Rattie Prayers Please

[NotSoInnocent]

My rattie, Cupcake, is heading in to the vet this morning. Yesterday morning I noticed that her belly had expanded to 2-3 times normal size overnight. This morning it's bigger and she is in pain and can barely move. It's not looking good for her. Her vet won't be in until 10am... and there's no other exotic vets within walking distance.

I'm scared for her.

[AccountingDrone]

oOoo Obstructed bowel perhaps? Can she have gotten and eaten something she shouldnt have?

[NotSoInnocent]

Tumor on the spleen. Build-up of bloody fluid in her abdomen. She didn't even last through the exam.

She was a rescued rattie with psychological issues. In the beginning she would hiss and bite at anyone who tried to pick her up. At the end she would happily scamper up to my 2 year old to be scritched.

She was a sweatheart and she will be missed.

[JustaCashier]

Sorry for your loss, NSI.


Mike

[NorthernZel]

My deepest condolencies as well.

Alas, it is not unusual for domestic rats to get tumors/cancer (and die from it). My own beloved rat, "Smurf", passed away due to the very same thing 10 years ago.

[JoitheArtist]

Awwww, I'm sorry to hear that. My beloved gerbil died in similar circumstances many years ago. Rodents can be very sweet pets.

[Victoria J]

I'm so sorry.

Rats can be such sweet pets. Really nice to have around, either being friendly and so pleased to see you or just quietly being busy. I never did understand what they do but they make it very clear they are busy.

It sounds like you gave her a good life after a bad start. i'm sure she appreciated that.

Victoria J

[BookstoreEscapee]

Aww, I'm sorry.

[HYHYBT]

My condolences!

It's been pointed out before, but this is turning out to be a horrible year for CS pets. First, lots of people lost cats. Now a rat... if anybody here keeps elephants, they're probably next.

[dalesys]

Cats and rats and elephants, sure as you're born...

As unusual as some of the denizens of this board are, we may manage to pull off the Final Four!

[BookstoreEscapee]

Cats and rats and elephants, sure as you're born...

As long as my unicorn is OK!!

[RootedPhoenix]

NSI... *hugs*

Sometimes the smallest ones leave the biggest holes when they're gone.

[Sunsetsky]

I'm sorry to hear that. If you want someone to just chat with sometime then drop me a PM.

[NotSoInnocent]

This is Cupcake's "story".

We started out with Muffin. A sweet rat pup who came from a Craigslist ad. (Bad family. No cookies for you.) Everyone knows that ratties need companions, so when I took her to the vet to be checked out I asked if they had any "owner relinquished" rats. They had a couple of sets... and a singleton.

Cupcake was originally named "Lily"... but she didn't look like a lily. She looked like a vanilla cupcake with white frosting that'd had the center of the frosting licked clean off. (Our family is fairly food-focused... can you tell?)

Cupcake had behavior issues. She hissed and tried to bite anyone who came near her, even other rats... until I came near her cage. She was almost fully-grown and had never had a cagemate or been handled by humans other than to have a check-up by the vet. (Never held, never petted, never brought out of her cage... poor baby...)

She didn't hiss at me! She didn't even try to nip my finger when I went to pet her through the little bars on her cage. So the vet wondered if I could rehabilitate her. I said I'd try.

For a week we had the ratties in separate cages right next to each other. The first few days, Cupcake would hiss at Muffin when she'd come close... but eventually she became, if not enamored, at least resigned to sharing a close space with another rat. So we put them in the same cage. A month later and the dominance issues had been resolved... with Muffin as the dominant rat! (Even though she was younger and smaller!)

She still didn't like anyone picking her up, but would tolerate me (and only me) reaching in and scritching her head and back. Within a month I had gotten her used to riding around on my shoulder and being gently pet by my older kiddos. She never did get comfortable with being pulled out of her cage, but she was quite happy once she was being held.

6 months into the household and my youngest (then almost 2) decided to open the rattie cage and pet the rats without mommy supervising (GASP! Oh NO!!!). But there was no nipping to be seen! No hissing. A little fear, but no retaliation by the rats. (My son, on the other hand, learned that day that -only- mommy is allowed to open the rat's cage.)

I was one proud rattie-mommy.

For the last 6 months she had lots of human interaction (8 adults, 2 10 y/o's, an 8 y/o, 2 7 y/o's, a 4 y/o, a 2 y/o, a 1 y/o and an infant) and the constant companionship of her cagemate, Muffin. They shared a -huge- cage (five levels of fun!) that was supposed to be for ferrets, but worked quite well for them. She was never overly affectionate, but was a content rattie with a lot of love.

The last two days of her life were not as good, but Muffin and I never left her side. We first noticed a problem on Sunday evening, when her stomach started to bloat. There weren't any emergency vets that handled rats on duty in the area (We would have had to drive up to Seattle to find one and there wasn't enough gas in the van to do that.) and her vet didn't get in until 10 am on Tuesday.

I walked her to her vet appointment in my bra (her favorite "riding" spot in cold weather) and cried as she cleaned my finger and licked the tears off my face when we got there. She'd never been much of one for overt displays of affection... but that morning she gave me many rattie "purrs" and kept bumping my fingers to get more scritches. I think she knew that I was very sad.

She was in a lot of pain (the fluid build-up in her abdomen was crushing her internal organs.), so the vet administered a small dose of pain meds so that she could do the exam without hurting her... I know the normal dosing for pain meds for weight... it was a -very- tiny dose... but it was enough. Her breathing eased slowly from the frantic level of pain. She gave my fingers one last lick... and then let her last breath out in a sigh.

Rest in peace, Cupcake. You will be greatly missed.

[Becks]

*oodles of hugs*