# Rattie Losses in 2007 - Please post yours



## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

This is on several forums but I thought I would start one here for the members on Rat Forum. Its a nice way to remember our little friends who have gone ahead of us.

I will start with my huge group. 

I haven't been posting on here as much (busy with RL and some very sick rats) and some of the members may not know me as well as others. In here its "Know My Rats, Know Me". :mrgreen:

2007 started off badly but tailed off after that. It was technically a better year than 2006. : Some people already know about most of my babies that passed, but others may not, so I am posting them all here.

Tikal to PT at 17 months








Sebastian at 38 months, blind, mostly paralysed, independent, but ohhh so happy. A once-in-a-lifetime rat. 









Rafiki at 23 months, one of the original Biter Girls I adopted.  She and Sebastian bonded and fell in love in less than a week before I let them go.








Ariel at 17 months, one of my Stratford Rescue Rats, who is now immortalized under Pituitary Tumor Figure 2 in the Ratguide.









Talli, the remaining oldie I took in from the local HS. Her sister was only with us for 1.5 months, but Talli stuck around, biting turned to nipping, then to licking...









Maddy came to me when Notamuised was going through some hard times. We fought hard with a throat abscess, but in the end we had to stop and I let her go peacefully when she was 28 months old









Selene at 25 months, my brave big warrior girl, is also immortalized on the Ratguide under Pyoderma Figure 4. What an amazing and inspiring rat she was. I miss her terribly.









Hestia at 26 months, to an ulcerated tumour...my poor standoffish girl ended up being the sweetest thing in the world.









Ortiz at 13 months old, my little Wildling who had what we think was a defective heart. He went downhill so fast we never got a chance to see if the heart meds were working. He left me in true wildling fashion, with a big bite and a pool of blood. :heart:








Portia, Ariel's sister, at 24 months, the last of an era of my Special Rats (I used to call them my Happy Rats, they would accept oldies and sickie strangers in their midst and take care of them until it was their time to go...). 









Kamali at 21 months to a chronic URI that wouldn't be treated anymore. Kamali came to me as a 4.5 week old baby on a special rat train from New Brunswick. This wee girl picked me. I picked her up and she settled calmly in my hands and slept there. Then she crawled to the back of my neck and slept there too. I was afraid to put her back in with her identical siblings because I would lose her. Someone kindly brought out a Sharpie for me  A real sweet lady this one. The first of the original Horde to pass. *sniff*
Dilbert, my goofy, bouncy boy nursemaided her constantly. He was always nearby when she wasn't well. When she responded to her meds, he would be off, but I would know that she wasn't well again when her beloved shadow was beside, under her again. He was soo gentle with her and was depressed for days after I took her in to be pts. 









I miss them all very much. 

And I have a wee old one leaving me any day now. Mattie has been here a month and has had a small stroke and a much larger one. She regressed the last few days and I am sure she is going to quietly pass very soon.
Mattie when I got her.








Mattie fighting back after the 2nd stroke








Mattie regressing








and Mattie last night after a bath...the grooming of the Nasty Wet was exhausting, even with my help, so she had a little nap. :heart:


----------



## ration1802 (Sep 25, 2007)

Luke - Just a baby at a year and a half passed away from unknown causes. We believe now it may have been a stroke, though. One day he just started wobbling, the next he couldn't walk - a week of battling later he passed away gently at home.

Eddie - Brother to Luke (and surviving Andy) died suddenly one night. He began screaming in the early hours of the morning and woke me up, I took him from his cage during his last breaths. He passed in my hand - cause unknown 

Oz - one of my two adopted wildun's. Dug up with his sister Max in a field by a mechanical digger at a week and a half old and given to me to hand-raise. He died from a blood clotting disorder (bled to death through a tiny knick in his finger) at 6 weeks of age. 

