Open Pyometra - Rest in Peace Dipoiios

[Exodog]

Yesterday morning, Neon lost her long battle against resp. issues.
During the course of her issues, I focused most of my attention on her, and because of that, I failed to notice the earlier, and progressing warning signs that something was very wrong with her sister.
Today, I noticed that Dipoiios was acting a little funny, so I took a closer look at her...
Unfortunately, there was a darkish vaginal discharge, and after a visit to the vet, we've found out that she has an open pyometra (a bacterial infection of the uterus).
She's been put on Enrofloxacin, but at this point, it is basically palliative care. She's far too old to be put under for surgery, not to mention the fact that I could barely afford the surgery she would need, even with my vet money stashed away.
At this point, my main concern is her comfort, because I hate to see her suffer.
I'm also kind of kicking myself, because I haven't been on the shack since I got my new computer, and failed to see recommendations for a second opinion on a thread about her weight. I know that I could have done more had I caught this earlier, and I feel like such a bad rat mom. I think that she was putting up a strong face for her sister while she was deteriorating, and now that Neon is gone and she's the only one of her sisters left, I feel she's kind of stopped fighting it so much.
One of my biggest questions now, is if it would be a help or a hinderance to get Togan (my neutered male) into the same cage as her to make her feel less alone. Would it stress her too much? Would it just be nice to have someone to snuggle with and groom her?
Please, any advice on how to ease her discomfort is very much appreciated. I love my little babies, and I feel so so so bad that I didn't realize something was seriously wrong sooner.

 

[lilspaz68]

Does the discharge smell foul or is she bleeding vaginally?

it could be a simple infection that the baytril might take care of. I would definitely try your neutered boy with her...could be a love match, you just don't know

 

[Exodog]

My vet did a smear and checked it under the microscope - it's definitely an open pyometra.
The worst part is that I even saw some of the discharge around the cage the other week during a cleaning, but I chalked it up to either Neon having a little extra liquid in her poop; it didn't look at all like blood. I had no idea what it was =[

 

[lilspaz68]

bacteria is bacteria, but it may not be in her uterus, more like her vaginal canal, etc. Or it could be from being old and not keeping herself clean down there like she used to. Some old ladies get this, and sometimes the discharge is this startling bright green.

 

[Exodog]

The discharge is a deep brown colour.

Right now, she's hopping around on my bed a little bit.

 

[lilspaz68]

What does it smell like and how old is she?

 

[Exodog]

She's minimum 24 months or more, and she's not discharging right now, but the residue she has on her doesn't smell particularly like anything.

 

[lilspaz68]

Then its not so bad probably. A really bad infection smells like dead fish and rotten eggs combined. We shall hope she's just aging, and needs the baytril for a mild infection.

 

[Exodog]

The Baytril and Enro are the same thing, right?

 

[jorats]

I had a very old girl with pyometra of the stump. It took over 3 months of baytril and it finally cleared. The discharge was also very darkish/brown/green.
I would try her out with your neutered male, you'll be able to tell early on if it's too stressful on her.

 

[lilspaz68]

The Baytril and Enro are the same thing, right?

Enrofloxacin is the drug, Baytril by Bayer is the brand name.

 

[Exodog]

Perfect, I thought Enrofloxacin and Baytril were the same thing, I just think my vet might carry a different brand, because I've never heard them call it Baytril there before.

Her and Togan are well acquainted from being in the same room for at least 6 months now, as well as out-of-cage playtime. I had Togan on the floor for a little bit, but he was being kind of pushy and she seemed to want to get away from him. I'll do more and more floor sessions in the next few days as she gains a little more strength, and see how she reacts after a little more consistent one-on-one interaction. I know she's a very territorial girl, so I'm not too sure how well she'll react to him in her cage, but we'll take it one step at a time.

Also, she has a mucousy sputum coming out of her mouth, but I think that might be from the obsessive grooming she's been doing over the last 12-24 hours, as well as the stress she's bound to be feeling by being alone for the first time in her life. My vet said that the sputum is the least of the worries at the moment, and that getting her the Enro is just about the best thing I can do at the time being. Are there any strong disagreements with this, or does it sound about right?

 

[lilspaz68]

is she choking at all?

Can you smell her mouth and see if it smells nasty?

 

[Exodog]

She doesn't look to be choking; it looks more as though she's "clearing her throat" kind of. It's hard to explain. I'll try to grab a video and I'll give her a sniff while I do so.

 

[Exodog]

I got a video, but I'm having a hard time getting it onto my computer. Her sputum smells kind of ick, but not horrible.
I'll upload the video as soon as I get it working.

 

[Exodog]

Okay, so the video is finally on my computer and uploaded. The quality is horrible, I apologize.
[BBvideo 425,350:1lxqknfp]http://s391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Kaleo-/?action=view&current=Video-0006.mp4[/BBvideo:1lxqknfp]

I double-checked, and her sputum does smell a little worse now. I'm thinking of giving her a dose of Metacam to take the edge off of her discomfort. Good or bad idea?

Edit to add:
I really don't like the little hunch she goes into like that. I think she may be in a bit of pain when she does that =[

 

[lilspaz68]

Any way to do another video of her out of the cage? The bars confuse a lot of the image...she does look very uncomfortable and metacam will help that. Just make sure she doesn't choke when you give it to her.

She's a very very old 2 from the little I could see.

 

[Exodog]

24 months was a very rough estimate. I they were anywhere between 3-6 months when I first got them, but there's no real way to be sure. That was in March 2 years ago now.

I'll try to get another video of her, but right now she's retreated into the safety of her igloo to rest up. when she ventures out again I will give her a dose of metacam and do my best to get a video of her staying still.

 

[lilspaz68]

24 months was a very rough estimate. I they were anywhere between 3-6 months when I first got them, but there's no real way to be sure. That was in March 2 years ago now.

I'll try to get another video of her, but right now she's retreated into the safety of her igloo to rest up. when she ventures out again I will give her a dose of metacam and do my best to get a video of her staying still.

No we need a video of her now, before the metacam makes her sleepy or reduces any symptoms.

 

[Exodog]

Oh I'll get the video before I give it to her, I just meant I'll wait until she comes out to do it.