Cookie the #GuineaPig Passed Away Unexpectedly

   The other day I wanted to share something that happened at the house but my body had other plans. I ended up spending the weekend in bed not able to do much. I am getting better now but those setbacks really suck. 

   I was in the kitchen cleaning the kitty dishes after their breakfast and I had set the rag down when I could have swore I heard Cinnamon. He had a wheek that I will never forget. I stopped dead in my tracks. I brushed it off, Cinnamon is gone. 

  I reached in the fridge to grab a RC when I heard it again. He could see the kitchen from his cage and anytime we got near the refrigerator, he would start hollering wanting his veggies. I thought maybe Cookie was making sounds like him now so I didn't think nothing of it. I talked to her a little and I went in the front room to sit down. 

  All of a sudden, she started whistling with excitement. I jumped up expecting to see Davy messing with her but he was sleeping on the chair beside me, the dogs were laying on the floor and Molly Mew was outside. Cookie was standing up on her cage sides looking toward the wall. She would get down and run around her cage then stand back up and whistle some more. 

What the heck did she see?? 

  My first thought was she seen a mouse or something. I looked around. I didn't see anything. I checked on Molly but she was laying on the patio. I figured she seen a bird out the window or something. I took her out of her cage to let her run around thinking maybe she needed to stretch her legs. 

  She starts running around like she is looking for something. I asked her if she was okay. Yes, I stood there waiting for her to answer me but she didn't. I decided I would take her outside for a little while. She went out, walked around her garden area and plopped down. 

A eerie feeling came over me. 

 

  I decided to keep an eye on her. Maybe she was feeling lonely and it was time for me to think about getting her a buddy. I didn't need another guinea pig but if it was what she needed to be happy then I would reach out to some rescues and find another guinea pig. She seem to be find that night and the concerned feeling I had disappeared. 

  Friday I noticed that she was laying around and not active. I set up the play area in the front room for social/family time. The cats, dogs and her all get to socialize together. She got in her box and nibbled some mint and wasn't moving around a whole lot. 

  Saturday morning I got up to feed my crew and I noticed none of her food was eaten. UH OH, that isn't like Cookie. My MOM-Sensors went off in my head. Why would she not be eating?? I was barely able to stand up for long so I grabbed a blankie and Cookie and we went to my room to pile up in the bed. I put a pee pee pad under her blanket and turned on the tv. We hung out together all day. She ate a little food and drank some water. Everything seemed fine but I was still on alert. She had a slight odor to her. Nothing major but it was being monitored. 

Cookie hanging out in her blanket

  Sunday morning I checked and she hadn't ate. I heard her straining to move her bowels. Could it be CONSTIPATION? A apple can help that. She wouldn't eat it. I decided to put her in the sink and let her soak a little. That always helped Cinnamon when he would get a little backed up. She seemed to enjoy the bath. She finally got some stools out and they looked fine. Right texture, size, etc.. I figured that had to help her feel better. We hung out for the day and that night I put her in her cage and I went to bed. 

  I woke up Monday morning and I checked on her first thing. She hadn't ate or drank and she felt hot. She had a sickly odor to her. I checked and  there was no stools in her cage. I had cleaned the cage out the night before in order to monitor her output. The cage was as clean as it was when I changed the bedding. I put her in a box with a blanket so I could monitor her. I couldn't get her to drink. I had a idea of what might be wrong with her but I am not a vet or a vet tech. After a few hours of seeing no pee, I called the vet's office. They told me to bring her right in. 

I took her in and Dr. Mercer examined her. He decided before doing any treatment we needed a x-ray to see if it was constipation or something else. Unfortunately, it was something else. 

 

  Dr. Mercer used a syringe to pull urine out of the bladder in order for the kidneys to start working again. They gave her a shot for pain and a antibiotic. Surgery was scheduled for the morning. 

  I thought about setting up a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for everything. She was only 2 years old which meant she had a few more years. I haven't seen the bill yet from the trips we took today to the vet. I had to take her in to have her bladder suctioned out. I will not get those screams out of my head for a while or the look on her face like "WHY??" It has been a emotional day seeing my Cookie Monsure in such pain. 

  I checked on her and she was resting. She wouldn't even look at me. She is upset with me. I went to the bathroom and went back to see if I could get her to drink. 

  She looked at me, let out a soft wheek and was gone. I lost my sweet Cookie. 

It isn't easy. I have wrote this post through the tears so if there are misspelled words, I apologize. 

  I will be writing about guinea pig stones and the warning signs this week. I had a happy , what  I thought was healthy guinea pig who one day had a stone go into the urethra and within a couple of days lost her life. 

  I believe in my heart the noises I heard was Cinnamon. Cookie being so excited to see what she seen was him coming to get her. 

Now they are together in the guinea pig garden in the sky. 

Thank you for visiting today. 

Comments are always appreciated.