Tierza has Passed On

I have recently noticed her spine and hip area show the "bone(s)" - and never has appeared like that before. Also noticed that she breathes quicker than her siblings. She eats her Oxbow - but appears to eat slower than the others. Holds it normally w/ front paws. Absolutely devours baby cereals/food when given daily. I am trying to keep her weight up. Her belly appears to be pot bellied. DOn;t know if from eating so much baby food mixtures now or fluid retention.

My first thought is heart problems. :cry5: There is absolutely no, none, nada , zip lung or congestion sounds at all.

She, as well as the other 5 are approaching their 2nd birthday in March. Guess they are all considered "geriatric" now.

sounds like a vet visit is in order.
;-)

Here are some pics I took last night --
First pic is Tierza in the foreground w/ her sister Sarah to her left.
Second pic is a top view of Tierza.

Anyone's thoughts , welcomed. Yeah a vet visit is ideal - but cannot do that just yet.

Do you feel anything when you feel around her stomach? Have you looked at her teeth for overgrowth and/or smelled in her mouth for infection? With my heart boys I can hear there is a problem when ratphoning them, it sounds different from what the lungs do with a uri. Does she sound different from the others? Are you seeing any respiratory distress? Have you been weighing her to see if she is losing weight? My cardiac boys lose weight fast due to the rapid breathing.

... Have you noticed her pooping?

I would say the only remarkable things about her are:
more rapid breathing than the others & that pot belly.

I phoned them & they sound the same to me. Nothing remarkable there.
Now it appears that maybe Tierza's feet & ears are "paler" than the other ratties. But honestly I cannot say if she has always appeared that way or not.
Vixen: I am sure she is pooping cuz she eats her baby foods like a horse. She lives with her 2 sisters so no specific poops to identify.:laugh2:
She has not lost any evergy that I notice. I just wonder if she is retaining fluid?
911: Would it do any harm to give her some Lasix to see it if eases her breathing?

No lasix will not hurt just going to make her pee more so make sure she has water. If her breathing improves then you can pretty much lean toward cardiac.

dspch911 said:

No lasix will not hurt just going to make her pee more so make sure she has water. If her breathing improves then you can pretty much lean toward cardiac.

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Thanks! -- Looks like it does not come in liquid form. What are your experiences at dosing? I can get some from my dog's vet ( he knows about all my ratties ) - but I will have to calculate the proper dosage.

I get it in liquid form from my vet already mixed. Don't the ratio off hand but our dose is usually .1 to .15 ml

Of course my dog vet only had tablet form. Said he could order liquid for me though. So I took a 12.5mg tablet & dissolved in water & gave her .1ml.
I have to try something for now. I will be monitoring her to see if her breathing gets back to normal. I have seen much worse breathing than hers with Doodles my baby that had a PT. Her last 3 days she lost SO much weight due to very heavy breathing. Even though she ate baby foods well - it was as if she ate nothing. Poor girl - she looked like she had been starved to death when she passed. I miss her much.:heart: That's what makes my 6 babies so extra special as they came from her.

Was she checked for an abdominal tumour or any other abnormalities like enlarged organs like spleen? Her belly is pretty big yet, she's lost a lot of muscle mass.

Jorats: yeah - her extended belly worries me and you are dead on about the muscle mass loss.
She is very alert and active - except she does not eat her Oxbow as fast as the others, But her teeth look great. No smells coming from her mouth. She dives into any baby food mixture I put in front of her.
It sucks to just have lost my job that I started a little over a month ago! The company having financial & management problems.
I don't think the Lasix pill I dissolved can be given at the proper amount she needs. I am still wrecking my mind of what I can try for now.

Your girl looks exactly like my Ruby. When I had my kids in for a check, my vet took a look at her and we decided to do an ultrasound. She definitely has a heart murmur and is probably heading towards CHF (congestive heart failure), or is already there. We are now waiting for some Benazepril to come in to try. The swelling in the abdomen could be ascites. So the cause (CHF) needs to be treated.

Lasix will be needed if she has CHF. Perhaps this will help - this is the label on our bottle, but it was mixed for us. Westin got .10mL and his weight was 528 grams and Axe was getting .15mL and his weight was 548 grams both were twice a day.

Second picture is our bill under quantity it says 15 so perhaps that means 15 pills or whatever was crushed to make the bottle. Hope that helps. The enalapril is the heart med they, we'll now only Axe, is on.

Thanks for the pic - I appreciate that!

I have a tenative appt set for her Wednesday @ 3pm. The dissolved Lasix I have been giving does nothing. I just can't fiqure out what the h#ll is going on. The only reason I think I noticed the heavier brathing is becuz of the muscle mass loss. Maybe that is just due to old age - I dunno.
She has to be here March 31st to celebrate her 2nd B-day with the others!

2Rats said:

Thanks for the pic - I appreciate that!

I have a tenative appt set for her Wednesday @ 3pm. The dissolved Lasix I have been giving does nothing. I just can't fiqure out what the h#ll is going on. The only reason I think I noticed the heavier brathing is becuz of the muscle mass loss. Maybe that is just due to old age - I dunno.
She has to be here March 31st to celebrate her 2nd B-day with the others!

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Love the way the pictures posted - one you have to lay sideways to read and the other you had to stand on you head!!! tapatalk sucks for picture posting

Joanne said:

Your girl looks exactly like my Ruby. When I had my kids in for a check, my vet took a look at her and we decided to do an ultrasound. She definitely has a heart murmur and is probably heading towards CHF (congestive heart failure), or is already there. We are now waiting for some Benazepril to come in to try. The swelling in the abdomen could be ascites. So the cause (CHF) needs to be treated.

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I had to Google ascites. I had never heard that word before :rolleyes2:
Is Ruby on any meds right now for her condition?

I just started her on Benazepril last night, so I haven't noticed a change yet. She looks pretty sad!
Hopefully she will improve over the next few days.

Joanne said:

I just started her on Benazepril last night, so I haven't noticed a change yet. She looks pretty sad!
Hopefully she will improve over the next few days.

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Joanne: please keep us posted. Best healing vibes sent your way from all 6 of my ratties, my guinea pig & me !:lotsohearts:

Ruby's update: I came home after work and Ruby was extremely cold and her breathing was very slow. I tucked her up against my neck and snuggled her in my sweater for over an hour. When she warmed up her breathing increased. I force-fed her her second dose of Benazepril and then tucked her in a hammock with a warm water bottle. I syringe-fed her some baby food. I don't know if she will get better or if it's too late. I'm quite sure if I hadn't checked on her she would have died, from hypothermia if nothing else.