# Older rat having trouble eating solid foods. Please help!



## artemisfair

She has trouble with seeds and lab blocks as of a week or so ago, can't eat them. I don't know if her teeth are getting bad or what but she can't even eat one. I tried giving her steamed vegetables but she gets tired after eating just one or two tiny bites. She lost a good deal of weight while I was trying to figure out what to feed her. I even tried chewing up bits of cereal for her and letting her eat it off a plate, baby bird style. 

I bought some baby food jars and she loves that and eats plenty. She seems to have more energy since I started giving it to her. I don't want it in the cage though, the other rats will eat it and it will get everywhere, make a mess and then go bad. Probably make the ants come back, too. I need to know how much I should feed her of this baby food, how often and if I need to supplement some vitamins or something. I bought her mushy peas, yogurt, banana strawberry mush, sweet potato goop and applesauce. I don't know what else I can do to keep my sweet rat alive, because she can't eat rat food. 

And please be honest with me, is she dying? I know we're not supposed to pick favorites, but she is my best friend and I've only had her for a little over a year (she was fully grown when I got her). We still have time together, right? She seems to have aged over the past few weeks. She falls down, sleeps a lot, bumps into things, and now this...


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## lilspaz68

artemisfair said:


> She has trouble with seeds and lab blocks as of a week or so ago, can't eat them. I don't know if her teeth are getting bad or what but she can't even eat one. I tried giving her steamed vegetables but she gets tired after eating just one or two tiny bites. She lost a good deal of weight while I was trying to figure out what to feed her. I even tried chewing up bits of cereal for her and letting her eat it off a plate, baby bird style.
> 
> I bought some baby food jars and she loves that and eats plenty. She seems to have more energy since I started giving it to her. I don't want it in the cage though, the other rats will eat it and it will get everywhere, make a mess and then go bad. Probably make the ants come back, too. I need to know how much I should feed her of this baby food, how often and if I need to supplement some vitamins or something. I bought her mushy peas, yogurt, banana strawberry mush, sweet potato goop and applesauce. I don't know what else I can do to keep my sweet rat alive, because she can't eat rat food.
> 
> And please be honest with me, is she dying? I know we're not supposed to pick favorites, but she is my best friend and I've only had her for a little over a year (she was fully grown when I got her). We still have time together, right? She seems to have aged over the past few weeks. She falls down, sleeps a lot, bumps into things, and now this...


Is she unable to grasp with her front paws? That is a sign of pituitary tumor (along with the clumsiness, falling down, losing weight, etc). How old is she? Does she have her front legs pushed stiffly out in front of her, does she look confused and almost senile, does she brux more than usual? Does she bump her head up when you stroke over her head?

As for soft foods, take her lab blocks, use the dust on the bottom of the bag, or crush them up and add a liquid to make it a mush. I have heard low-sodium chicken broth is a good one, etc. Make sure to make it very watery as lab blocks soak up fluid like a sponge, 

Give her Ensure or Boost (strawberry is ghe fav here) for extra nutrients/calories, toss a bunch of veggies in a food processor, and make a veggie slurry (make enough that you can freeze some in portions), and then make up oatmeal and mix it together...my rats adore veggie slurry, and there's rarely any left over in 20 mins


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## artemisfair

Yes, she's having trouble using her front paws. She falls over and seems to forget where she's going sometimes, and she has her feet in front of her when she cleans herself, just like you said. She has always been known to brux and boggle a lot, so no more than usual, and she isn't doing the head thing, but yeah, that sounds like her. Oh no. Is this really bad? Is she going to need surgery? Is this because of the bumblefoot? It was starting to get better, so I didn't think it was worth mentioning. I've been treating it with blu-kote, she still has it but it's mostly gone now. 

I don't know exactly how old she is, like I said, she was fully grown when I got her last June. I'm guessing she's probably 2 years, give or take a few months.


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## sez-kg

Hi, I use baby food as a treat for my girls, depending on the brand it's actually not that bad for them. The ones I get have no extra crap put in it. Look at the ingredients and if it's just fruit and veg then it should be fine. In terms of making sure she gets enough and doesn't have competition with the other rat, you could pull her out while you feed her and wait until she feels full. Depending on how much she can eat in one sitting you may need to do this several times. Hope this helps, good luck!


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## smesyna

artemisfair said:


> Yes, she's having trouble using her front paws. She falls over and seems to forget where she's going sometimes, and she has her feet in front of her when she cleans herself, just like you said. She has always been known to brux and boggle a lot, so no more than usual, and she isn't doing the head thing, but yeah, that sounds like her. Oh no. Is this really bad? Is she going to need surgery? Is this because of the bumblefoot? It was starting to get better, so I didn't think it was worth mentioning. I've been treating it with blu-kote, she still has it but it's mostly gone now.
> 
> I don't know exactly how old she is, like I said, she was fully grown when I got her last June. I'm guessing she's probably 2 years, give or take a few months.


