Nothing's Going to Change my World...
The Year of the Rat has begun. I wish I could say I'm planning on celebrating with my rat companions, but alas fate has other plans. Freya, my blue-bareback rat has been showing signs of severe illness the past forty-eight hours. I discovered her huddled in the corner of the cage yesterday (usually she's first to greet me) and squeaked when I tried to pick her up. Her body lacked signs of grooming (normal behavior for a rat) and while she would take her favorite treats out of my hand, she quickly threw them down in frustration. At this point I knew something was severely wrong. On closer inspection (and despite her resistance), I noticed the area around her jaw is swollen, which may be an indication of an infection, abscess, or worse. Another possibility is mis-aligned or broken teeth but trying to get a good view of an agile rodent (even in a weakened state) that wants nothing to do with you proved futile.
In any case, it's not in my nature to sit idly by while an animal suffers. Every several hours I feed her yogurt through a plastic syringe. luckily, her ability to swallow has not been impared and she accepts the food quite readily. Well actually, that's an understatement. Freya tends to make such a fuss that it draws over her cage mate, Kino. Kino seems to think that this cold strawberry concoction in a tube is the greatest treat ever. Which means I now have to share the yogurt with her, lest she shove Freya away to get at it.
Well, I can't keep this going forever. She really needs a visit to the vet. In the past, convincing my parents to take the ferret to the vet was hard enough, I know this isn't going to go over well. It's not that they're apathetic yet to them a living creature is only "worth" the price you paid for it. This seems to be a pretty common viewpoint and one I've never been able to comprehend. Most responsible pet owners wouldn't hesitate to bring their sick dog or cat to the vet, why is it different for small animals? There's nothing that indicates a rat suffers any less from pain than more "accepted pets". A $3 price tag at the pet store does not say "hey, buy me, love me, but ignore me when I need your help because I'm inexpensive, disposable". Not to me at least. In pain, all animals are equals. Moving on, I know I spend a lot of time writing about animals and to those who haven't given up yet it's probably frustrating to read.
Today I watched the movie "Across the Universe", finally. I can be critical of musicals but my love of the Beatles won me over on this one. It's not without it's campy, Rent-esque moments yet it doesn't take long to be completely immersed. Anyone who appreciates the music and events of the sixties will probably enjoy this film. It also has some of the most insane cinematography I have ever seen. Seriously.
I'm aware I haven't written much about my everyday life in a while. I'm not completely avoiding the subject, yet I get so bogged down every time I try to write anything coherent. Well, maybe next time...
Freya, in her younger days amongst the seat cushions.
In any case, it's not in my nature to sit idly by while an animal suffers. Every several hours I feed her yogurt through a plastic syringe. luckily, her ability to swallow has not been impared and she accepts the food quite readily. Well actually, that's an understatement. Freya tends to make such a fuss that it draws over her cage mate, Kino. Kino seems to think that this cold strawberry concoction in a tube is the greatest treat ever. Which means I now have to share the yogurt with her, lest she shove Freya away to get at it.
Well, I can't keep this going forever. She really needs a visit to the vet. In the past, convincing my parents to take the ferret to the vet was hard enough, I know this isn't going to go over well. It's not that they're apathetic yet to them a living creature is only "worth" the price you paid for it. This seems to be a pretty common viewpoint and one I've never been able to comprehend. Most responsible pet owners wouldn't hesitate to bring their sick dog or cat to the vet, why is it different for small animals? There's nothing that indicates a rat suffers any less from pain than more "accepted pets". A $3 price tag at the pet store does not say "hey, buy me, love me, but ignore me when I need your help because I'm inexpensive, disposable". Not to me at least. In pain, all animals are equals. Moving on, I know I spend a lot of time writing about animals and to those who haven't given up yet it's probably frustrating to read.
Today I watched the movie "Across the Universe", finally. I can be critical of musicals but my love of the Beatles won me over on this one. It's not without it's campy, Rent-esque moments yet it doesn't take long to be completely immersed. Anyone who appreciates the music and events of the sixties will probably enjoy this film. It also has some of the most insane cinematography I have ever seen. Seriously.
I'm aware I haven't written much about my everyday life in a while. I'm not completely avoiding the subject, yet I get so bogged down every time I try to write anything coherent. Well, maybe next time...
Freya, in her younger days amongst the seat cushions.