Help, my mom's chin is sick!

[RDZCRanch]

This is just crazy. Animals get sick and they go to the vet. Why is it that I have had to spend thousands of dollars at the vet but somehow other "breeders" don't have to spend anything just because the animal doesn't look like he's "going to make it." That's a bunch of crap right there... At least freaking try!!

I'm glad you put "breeders" in quotation marks. Breeding responsibly does not result in lack of vet care. Unless I have a chinchilla that is literally just moments from dying, I will rush them to a vet. This isn't even something specific to chinchillas...if you own ANY pet you should be prepared for vet fees. Their lives and health are not predictable. Things happen that are beyond our control, but as responsible, CARING individuals we do our best to ensure those animals can become healthy again. Even if the outlook is bleak you have to go in.

If your mother has this mentality about one chinchilla, I'd be worried about leaving ANY chinchillas in her care. Who is to say in the future she will not adopt the same mentality with a sick chinchilla. She is NOT a vet and cannot diagnose his problem. She has very little experience so of COURSE this is something she or you have never seen before. He needed vet care two days ago if either of you wanted him to have a chance at life. I love my mother dearly and we are very close, but she knows my passion for animals and chinchillas alike. I would be screaming and crying at her over the phone if I could not physically be there. You can't make her do things, but you can raise some **** and irritate her. You need to have the animal's best interest at heart. Dying slowly from something that she has diagnosed as "unsolvable" is plain old fashioned animal cruelty and neglect. At this point, he needs a vet just to be PTS.

 

[ticklechin]

Ok, you seriously need to have a pet chin or two, rehome the rest and your Mom needs NONE. To let that chin die in pain and witholding vet care for no good reason is abuse, pure and simple. Poor little chin died in pain and un-loved, I hope my chins who passed peacefully will take him over the rainbow bridge and make him their friends, Gino will be in charge of it.

 

[ticklechin]

I'm glad you put "breeders" in quotation marks. Breeding responsibly does not result in lack of vet care. Unless I have a chinchilla that is literally just moments from dying, I will rush them to a vet. This isn't even something specific to chinchillas...if you own ANY pet you should be prepared for vet fees. Their lives and health are not predictable. Things happen that are beyond our control, but as responsible, CARING individuals we do our best to ensure those animals can become healthy again. Even if the outlook is bleak you have to go in.

If your mother has this mentality about one chinchilla, I'd be worried about leaving ANY chinchillas in her care. Who is to say in the future she will not adopt the same mentality with a sick chinchilla. She is NOT a vet and cannot diagnose his problem. She has very little experience so of COURSE this is something she or you have never seen before. He needed vet care two days ago if either of you wanted him to have a chance at life. I love my mother dearly and we are very close, but she knows my passion for animals and chinchillas alike. I would be screaming and crying at her over the phone if I could not physically be there. You can't make her do things, but you can raise some **** and irritate her. You need to have the animal's best interest at heart. Dying slowly from something that she has diagnosed as "unsolvable" is plain old fashioned animal cruelty and neglect. At this point, he needs a vet just to be PTS.

He died Tab.

 

[proudmom25]

Poor little Romeo.

I can just imagine how much pain and how scared he must have been.

 

[RDZCRanch]

Two days of pain is NOT "fast". I feel absolutely horrible for that chinchilla right now. I can't even imagine how little heart your mother and sisters have for chinchillas and him to be able to watch him go through those days in obvious pain and just let him die. Whether you agree or not, that IS cruelty and neglect! I am so unbelievably upset right now...that chinchilla was not even shown an ounce of mercy or compassion.

 

[Jenn]

Kathy, at the very least, I hope you learned something here. A lot of people here have been very critical of you and your mom, and for good reason. When a chin starts showing signs of distress, it may already be too late to help them. If you notice something is wrong, they need to be taken to a vet asap. There is no waiting, for any excuse. To own any animal, you have to be responsible for its care no matter what the cost. And for poor Romeo to have finally died is incredibly sad because it may not have happened if he had been taken to a good vet as soon as his illness had been discovered. You have a great attitude and have taken a lot of criticism without running from this forum, but the ppl here are so very knowledgeable, and you really should listen to their advice. Please do what is right for the rest of your chins.

 

[kathiva]

Hi

No, he got sick just yesterday in the afternoon I believe, so he spend only one night and died this morning, I called the emergency to contact a vet and to call my mom, but they didn't make the arrangements to go, I think it was around 7pm or so at night when I was able to contact a vet for her, (have to check my first post)

 

[caiti]

this is the first time that a chin gets sick like this and on the weekend, and I cannot totally explain why she wouldn't want to bring him, but I do feel upset about it, and don't want it to happen again.