Sounds like a PT then, I'm so sorry. It is a progressive, eventually fatal thing (it is a type of brain tumor). No it is not operable. No it has nothing to do with the bumblefoot don't worry about that.

PT can sometimes be stalled with steroids (like prednisone). Get her to the vet for a prescription.


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## artemisfair

I thought she was just getting older. Are you sure? Isn't it possible that it could be something else? :'( She's so sweet, and she doesn't deserve this. 

I have an appointment with the vet tomorrow. Hopefully we can find a way to make Meep feel better for the time she has left on this planet. My poor floppy rat. :'(


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## Kinsey

I know how it feels to see them age.  One of mine is a floppedy old boy, too. A bit weaker in the real, balding slightly, and just like a little old man. It's cute but it breaks my heart.

Give her ensure, ground up high nutrient food and lots of love. Lower everything in the cage so she can't fall and hurt herself.

Some dog or cat food slush would be good (soak it in water, it will become very soft.) and ensure is great stuff. Some oatmeal and egg would be good, and baby food is also good for her. The best thing you can give her is love and attention, do not skimp on it. Love is sometimes the best medicine.

Good luck at the vet, I hope all goes well for you guys.


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## lilspaz68

Calla's story (lots of pics)...this one I use as a teaching thread. She rebounded beautifully on steroid therapy and we had over 8 weeks together. 

http://www.goosemoose.com/rfc/index.php?topic=4048195.0


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## artemisfair

I don't know what to think now. The doctor has prescribed some baytril and metacam for Meep yesterday, and she is hopeful that Meep has some kind of infection, possibly related to her bumblefoot. Unfortunately or fortunately, the medication she prescribed for the infection is the same as the treatment for PTs. Unfortunately, because I won't know unless she gets worse, fortunately because at least all bases are covered. 

There is some good news and bad news about her condition. 

The good news is: she seems to be doing a lot better today. She has been upright and playing with me, appetite is good. Not as narcoleptic as she was yesterday. She won't drink anything. Limbs are still weak, she is still wobbly and floppy, but much less so and she is seeming like her old self again. She kicked the syringe right out of my hand while I was trying to give her the medicine and she was playing the "walk around with a toilet paper tube on my head" game that she loves (much clumsier, albeit). 

The bad news is that she seems to have developed myco from the stress. She had porphyrin in her eyes today and she is sneezing infrequently. Thankfully the baytril should help with that too. We also can't get her to drink anything, unless it's through a syringe. 

Maybe I'm going to regret this, but I want to believe the doctor. If she gets worse, I will do the right thing and have her pts but Meepling hasn't given up so I won't either.


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## lilspaz68

Just for your info, bumblefoot is a very localized infection and won't cause other issues systemically. The metacam is an anti-inflammatory but no where near as good as a steroid for PT or neuro issues. We can hope its a stroke which she recovers from with some care. She only drinks from a syringe at this pont? Is she able to lick from your finger at all? If so, eventually you might be able to lead her with your finger to a small dish she can drink or eat out of.


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## artemisfair

Yes, I've been giving her peanut butter to try and get her weight up alongside the baby food and veggie smoothies, and she licks it off my finger. The problem is that she refuses to drink water, I have to force her to drink it through the syringe and she hates it. I've tried everything to get her to drink water; sugar, flavoring it with honey, putting the syringe right in front of her face, she doesn't want it. She will drink fruit juice from the syringe, though. 

Another problem is if I put delicious mushy baby food in the cage with her, her cage-mates will surely eat it all. I had put a bottle of fruit juice in her cage for when she isn't with me hoping maybe she'd drink some, and the other rats drank the whole darn bottle. :-/ Should I separate their cages? If I give her food in a bowl I definitely need to put her cage up high because we have been losing a war against a colony of ants since the beginning of summer. I can't spray because I


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## artemisfair

Meep can no longer swallow the babyfood. She already looks like a rat skeleton with skin and fur stretched over her. Gonna see if I can get some ensure. I should have taken her to a specialist, but I just couldn't afford to, we spent all our grocery money for the month just taking her to a DVM. I told her that I was sure it was a PT because of the hands, and she wouldn't listen to me because she has the degree. It looks like my time with her is going to be cut substantially short because of it. You guys were right. I guess I just wanted to believe that she would be okay and would be with me a little while longer. :'( She has a follow-up on Saturday and I'm going to have to borrow money to get her to the vet, will getting her on the steroids help her at this point or is it too late for her?


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## smesyna

As bad as she is I don't know. If you try them, be prepared to PTS if it doesn't help. I'm sorry I have one with PT right now too, it sucks.


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