent the night in Laura’s bedroom next to her bed and today we buried him in a memorial garden so that we will always have a special place to remember our beautiful Syrian hamster. Sleep tight sweet one, we will always love you xxx

Diane
Animal Lovers Web.com

Trouble our Syrian hamster is starting to show increasingly worrying signs of his advancing years. For a couple of months now he has suffered from very swollen testicles and we were aware that his old age was starting to catch up with him. Visits to the vets had reassured us to some extent that there really was no active treatment that would relieve his symptoms anymore and that he just needed lots of our love and cuddles so that he could enjoy the twilight years of his life.

Over the past couple of weeks, Trouble has developed a distended abdomen, to such a degree that we have now had to remove the tubing from his cage and make sure that he couldn’t get into any tight spots, as it’s difficult for him to turn around very well. Trouble doesn’t appear to be in any pain and his abdomen, although very large, feels soft. We suspect that he may have ascites, which is a collection of fluid in the peritoneal cavity, commonly associate with liver failure and tumours. It may be that Trouble has developed secondary disease due to his testicular probems.

Trouble still comes out to see us and he seems to enjoy his daily exercise in the hamster pen and has certainly not lost his appetite! We were worried however that he could in pain and so we took him to the vets yesterday for a full health check. The vet was very kind and empathic to our concerns and understood that we really don’t want Trouble to suffer. Obviously, we would rather not have him euthanized but felt that a professional opinion was needed to guide us. The vet confirmed our suspicions to the cause of Trouble’s problems. He did not feel that there were any treatments that would help to alleviate any of his symptoms and that really it was just a matter of time before Trouble would pass away.

Fortunately, our vet agreed with us that Trouble was still well enough to come home provided that we kept a close eye on him. If there is any deterioration in his health e.g. loss of appetite, weight or signs of distress, then we will have to reconsider Trouble’s future and make some difficult choices.

It was with mixed feelings that we came home with Trouble, knowing that this will be our last Christmas with him. We can only hope that he manages to live that long. He really is such a lovely, placid little boy hamster, who won’t be short on love and affection in the last few weeks of his life.

Diane
Animal Lovers Web.com