That's really sad. I feel so bad for Romeo. I'm sorry your mother wouldn't listen to you also. That must have been frustrating for you. I think your mom shouldn't have any chins or maybe one or two but the fact that she was too overwhelmed to do anything for a dying chin makes me think she probably shouldn't own any more pets than she has other than the chins (if she has any other pets, i have no idea) and those chins need to get into the care of someone who has more time, like you said. Maybe if you plan to breed in the future and have some of your herd at someone else's house, you can draw up a specific contract on what to do in certain situations, get a list of vets and directions and have a savings account for emergencies, or just make sure you always have some money saved up to cover costs. That's what I do. I have a piece of paper with my regular vet's name and address along with an emergency vets address and directions, a record of all her vet visits, meds she's been on etc and a list of wieghts in my first aid box. That would obviously be easier to do with a lot less chins and would help in emergency situations.

Did you not have allergies when you got your first chins? Or was it that you only get allergies with a lot of chin fur around, but you wouldn't have noticed it with a couple?

Anyways, I hope no one else gets sick on you while you're trying to rehome your chinnies and RIP Romeo.

 

[kathiva]

Kathy, at the very least, I hope you learned something here. A lot of people here have been very critical of you and your mom, and for good reason. When a chin starts showing signs of distress, it may already be too late to help them. If you notice something is wrong, they need to be taken to a vet asap. There is no waiting, for any excuse. To own any animal, you have to be responsible for its care no matter what the cost. And for poor Romeo to have finally died is incredibly sad because it may not have happened if he had been taken to a good vet as soon as his illness had been discovered. You have a great attitude and have taken a lot of criticism without running from this forum, but the ppl here are so very knowledgeable, and you really should listen to their advice. Please do what is right for the rest of your chins.

Hi

Yes, thanks so much for the advice, and yes, I do need to reorganize my herd and rehome quite a few of my chins, and yes, I do think that chins need to see a vet as soon as you notice something wrong, I have done it in the past, and my mom did it once, when she noticed that the other chin that got sick, wasn't looking too good,

 

[kathiva]

That's really sad. I feel so bad for Romeo. I'm sorry your mother wouldn't listen to you also. That must have been frustrating for you. I think your mom shouldn't have any chins or maybe one or two but the fact that she was too overwhelmed to do anything for a dying chin makes me think she probably shouldn't own any more pets than she has other than the chins (if she has any other pets, i have no idea) and those chins need to get into the care of someone who has more time, like you said. Maybe if you plan to breed in the future and have some of your herd at someone else's house, you can draw up a specific contract on what to do in certain situations, get a list of vets and directions and have a savings account for emergencies, or just make sure you always have some money saved up to cover costs. That's what I do. I have a piece of paper with my regular vet's name and address along with an emergency vets address and directions, a record of all her vet visits, meds she's been on etc and a list of wieghts in my first aid box. That would obviously be easier to do with a lot less chins and would help in emergency situations.

Did you not have allergies when you got your first chins? Or was it that you only get allergies with a lot of chin fur around, but you wouldn't have noticed it with a couple?

Anyways, I hope no one else gets sick on you while you're trying to rehome your chinnies and RIP Romeo.

I have had very small allergies in the past, like sneezing only to dust, and that's it, but after I started to have around 15 chins or so (not exactly sure how many I had when I noticed) I would sneeze more, but wasn't so bad, but then it started to get worse that I had to get an allergy test done, and now I am waiting to get my allergy shots done soon, so never noticed my allergies until I started owning the chins, I believe they became worse by having them.

 

[kathiva]

That's really sad. I feel so bad for Romeo. I'm sorry your mother wouldn't listen to you also. That must have been frustrating for you. I think your mom shouldn't have any chins or maybe one or two but the fact that she was too overwhelmed to do anything for a dying chin makes me think she probably shouldn't own any more pets than she has other than the chins (if she has any other pets, i have no idea) and those chins need to get into the care of someone who has more time, like you said. Maybe if you plan to breed in the future and have some of your herd at someone else's house, you can draw up a specific contract on what to do in certain situations, get a list of vets and directions and have a savings account for emergencies, or just make sure you always have some money saved up to cover costs. That's what I do. I have a piece of paper with my regular vet's name and address along with an emergency vets address and directions, a record of all her vet visits, meds she's been on etc and a list of wieghts in my first aid box. That would obviously be easier to do with a lot less chins and would help in emergency situations.

Anyways, I hope no one else gets sick on you while you're trying to rehome your chinnies and RIP Romeo.

Yes, I do feel very sad for him too, I am hoping that everything works out in order to rehome the chins in good places, and I will be travelling this week, so will bring a few chins in my place so my mom maybe has only 15 or so, for the moment, and then slowly will be taking in some more, until she only has either 2 or 1, or maybe none if she doesn't feel like doing it anymore, and want to focus on taking care of a smaller herd for now, and to acquire more experience with them, and then, I don't know if I will ever be able to add more chins to my herd from what has happened so far, but it is not in my plans right now. Thanks so much everyone for the advice, I didn't mean to get everyone upset or mad, and make everyone fight, I really appreciate it.

 

[ETC]

I am borrowing my husband's truck and going to travel to Sudbury (four hours) on Thursday and am bringing Kathy. *I own a smart car so that would not help much, so travelling by truck.* It is going to be difficult for me, as I have to drive on the highway that my best friend was just killed on....wish me luck.... We will bring back however many carriers fit in the back seat. The truck has air conditioning too, so they won't overheat.

