soapdragon Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 (edited) This afternoon, after an emergency visit to the vet's, I ended up trying to syringe 0.1ml of anti inflammatory medicine into an extremely small, very old, extremely hacked off and wriggly Dwarf hamster. Even the very best education doesn't prepare you for that - not that I had the best eduaction!! ES, YS and OH were NO HELP AT ALL as they were too busy laughing! (Mind you, it was nice to come away from the vet with a live hamster; usually when I take them they come home, very still, in a decorated matchbox ) Set me to wondering; has anyone else had one of those 'Oh for goodness sake, how did I end up doing this?' moments? Not just with pets but life in general! Edited March 18, 2017 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Due one today m"dear. i am going to be injecting a ginger tom with 50mls saline later. See my thread in other animals. Like my victims less wriggly too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Just finished said job - saline everywhere and air bleu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted March 23, 2017 Author Share Posted March 23, 2017 On a more serious note, sadly the anti inflamatory stuff didn't work and its back again this afternoon to the Vet. I strongly suspect I'll be purchasing a one way ticket to the wheel in the sky (or should that be far flung corner of the back garden ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmashazzie Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Aw hope there's good news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted March 23, 2017 Author Share Posted March 23, 2017 RIP Apple. At least the vet let me hold her whilst she injected her and whilst she drifted off. ES and I have just buried her in her home made coconut bed. I am 52 and bawl my eyes out every time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmashazzie Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Poor you, it is always a sad time,and while you know you're doing the right thing it's very difficult. RIP Apple Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Millie-Annie Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Run free Apple, in the big hamster wheel in the sky xxxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Sorry to hear it RIP Apple Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted March 29, 2017 Author Share Posted March 29, 2017 The vet said that she could feel a lump in the abdomen and the poor little thing was having trouble with her back legs so the thinking is the tumour was pressing on the spine and curtailing movement. Poor Apple...she went down hill very quickly. We have lost all three dwarf Russians to cancers of one kind or another....they must be particularly succeptible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 All small furries seem to develop lumps, particularly rats. Not sure why but I'd guess it's because they have a shorter life span and age so much quicker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 In rats I understand that the line they come from has a very small gene pool, essentially creating inbreeding as they are hardly bred with wild rats. Same must go for hamsters I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 Lewis and Cat Tails...that's interesting! All our hammys have been quite long lived (for the species anyway) at 2 years old plus so probably equivalent to 100 odd for humans. I think that our two Chines hamsters (brothers in the same cage) must be 3 now - they were rescue and we were told that they were 6 months old when we got them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Things I didn't expect to find myself doing ... picking up mouse poo to examine it. I have befriended an elderly lady, I pop in for a cuppa every so often (as well as taking her out to tea once a month with Contact the Elderly) and she sometimes asks for help with things she can't do herself. Today I put her bathroom curtains back on the hooks they'd slipped off, and then she mentioned that she thinks she might have a mouse in the bedroom and pointed out some dark spots on the floor. My eyesight isn't great close-to, so I got down on the floor and then it was a choice between putting my head on the carpet or picking up a bit to check (I wasn't sure if it was some sort of beetle infestation without checking). Nope - it's definitely mouse poo. She's deciding whether to get a trap - which I don't think she will be able to pick up and open herself to dispose of any that are caught - or some bait boxes. At 95, there isn't much that fazes her! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted April 2, 2017 Author Share Posted April 2, 2017 Could anyone lend her a cat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
