HELP!!

by CinnamonPearl Thu 23 Jun 2016, 9:42 pm

Okay so you all know how I said that Little Cow's tumor looked very close to breaking through the skin? Well I'm not certain but I think that might be happening right now! I was making some s'mores with her, Mabel, and Egg in the kitchen, and it was kinda dark, but when I brought them upstairs Cow's tumor had blood on it. I cleaned it off, but a couple minutes later it was covered in blood again! I have her in the bathroom, and I'm trying to see if she's self-inflicting it with the scratching or if it's actually broken through. I've been observing her and I think the bleeding is coming from the top of the tumor, and I think she's triggered it by scratching but then it'll gush until I clean it. I don't see a cut anywhere though. I put some quik-stop on it to try and stem the bleeding, not sure yet if it'll help. What should I do??

by CinnamonPearl Thu 23 Jun 2016, 9:54 pm

Okay I've figured out for certain that the bleeding is from the top of the tumor (where the skin is very thin) and that it's triggered by her scratching. She can't seem to stop. But it's gushing at unnatural speeds. Whenever Mabel cuts herself, it's a trickle at most. This, within a few seconds, the entire tumor is nearly covered! I'm trying to keep her from scratching, but she's resilient.

by CinnamonPearl Thu 23 Jun 2016, 10:03 pm

I went downstairs and filled a big bowl with some of her favorites: cheerios, saltine crackers, and pasta. It's doing it's job so far, so now I can actually type.

So the quik-stop is working. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, quik-stop is a powder made for parrots that helps to clot blood and stop bleeding. Parrots are animals who are very poor at clotting, and even small wounds can bleed them dry, so all parrot owners have it on hand. I saved some from an old bird first aid kit in case it was ever handy, and I'm glad I did. Maybe I was somewhat hasty in putting it on her, but I had thought her tumor was rupturing the skin. I'm glad it's not the case, but I don't like how easily she can slice through that skin.

Also, when I was cleaning her up with a wet paper towel, I also noticed some strange coloration in the tumor. It looked very much like the bottom of the tumor is bluish while the top is bright red. Does that mean anything to anyone?

by CinnamonPearl Thu 23 Jun 2016, 11:29 pm

If anyone's out there, I really need help. She calmed down for a while thanks to the feast, but she's scratching again. I'm getting exhausted, but I'm afraid if I leave her for the night she'll bleed to death. I don't know if I should bring her to a doctor, if I should wait til morning... I'm trying to stay awake, but I really need some advice.

by AnonymousMouseOwner Thu 23 Jun 2016, 11:47 pm

CinnamonPearl wrote:If anyone's out there, I really need help. She calmed down for a while thanks to the feast, but she's scratching again. I'm getting exhausted, but I'm afraid if I leave her for the night she'll bleed to death. I don't know if I should bring her to a doctor, if I should wait til morning... I'm trying to stay awake, but I really need some advice.

I'm so sorry, I'm reading but I can't help, as I don't have much experience. Perhaps you have an emergency vet near you? If so, you can take her there, but the prices could be shockingly high. Sad

by CinnamonPearl Thu 23 Jun 2016, 11:52 pm

Thank you Anon. It's okay, I get that we all aren't experts. It's nice to know someone is listening (though everyone is probably asleep at this point anyway). I'm thinking about taking her, but I don't want to unless I absolutely have to, since oftentimes mice in a state like Little Cow's can be killed by the stress of a vet trip. She's doing okay again, so I think I'm just gonna have to hope Mabel will handle her and call it a night, and I'll see what needs to be done in the morning.

by scaredymouse Fri 24 Jun 2016, 12:09 am

I'm here, kiddo. To answer your question, the blue color on the bottom is probably like a bruise. Gravity is causing blood to pool at the bottom of the tumor and it has a blueish color. I'm sorry you are having to deal with this in the middle of the night. If she seems to be doing well and not in pain, I would wait until morning to take her in. Is it possible that she'll scratch it again and bleed to death? Yes, but as gruesome as it would look to us... it would not hurt her. And honestly, I don't even think it would scare her like it would you or me. I'm sorry Cinna... you've had it real rough with your girls.

I'll be up for a while and I'll check back.

by CinnamonPearl Fri 24 Jun 2016, 12:22 am

Thanks Scaredy. I would stay up with her further, but right now there's not much I can do, and I took my sleep meds earlier than I should have. I couldn't stay awake if I tried. So I gave her a little more quik-stop and sent her to bed. Hopefully she won't scratch again, but if she does, the quik-stop will help, and I'm hoping her big sisters will help clean her up. I'll wake up early to see what the morning will bring.

Scaredy, do you think I should definitely bring her to the vet tomorrow? I will if I must, but I know that mice in situations like Cow's don't handle travel well, and I'd prefer to leave her at home with her sisters. But of course, since she definitely didn't develop OCD in one day, the tumor has to be bothering her. If I have to, I will. Should I just decide in the morning?

by scaredymouse Fri 24 Jun 2016, 12:50 am

No sense in even thinking about it now. You can see what's going on in the morning and then make a decision.

If she were mine, I would humanely euthanize her rather than let her tear it open again. That's what I did for Lucy. As you know, I euthanize at home. But even if I didn't, I would have taken Lucy to the vet to be put to sleep. It was really hard because part of me felt like she wasn't ready. Otherwise she was still happy and running around... it was different than my other pet who were clearly in distress. But I wanted to spare her the inevitable messy ending.

I can understand what you are struggling with. This is not an easy decision and there is no right answer. But I'm sure it's bothering her, even if she doesn't look like she is in a lot of pain.

by CallaLily Fri 24 Jun 2016, 7:54 am

How's she doing this morning?

by CinnamonPearl Fri 24 Jun 2016, 9:33 am

I woke up at 8 AM to check on her. She's perfectly fine. The quick-stop has done its job, and it seems like her sisters made sure she got her rest. I fell back asleep cause I was exhausted, so let me check on her again.

I don't know about euthanasia yet. Let me talk to her doctor first.

Edit: Just saw her and she's still doing fine. All cleaned up and everything.

by stephlisa Fri 24 Jun 2016, 10:51 am

I feel so sorry for you CinnamonPearl. I have no advice to give (sorry...I have no experience in things like this), but it sounds a terrifying experience Sad

by MouseLover Fri 24 Jun 2016, 11:30 am

That sounds like quite a lot of blood loss for a tiny little thing Sad

This is likely to keep happening, and if you choose not to euthanize yet then just be aware that she could die of blood loss anyway. Best wishes to both of you.

by CallaLily Fri 24 Jun 2016, 11:38 am

I'm glad she's looking better this morning. I remember when Twix started ripping open her tumor. It was heartbreaking and I knew I couldn't just leave it to go on. If she starts ripping it open again, it may be time to reassess her quality of life. hugs

by CinnamonPearl Fri 24 Jun 2016, 2:48 pm

So I got the call from the vet, and now it's time to decide. She's more than willing to do the euthanasia at home, which I'm glad for. I didn't want Little Cow's final moments to be spent in a stressful car ride. However, there is an issue. She's going to be out of town from Sunday to Thursday, so either she'll do the euthanasia tomorrow or next Friday. In between, if it's really needed, another vet could do it for me, but it wouldn't be at home, and none of the other vets are good with small mice the way she is.

I'm not sure what to do. On one hand, Cow could very well last another week. But on the other hand, if something happens between now and Friday, it wouldn't be good. She's getting weaker, and in the end the outcome would be the same. I'm leaning more towards doing it tomorrow, but I wanna know what you all think. What would you guys do if you were in my situation?

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