 

[aznmexaggie]

I am appalled and disgusted.

RIP Romeo. It's not fair that you had to die such a slow death because your parents were too selfish and cold-hearted to care for you.

 

[kathiva]

That's really sad. I feel so bad for Romeo. I'm sorry your mother wouldn't listen to you also. That must have been frustrating for you. I think your mom shouldn't have any chins or maybe one or two but the fact that she was too overwhelmed to do anything for a dying chin makes me think she probably shouldn't own any more pets than she has other than the chins (if she has any other pets, i have no idea).

Oh no, they don't have any pets other than the chins, I don't have any other pets either

 

[starleomach]

Yesterday in the afternoon until today midmorning is still a lot of time to be in pain
I feel bad for the chinchilla.

 

[alli713]

Wow. That poor, poor chin.

When I had a chin get sick, and noticed she wasn't looking good I took her to the vet. I actually took her multiple times because the first vet didn't do an x-ray and turned out she had malo. I then had to put her down. It added up after a while. But I didn't keep her alive suffering just because I didn't want to spend the money.

Owning animals, one expense is vet care. And to not give that is neglect. I can't believe how much you're avoiding this.

People are saying that with no money and no income you shouldn't be breeding. But you're tip-toeing around that subject, perhaps hoping everyone will give up on it? Saying you'll eventually find homes and keep some. That shouldn't even be an option if you don't have money for vet care. If you don't have money you shouldn't even own one. It isn't fair to the chin should they get sick like poor Romeo here.

How very disturbing..

 

[ABBY W.]

Yes, I would feel a little encouraged if Kathy would at least take responsibility for this situation. Not getting that animal to the vet was very neglectful, even if it was only to end his suffering. I am also disgusted and outraged by the way the neglect is being brushed off as unfortunate circumstance. You and your mother MADE A CHOICE to allow Romeo to suffer. Regardless of who made the ultimate decision, or how bad your personal circumstances have become, YOU brought these animals into your home, YOU entrusted them to your mother's care, evidently, YOU left them there, despite the fact that your mother was unable to adequately care for their needs. Then you and your mother allowed a suffering animal to linger instead of giving aid, or at least a merciful ending to his pain. You need to acknowledge that and TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for the consequences of those choices. Then you need to think long and hard about whether or not EITHER of you are equipped to continue owning these animals, much less breed them. If you cannot, or will not, provide adequate veterinary care when it's needed, then you need to do the right thing and find a better place for the animals, where they can be cared for and loved the way they deserve to be. To do any less is, in my opinion, a serious moral failing.

 

[starleomach]

why argue she really doesn't seem to care. No remorse at all for the loss

 

[kathiva]

why argue she really doesn't seem to care. No remorse at all for the loss

Hey, that's not true, I was away for a while because I had other things to do at home, I cannot be on the computer all the time waiting for more questions, now I am back and can reply to some

 

[kathiva]

Yes, I would feel a little encouraged if Kathy would at least take responsibility for this situation. Not getting that animal to the vet was very neglectful, even if it was only to end his suffering. I am also disgusted and outraged by the way the neglect is being brushed off as unfortunate circumstance. You and your mother MADE A CHOICE to allow Romeo to suffer. Regardless of who made the ultimate decision, or how bad your personal circumstances have become, YOU brought these animals into your home, YOU entrusted them to your mother's care, evidently, YOU left them there, despite the fact that your mother was unable to adequately care for their needs. Then you and your mother allowed a suffering animal to linger instead of giving aid, or at least a merciful ending to his pain. You need to acknowledge that and TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for the consequences of those choices. Then you need to think long and hard about whether or not EITHER of you are equipped to continue owning these animals, much less breed them. If you cannot, or will not, provide adequate veterinary care when it's needed, then you need to do the right thing and find a better place for the animals, where they can be cared for and loved the way they deserve to be. To do any less is, in my opinion, a serious moral failing.

Hi

Yes, I do take responsibility for what happened, I can acknowledge that, and I do feel guilty in having taken him to my parents' place, that's why I want and will do something about it so something like this doesn't happen again, I was of course not able to say this, but it's true, I do feel that I made the wrong choice in bringing him there, I also did tell my mom, you have to take him today, and later she told me that no, that she wouldn't, even though I told her please do, but I did try to do something about it, I didn't want him to suffer and nothing of all of this to happen, and yes, I do have a lot to think about my chins, about their care, because unfortunately my situation changed, and it has become harder to afford a vet than before, but first I am going to start with rehoming most of them, and I do care about them and I do care about changing things for my chins.

Oh, forgot to mention, I did trust my mom and my sisters that they would take care of them properly, but like I said before, they said that all of them would take care of them together, and they ended up leaving my mom being responsible for all of this, I don't go to visit them, so so often, but I do go there a couple times, and this is enough, I am going there soon, and start rehoming some chins for them. And I do regret having decided to bring many chins to my parents, thinking that they were going to be better having 4 people to take care of them in the house.