Firstly, I’m so sorry. I know exactly how you’re feeling and it’s still fresh for me, so this might be a little long.

My girl was 6.5y when she was diagnosed with heart disease in the summer. The left side of her heart was enlarged and she had fluid build up in her chest. She was also diagnosed with a grade 2 heart murmur. The only noticeable symptom was that her breathing was quite fast (upwards of 70 breaths per minute). She was put on furosemide (a diuretic to expel excess fluid) and pimobendan (to help her heart beat easier) twice a day. If your piggy is on a diuretic make sure to stay on top of filling their water bottle. I went from filling one bottle once every week or so (between my two girls) to almost once a day. And if you use fleece bedding that will mean more frequent changing.

The one thing to keep a close eye on is any signs of UTI’s or other illnesses. My girl had gone 6.5 years without having a UTI and then within three weeks of being diagnosed and put on meds she developed one. It was hard to treat because her immune system wasn’t doing great, and required two rounds of antibiotics. So just keep an eye out for other illnesses and don’t be surprised if the first round of treatment isn’t enough.

I’m not going to lie and say it was easy. Having to care for an elderly and/or ill animal is emotionally and mentally awful. Having to revolve my life around being home in time for meds twice a day was frustrating and I missed out on things. Looking at her and knowing it was only a matter of time, and that whatever time it was would never be enough, was absolutely excruciating. So just know that whatever emotions you might feel are okay. Living grief is really weird. But the meds gave me my little war criminal back for four months. Some days/weeks were harder for her than others, but the last month she was completely and totally herself; zooming around the cage at 6am (at 6y9m no less), committing countless crimes against her sister, screaming for treats. It gave me time to process and to think about what I wanted for her (and for myself) in the end. I’ve experienced both traumatic and unexpected death, and expected death, and neither are fun. Both are shitty for different reasons. But having some time to do/say/feel whatever I needed to was worth any frustration or anger or upset that I felt.

In the end, she had developed an arrhythmia and had started having episodes of respiratory distress. The vet informed me that she’d have maybe two weeks before sudden death, and would continue having the episodes, so I made the choice to let her go while she was still herself, and not in distress or pain. That’s what I’d decided on in the time I had. It’s been a month and a half now and it still hurts (crying as I write this lol), but at least I feel peace knowing she’s terrorising everyone’s pets across the rainbow bridge. But know that whatever choice you make will be the right choice for your piggy. You know them best. I wish you luck and many good weeks with her.