The Sick Rat Saga and Memories of Peta
I meant to do more rat status updates but I didn't really get around to it. For myself and anyone else who is interested in the whole story, this is what's been going on with my two sick rats.
On Sunday August 15th I went to clean The Rat Pack's cage and I noticed that two of my rats were not doing well. Peta, one of my two older rats, was laying on her left side and was unable to stand up straight. She would scoot around on her side but she could not stand up straight. I freaked out. The last time I had really seen something like this was with one of my first rats, Godiva, who ended up having a brain tumor. I freaked out. Later on that evening I noticed that my rat Dena had a decent size lump under one of her front legs. I proceeded to freak out a little more. It wasn't seeming to bother Dena though, had I not seen the lump I wouldn't have known anything was wrong. She was still eating and running amok with her sisters.
Due to my schedule and the vet's schedule I was not able to get to the vet until Tuesday (08/17). I got some cans of babyfood to hand feed Peta with since I wasn't sure if she was really able to get at the food so well. I also would give her bits of fruits and veggies. Dena seemed to be getting along fine so I just treated her like normal.
Tuesday (08/17) I took Dena and Peta to the Rancho San Diego Animal Hospital. They are really great with small animals and other exotics. Dr. Bevirt rocks. Anyway, I knew Dena would need to have surgery but I was hoping it could wait a week or two. Turns out the surgery is more expensive the bigger the tumor is. They had an opening for that day so I took it. As for Peta, I had been looking at stuff about head tilt online and was hoping that maybe it was just an ear infection causing it rather than a stroke or brain tumor. The doctor thought it was likely an ear infection and prescribed two medicines for that plus a medication to help with the head tilt itself. Peta came home with me that morning, I got an appointment to pick up Dena later that day after the surgery.
At this point I'm going to tell each rat's story separately.
Peta: I brought her home from the vet that morning. She had already had her first dose of medicine at the vet so I didn't medicate her until that night. I medicated her twice a day and was hand feeding her three times a day so she could get her strength back. She improved very quickly and I was delighted. By either Friday or Saturday she was standing upright some. I saw that she was eating food in the cage so I only fed her twice a day when i was medicating her. On Sunday and Monday she was pretty much back to her old self, you wouldn't have known anything was wrong other than her seeming a bit on the weak side. She would eat her baby food after the medicine for a little bit, then she would want to wander about on the couch. I figured I probably wouldn't need to hand feed her at all pretty soon and I couldn't wait to tell the vet about it when I took Dena in for her post-op. This Tuesday I took her out of the cage for her morning feeding and it was like she lost half her progress. She was lying on her side and was only upright if she was against something or being held that way. I called the vet, they told me to bring her in if it got worse or if it continued. Wednesday morning was about the same. Only difference was she took her medicine but really didn't want to eat at all. She kept trying to crawl off. I was worried, if a small animal isn't eating it's a pretty sure sign they are dying. However, when I put her back in the cage I saw her at the seed mix dish and saw her later with some cilantro in her mouth. I did some errands, went to my classes, came home, medicated Dena, then I went to get Peta out to medicate and feed her and see how she was doing. She was cold and not moving. I think I screamed. I pulled her out and held her on my lap for quite awhile. Cried, said good-bye, snuggled her. Called my mom. Cried more. Snuggled her more. Put her in a shoebox on an old t-shirt. This morning my mom took me to La Mesa Vet Emergency to give them the body. More crying, more saying good-bye and farewell pets and cuddles. I took her body out of the box and held her on my lap most of the way there.
Dena: This is a shorter tale but it ends better. Picked up Dena from the vet after her surgery. Was told she would probably be groggy and pretty mellow for the anesthesia. Yeah right. When she was brought out she was poking her head out of the box. Her tumor ended up being larger than expected plus there were a few more really little ones but the vet did not charge extra. She was supposed to be kept away from the other rats so they wouldn't mess up her stitches so I put her in a travel cage and put that in their huge cage so she could be with her sisters but they wouldn't mess up her stitches and so Dena couldn't run amok too much. Started medicating her the next day, one for pain, one antibiotic (Yep, that makes 5 medications between two rats). The second time I took her out for medicine she would not go back in her small cage and hid in the back corner in the one spot that I can't reach so well. I let her be since I was home and could keep an eye on her. I was never able to get her back in the small cage and just took it out the next day. I don't think she or any of the other rats have bothered her stitches. She was back to normal right away and a pain in the ass to medicate. Which is annoying but also good since it means she has energy to fight me about it. She goes in tomorrow afternoon for her post-op and then I should be done with medicating her which I am rather looking forward to. Of course, as much as a pain that is it is totally worth it to get her healthy.
