Open Pyometra - Rest in Peace Dipoiios

[lilspaz68]

OK that's fine then

 

[Joanne]

If her mouth smells bad, maybe she's got an infected tooth?

 

[Exodog]

So, I got a much better video, but my Mac can't access the files on my phone, and there's a reason I replaced my Dell to begin with ...
I'll try a little later to upload it again, but I can't promise any more videos at this point.

I took her out for a little toddle around, and the video, then got the majority of a dose of Metacam into her. I groomed some of the sputum off of her (as much as I could) as well as the porph she's gotten around her eyes (I think just plain stress caused that) with a moistened corner of a towel. The sputum smells a lot worse now, but I think that's because she had just coughed a little bit up. Is the scent of the sputum something I should be highly concerned about?
I put her back in the cage for now so that she can rest up, and it looks like the Metacam has knocked her right out. I'm glad that she can at least get a little shut-eye. I'm going to be trying quite carefully to make sure I don't wake her for a little while. :heart:


ETA: The vet did check her teeth, and didn't see anything out of the norm. I'll try to get a peek in there tomorrow just to be 100% sure, but I don't want to stress her out anymore today by shoving my fingers/q-tips in her face.

 

[Aida]

I hope she'll recover. D:

And Exodog, don't beat yourself up for not noticing sooner. We all know how stressfull it is to lose a rat. When my Charolette was dying, I didn't even glance at Matilda, and afterwards I became sooooo paranoid over her. I pretty much spent hours in front of her cage, assesing her every move and finding a trillion symptoms that I thought matched her. It turned out to be a mild upper respiratory infection. You just need to take a deep breath and try to take care of her calmly- she can feel your stress, and that just makes her even more scared.

 

[Exodog]

Thank you Aida. That really means a lot to me.

 

[Exodog]

She woke from her little nap, and now she's tucked into a towel on my lap, just resting and getting plenty of skritches from mommy. :heart:

 

[Exodog]

UPDATE:
Dipoiios had been very sluggish both in and out of the cage tonight, so when she crawled up to the cage door and slowly poked her nose through, looking directly at me, I knew she needed something. Badly.
I took her out and took a peek at her underside, noticing that there was a bit of discharge at her opening, but that it had dried. It suddenly dawned on me that this was very, very bad, and needed to be dissolved right away. With warm water and a towel, I gently cleared the dried discharge, and all of a sudden she started -oozing- quite a lot. This time, it smelled; somewhat foul, but not overpowering. Since that, I've been gently wiping at the discharge with a damp towel for her to ensure that it doesn't crust over like that again, as she doesn't really have the strength to groom herself in that area at the moment.
It seems as though she is hugely relieved though, because the first thing she did was just lay down, and close her eyes. I can't imagine all of that pressure (let alone from toxic fluids) was comfortable at all. She seems to be breathing easier as well, and I'm extremely glad I didn't go to bed when I wanted to, or I fear she would have gone septic in the night.
I am not a fan of these close calls =\

 

[Exodog]

Can anyone tell me why her saliva is thick and sticky?

ETA:
It's gross, but it's the same consistency of runny snot.

 

[lilspaz68]

Probably another infection, or she has an abscess in her mouth or she has a tumour in her throat.

She's not well and I think she's in a lot of pain from that fuzzy video you gave us.

So your vet said "don't worry about the saliva" and that was it? Vaginal infections are one thing...but saliva is where a rat BREATHES, and she can inhale this and get aspiration pneumonia or just plain drown if she inhales enough. *shakes head*

If she was mine, I would take her in to be humanely euthanized,

 

[Exodog]

When I was on chat last night there were several people who said that the saliva is probably due to something being caught in her throat. Is that a possibility?
I don't want her to go...

 

[Exodog]

I'm just waiting on a jump-start right now, then I'll be taking Dipoiios to the vet's.
I have been thinking more about it, and I know I feel that it's unfair for her to go, but it's even more unfair for me to ask her to stay if she's in pain.
She's been discharging quite a lot since last night, and this morning alone I have seen her pass about 3 "pellets" worth of discharge. Who knows how much she passed last night. I feel as though this pyometra is hollowing her from the inside out. =[
There is the distinct possibility that she will not be coming home with me today. As much as that tears me apart, I just want what's best for my baby.

 

[Joanne]

I think you may be making the right decision, tough though it may be. I would be worried she is septic already. In a healthy animal (rat, human, etc) nothing should smell really bad (poo should smell, but like poo). The discharge from her mouth IS important, maybe just as important as her other discharge. It may be kinder to let her go peacefully...

 

[mamarat]

:hugs:

 

[Exodog]

Dipoiios was PTS this morning at the vet's. It wasn't fair to make her suffer because I was scared. I held her when she went, and she looked very peaceful. It was my last gift to her, because I know anything else would have just caused her more pain.

Play hard at the bridge, my sweet girl, and say hello to all of your sisters for me. :heart:

 

[lilspaz68]

I am sorry... :sad3:

 

[SQ]

I am very sorry.
Glad for both of you that you were able to hold her

 

[Sharlees rattakisses]

:hugs: It's the best gift you could have given her.
Losing a rattie is so hard and watching them suffer breaks your heart.
:cuddle: Sweetheart.

 

[TheRatQueen]

Sorry for your loss. But it's better than the pain.

 

[mamarat]

So sorry.

 

[momofmany]

I'm so sorry for your loss! :hugs: As I said after Angele passed, her pain ending trumped my tears :sad3: