[Gannyaan]

Hello everyone...

With the death of three pets this semester, a bunch of other stressful things, and now another one of my girls has been diagnosed with cancer, and two new additions, I need help in making a good decision for all my babies... My head is fuzzy...

Snow (~1.5 yrs old PEW) was diagnosed yesterday with cancer (the vet saw a mass) she has some light bleeding as well. She is acting normally, but I realize that she will need to be put down...

The question is when. It's only her and one other girl, paisley. After snow is put to rest, my other girl paisley will have lost Three of her pack mates, and at 2 years old i fear she will become depressed being alone...

So..... I got two baby rats (6 weeks old). They are sweet and playful, and I love them. BUT I need to do introductions still....

If I keep Snow with Paisley, and put her on iron for her blood loss (and probably feed her some liver!), and anti-inflammatories/pain killers for her pain, and possibly turkey tail.... Am I being cruel to snow...? Should I put her down now while she is acting normally? The mass is very tiny, and the vet couldn't palpate it ( feel it when rubbing her belly) but when she looked into her vagina she saw it... I'm not even sure why it was bleeding when it's that small! Also, this vet is not really a rat expert... Sigh...

Anyways, my question is this.... If snow is acting normally, is on iron, painkillers, turkey tail (antibiotics if she needs, I will keep an eye), as long as she is acting normally, is it cruel to keep her around for a week or two while paisley gets used to the new babies...? She really is acting normally...

Help!!!

 

[Sabatea]

A lot of times vets will say "You'll know when." when it comes to animals that have a terminal illness but are not currently in huge danger. That's not to say that you wait for her to be in extreme pain, but it could just be that she has one extremely happy day and you feel that it was sort of... A goodbye. I know that's extremely unhelpful to you, but really none of us can tell you when is right. We can give you facts about cancer but that's not what you need. Personally, I would weigh each day and get a feel for the new girls as well as a feel for how Paisley will be without Snow. The problem with waiting is how fast the cancer spreads and grows. For now though, I don't think it's cruel to keep her with you until you feel it's time. If she starts having problems from the cancer, it's not that you've waited too long but it's time for her to pass on. I'm very sorry you're in this situation. I hope you find the right time and I sincerely wish that this could've been different for your sake and for Snow's. I'll keep all of you in my thoughts.