I was feeding and medicating rats on the couch in the living room. I have a cat, Fosse, who is about 9 mos to a year old (and huge!) and he was fascinated by this and would try to "help". "Help" was him sitting next to me or close to me on the couch or on the floor and either staring at them, trying to bat at their tail, or trying to bop them on the head. Never with claws out. Oh, on occasion he would also try to knock down the medicines that I had on the coffee table. He is a major lap cat so I think he has also been kind of jealous that some other creature has been spending so much time in my lap. If he's on the couch when I have Dena out she's started to go right up to him which causes him to jump off the couch and run away. Silly cat.
So, that's the whole story. My mom and my roommates have been really great through all this. They've been really supportive and helpful through all this and I am so, so lucky to have them. And then there are all my other friends, family, and teachers and all their kind words of support and encouragement, hugs, and now, words of condolence. All this has meant the world to me. As much as I am hurting right now I am very much aware of how very lucky I am. Plus, I still have my four sweet, healthy ratties and my lovey, bratty, not-so-little cat.
It's strange going in my room and seeing four rats coming to greet me. It's been like this for about two weeks but I knew that Peta was in there somewhere. I would look in the box in the back corner and see a bit of her fur or see her sleeping behind the wheel. The cage seems emptier without her in it.
Losing Peta is heartbreaking. It's the worst thing about having rats, they have very short lifespans and you get just as attached to them as to a dog or cat or any other critter. And I am so, so disappointed that I couldn't save her. However, I am glad for all the time I have been spending with her the last week and a half and for the last year and 3 months that I was able to have her in my life. She was a sweet, sweet girl and one of my favorite hood rats*. Usually the first one or one of the first ones out of the cage and straight to whatever area I didn't particularly want them to go. She was my most eager explorer. She was also very friendly and a very good shoulder rattie. And a lover of yogis.
My sweet little Peta.
01/2009 (?) - 08/25/2010
The Rat Pack won't be the same without you.
I love you and I will hold you forever in my heart.
*No, seriously, she was a hooded rat.
On Sunday August 15th I went to clean The Rat Pack's cage and I noticed that two of my rats were not doing well. Peta, one of my two older rats, was laying on her left side and was unable to stand up straight. She would scoot around on her side but she could not stand up straight. I freaked out. The last time I had really seen something like this was with one of my first rats, Godiva, who ended up having a brain tumor. I freaked out. Later on that evening I noticed that my rat Dena had a decent size lump under one of her front legs. I proceeded to freak out a little more. It wasn't seeming to bother Dena though, had I not seen the lump I wouldn't have known anything was wrong. She was still eating and running amok with her sisters.
Due to my schedule and the vet's schedule I was not able to get to the vet until Tuesday (08/17). I got some cans of babyfood to hand feed Peta with since I wasn't sure if she was really able to get at the food so well. I also would give her bits of fruits and veggies. Dena seemed to be getting along fine so I just treated her like normal.
Tuesday (08/17) I took Dena and Peta to the Rancho San Diego Animal Hospital. They are really great with small animals and other exotics. Dr. Bevirt rocks. Anyway, I knew Dena would need to have surgery but I was hoping it could wait a week or two. Turns out the surgery is more expensive the bigger the tumor is. They had an opening for that day so I took it. As for Peta, I had been looking at stuff about head tilt online and was hoping that maybe it was just an ear infection causing it rather than a stroke or brain tumor. The doctor thought it was likely an ear infection and prescribed two medicines for that plus a medication to help with the head tilt itself. Peta came home with me that morning, I got an appointment to pick up Dena later that day after the surgery.
At this point I'm going to tell each rat's story separately.
