Ratty
I miss my ratty so much. I know most people would think, "how could you ever love a rat?"
but I'm sure they would change their minds if they saw just how wonderful rats really are.
It was my brother's idea to get a rat, and I originally opposed the idea. I thought a rat would
be a bit like a guinea pig (cute, but useless as a pet) or that the cat would try to eat it. But I soon realised how wrong I was.
Ratty was more than a pet. He was my best friend. He would stick his little head out of his box when I called his name and was always happy to see me, he would always 'kiss' my hand (and any part of my face if I didn't stop him), he would stare at me with his little beady eyes with a look of complete innocence, he was squishy and snuggly, he could shape-shift from a big puffball to a flat pancake, he would share (and occasionally steal) my food and always preferred my cooking, he would fall asleep in my jacket, and he never bit anyone. Not even once.
The first sign of his illness was his constant sneezing. I booked a vet appointment and forced my dad to take me there, but the rat got worse. He was making choking/vomiting noises and was rushing around his cage. I told the vet, but I don't think I explained it well enough. The vet was mainly concerned about the rat's weight, and just prescribed some antibiotics. She acted as though he just had a little cold. I later discovered that the choking noises were actually the poor rat trying to gasp for air, and he ran around his cage because he was freaking out and couldn't express it in any other way.
The rat got even worse a few days later, and my mum and I had to go to the chemist to buy an asthma inhaler because the rat could barely breathe and kept on gasping for air. Because it was late, only the animal emergency hospitals were open, but my dad refused to take the rat because "it would be too expensive". "Look at the rat! He's running around, that means he's fine!" "I'll shoot the rat for you!" My mum wouldn't take me because she had no idea how to get there.
I taught myself rat CPR, and set my alarm clock to 3-4am so I could check on the rat and administer CPR if possible.
I thought Ratty was recovering, because he stopped sneezing. But then he stopped eating, and went from being 'morbidly obese' to 'underweight' in the space of a few days. The antibiotics were not working. I should have done my research, which would have told me to try a different antibiotic or a combination of them if there was no improvement in 3-4 days, but the vet had said "come back in 10 days if there's no improvement, and I'll give you more of the same antibiotic."
I came home from school on Tuesday to find my rat alive, but cold and floppy. He still licked my hand, but he refused to eat or drink anything. I used my stethoscope (which I bought just so I could monitor his heartbeat) and his heartbeat was so faint that I could barely hear it. My mum told me that she had told a different vet about the rat, who told her that euthanasia would be the best option. But it seemed as though he barely had an hour left, and we wanted him to die happy with his family.
I was with Ratty when he died (on my bed). He was struggling to breathe, and it looked like he was having a seizure. Then he just went stiff. There was nothing I could do to save him, and I think he had pneumonia. He was buried by in the garden by a birdbath and some rosebushes. I cried for over six hours that day (but I didn't cry at all for any human deaths) and I felt so helpless, I am considering becoming a veterinary
surgeon so that I can learn how to actually SAVE rats (and obviously other animals), and not give the wrong information or ignore a serious disease.
I was hoping that my Ratty would live for at least three years. He didn't even make it to two.
This took two hours plus half a box of tissues to write, and I couldn't be bothered to proof-read it or check for errors. I hope that I have convinced anyone who didn't know this already that rats are very loveable, intelligent animals.
RIP Ratty. You will always be loved, and never forgotten.
posted by Alex @ 4:33 AM
5 Comments:
I'm sorry.
Such a cute little guy.
Alex, I am so sorry for your loss. Rat was beautiful. You are so strong.
my daughter has rats and due to her being a typical kid i do most of the care i was hesitant when she anted to get them but we have 2 angel and devola, earlier this morning my daughter had her rat on her knee and she almost fell off so my daughter caught her- straight after shge went floppy and cold. i laid her on my chest and blew in her motuyh massaging her back gave her a treat and a drink of tea and within minutes she was up and about as normal but for a few seconds i was convinced she was a gonner, i honestly dont know if what i did saved her or if she was just in shock. i am so sorry to hear about your rate and the point i was getting to... i cried for almost 20 mins at the thought we could have lost her so i undertsand totally how you got so upset.
Rats are dirty. . Make it a Mice. . n.n
Im sowii 4 ur lost. . Hmmp. . Animals dont have souls sO u wont be seeing em everywhere
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