Post by olivia on May 9, 2011 11:27:58 GMT -1
Whilst I love all my rats dearly, every now and again a special one comes along and Love was one of those. From a tiny kitten she just loved people and being with us. You couldn't walk past the cage without her appearing in hope of a cuddle or a play.
She would lay for ages in my mum's arms having scritches (my mum has nails that are apparently heavenly to rats!!!!) and when she was out playing she'd follow any human around like a dog. Going to the loo was a nightmare as she'd try desperately to follow you in - anywhere she wasn't allowed HAD to be the most interesting place to be.
Just after Christmas she developed a lump which we had removed, this then abcessed but cleared up well with antibiotics. She then developed a womb infection which at the time we thought was just bad luck and again it cleared up quickly. Just before Easter I found another lump on her, which quickly turned into two. So after the bank holidays she went in to have them removed. She came through the surgery very well and was quickly back to her naughty self. However over the weekend one surgery site started to break down and get infected. And whilst I was checking it out last night I found a fourth lump that had appeared and grown to quite a size in under a week.
So we went back to the vets and we agreed that she obviously didn't have the normal benign mammory tumours that lots of rats get, but something more malignent. This meant it wouldn't be fair to keep on operating and that she only had a couple of weeks left at the most. I then had to decide if I should treat the wound site - lots of strong antibiotics would be the only option and it would take 7-10 days to clear. I took the very sad decision that it wouldn't be fair to put her through this - I was only putting off the inevitable and I would only be doing it for my benefit and not hers.
It was such a hard decision to take - normally when I have rats pts they are very poorly. But Love was quite bonny in herself, although in some pain from the abcess. She was still eating and playing and enjoying cuddles. However I knew this would not last long.
So sleep tight my darling Love - never has a rat lived up to her name as beautifully as you did.
She would lay for ages in my mum's arms having scritches (my mum has nails that are apparently heavenly to rats!!!!) and when she was out playing she'd follow any human around like a dog. Going to the loo was a nightmare as she'd try desperately to follow you in - anywhere she wasn't allowed HAD to be the most interesting place to be.
Just after Christmas she developed a lump which we had removed, this then abcessed but cleared up well with antibiotics. She then developed a womb infection which at the time we thought was just bad luck and again it cleared up quickly. Just before Easter I found another lump on her, which quickly turned into two. So after the bank holidays she went in to have them removed. She came through the surgery very well and was quickly back to her naughty self. However over the weekend one surgery site started to break down and get infected. And whilst I was checking it out last night I found a fourth lump that had appeared and grown to quite a size in under a week.
So we went back to the vets and we agreed that she obviously didn't have the normal benign mammory tumours that lots of rats get, but something more malignent. This meant it wouldn't be fair to keep on operating and that she only had a couple of weeks left at the most. I then had to decide if I should treat the wound site - lots of strong antibiotics would be the only option and it would take 7-10 days to clear. I took the very sad decision that it wouldn't be fair to put her through this - I was only putting off the inevitable and I would only be doing it for my benefit and not hers.
It was such a hard decision to take - normally when I have rats pts they are very poorly. But Love was quite bonny in herself, although in some pain from the abcess. She was still eating and playing and enjoying cuddles. However I knew this would not last long.
So sleep tight my darling Love - never has a rat lived up to her name as beautifully as you did.
Ridgelane Duke 
Country Rose