Peta: I brought her home from the vet that morning. She had already had her first dose of medicine at the vet so I didn't medicate her until that night. I medicated her twice a day and was hand feeding her three times a day so she could get her strength back. She improved very quickly and I was delighted. By either Friday or Saturday she was standing upright some. I saw that she was eating food in the cage so I only fed her twice a day when i was medicating her. On Sunday and Monday she was pretty much back to her old self, you wouldn't have known anything was wrong other than her seeming a bit on the weak side. She would eat her baby food after the medicine for a little bit, then she would want to wander about on the couch. I figured I probably wouldn't need to hand feed her at all pretty soon and I couldn't wait to tell the vet about it when I took Dena in for her post-op. This Tuesday I took her out of the cage for her morning feeding and it was like she lost half her progress. She was lying on her side and was only upright if she was against something or being held that way. I called the vet, they told me to bring her in if it got worse or if it continued. Wednesday morning was about the same. Only difference was she took her medicine but really didn't want to eat at all. She kept trying to crawl off. I was worried, if a small animal isn't eating it's a pretty sure sign they are dying. However, when I put her back in the cage I saw her at the seed mix dish and saw her later with some cilantro in her mouth. I did some errands, went to my classes, came home, medicated Dena, then I went to get Peta out to medicate and feed her and see how she was doing. She was cold and not moving. I think I screamed. I pulled her out and held her on my lap for quite awhile. Cried, said good-bye, snuggled her. Called my mom. Cried more. Snuggled her more. Put her in a shoebox on an old t-shirt. This morning my mom took me to La Mesa Vet Emergency to give them the body. More crying, more saying good-bye and farewell pets and cuddles. I took her body out of the box and held her on my lap most of the way there.
Dena: This is a shorter tale but it ends better. Picked up Dena from the vet after her surgery. Was told she would probably be groggy and pretty mellow for the anesthesia. Yeah right. When she was brought out she was poking her head out of the box. Her tumor ended up being larger than expected plus there were a few more really little ones but the vet did not charge extra. She was supposed to be kept away from the other rats so they wouldn't mess up her stitches so I put her in a travel cage and put that in their huge cage so she could be with her sisters but they wouldn't mess up her stitches and so Dena couldn't run amok too much. Started medicating her the next day, one for pain, one antibiotic (Yep, that makes 5 medications between two rats). The second time I took her out for medicine she would not go back in her small cage and hid in the back corner in the one spot that I can't reach so well. I let her be since I was home and could keep an eye on her. I was never able to get her back in the small cage and just took it out the next day. I don't think she or any of the other rats have bothered her stitches. She was back to normal right away and a pain in the ass to medicate. Which is annoying but also good since it means she has energy to fight me about it. She goes in tomorrow afternoon for her post-op and then I should be done with medicating her which I am rather looking forward to. Of course, as much as a pain that is it is totally worth it to get her healthy.
I was feeding and medicating rats on the couch in the living room. I have a cat, Fosse, who is about 9 mos to a year old (and huge!) and he was fascinated by this and would try to "help". "Help" was him sitting next to me or close to me on the couch or on the floor and either staring at them, trying to bat at their tail, or trying to bop them on the head. Never with claws out. Oh, on occasion he would also try to knock down the medicines that I had on the coffee table. He is a major lap cat so I think he has also been kind of jealous that some other creature has been spending so much time in my lap. If he's on the couch when I have Dena out she's started to go right up to him which causes him to jump off the couch and run away. Silly cat.
So, that's the whole story. My mom and my roommates have been really great through all this. They've been really supportive and helpful through all this and I am so, so lucky to have them. And then there are all my other friends, family, and teachers and all their kind words of support and encouragement, hugs, and now, words of condolence. All this has meant the world to me. As much as I am hurting right now I am very much aware of how very lucky I am. Plus, I still have my four sweet, healthy ratties and my lovey, bratty, not-so-little cat.
It's strange going in my room and seeing four rats coming to greet me. It's been like this for about two weeks but I knew that Peta was in there somewhere. I would look in the box in the back corner and see a bit of her fur or see her sleeping behind the wheel. The cage seems emptier without her in it.
Losing Peta is heartbreaking. It's the worst thing about having rats, they have very short lifespans and you get just as attached to them as to a dog or cat or any other critter. And I am so, so disappointed that I couldn't save her. However, I am glad for all the time I have been spending with her the last week and a half and for the last year and 3 months that I was able to have her in my life. She was a sweet, sweet girl and one of my favorite hood rats*. Usually the first one or one of the first ones out of the cage and straight to whatever area I didn't particularly want them to go. She was my most eager explorer. She was also very friendly and a very good shoulder rattie. And a lover of yogis.
My sweet little Peta.
01/2009 (?) - 08/25/2010
The Rat Pack won't be the same without you.
I love you and I will hold you forever in my heart.
*No, seriously, she was a hooded rat.