T-Baby - after being mis-diagnosed by a vet for what she thought was an inoperable bladder tumour, T-Baby fought on for 5 months with a huge tumour in her uterus. Towards the end the mass prevented most of her movement but her sister (Lou) was there 24/7 nursing her, making nests and cleaning her where she could no longer reach. T-Baby hung onto her personality 100% until the morning she died 

Katie - My old baby Katie is still clinging to life with a champions grip. She's suffering from a PT and has lost 85/90% of her mobility. She spends her days wrapped in her towel, or in my pocket fast asleep, depending on us to hand-feed her babyfood through a syringe. She's not giving up easily though, but we are certain that she's getting herself ready for her finale


To all the furkids I've lost (this year and before) you're missed everyday that you're gone


----------



## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

We lost an entire family this year. Mom & all the babies. We are fairly certain it was kidney failure in all cases since there was no signs of breathing problems or even a trace of porphyrin.

Here are a few photos that were taken just days before the last three babies passed. Rose Was the first to go at 2 weeks of age, then we lost Bootstrap (aka Rex) when he was about 5 weeks old. Jinx left us 2 weeks later & then Smeagol later that same day. Tinky held on for another week. We lost Mom about 2 months later. 

This was the little comedian of the bunch, Jinx









I had titled the picture wrong but this is actually Smeagol in a Mother & Son Momnent" (he is much larger than is tiny sister pictured below)









Here is Feisty Lil' Tinky. She was always a scrapper even tough she was so tiny.









Here is a shot of the original 5









Rex











Fluffy is pictured in the above photos. She was such an amazing girl. We miss her dearly.


----------



## Kimmiekins (Apr 14, 2007)

In 2007, we lost a lot of very dear friends.









Nicodemus
September, 2004 - April 24, 2007









Nip ("Nipster")
September 2006 - June 2, 2007

Then we lost JoJo, one of 6 previous rescue rats (not from us) that were dumped at a vet (close to us) who neglected them for a month. JoJo was in respitatory distress when we picked them up, and hung on for a few more weeks while we tried agressive treatments. RLR took over JoJo's care when the others went back to the rescue they came from. After a long and hard fight, JoJo was sent to the Bridge on Oct. 31.









Chester AKA "Chessie"
May 2005 - November 14, 2007









Rodent
Oct/Nov 2006 - Dec. 13, 2007

Also, one little girl who will forever be in my mind and heart. Lil'Bit, born shortly after coming into the rescue, she developed Megacolon. She was, in my mind, the best rat I've ever known. It's so sad that she only lived a few months, but we've dedicated the future of our rescue in memory of her.









Lil'Bit
August 1, 2007 - September 11, 2007


----------



## crapola (Feb 12, 2007)

i've only lost ginger this year, but she was my first rattie, and very special. we got her and loco on 22/11/06 when they were about 4 months old. i had her pts on 29/11/07 because of severe headtilt, which the vet said was caused by a massive brain tumour.

this is my favourite photo of her... ginger's mouth & loco's bum. i also have this pic as the wallpaper on my mobile phone...









ginger snuggling in a basket with the other girls...









ginger getting up close and personal...









and just resting in the new cage...


----------



## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

i lost three this year. (as i'm not on my comp tonight i will have post pictures later).

the first to go was Iedani. she had special needs and though i tried all that i could think of i could not get her to stop biting, even after nine months of work. it came to a point i could no longer keep her. i adopted her out to a person with a crazy eye-rape color scheme for the cage and two older ratties. she made herself to home, took over position as queen then passed in her sleep about a month later--we suspect a faulty heart as she showed no signs of illness. she wasn't quite 2 yet. 

i lost Spider in the summer. she was 30 months old and the oldest rat i've had to date. she had done it all in her life-time though. she even got to sit in on a philosophy class at my university. she was a fatty though, even her little fingers were fat. she always had a smile, even when she was fighting so hard from a respiratory illness near the end. she had recovered enough to be put back in the bi cage with everyone else, a couple days later i found her dead at the bottom of the cage. given the history of some her children i suspect it may have been a heart attack from a heart weakened by her long illness. 

just last month i lost Sweet-ums, she was only 6 weeks old at most, probably closer to 5. this was my own fault for not thinking about the temperature difference in a nursery cage when the heat for the apartment wasn't working right and it got too hot. i hardly knew her, we didn't even have her for a full 2 weeks, but she was a bright soul and is missed. 

the next three i'm happy to say are no longer with me, but rather with their new mommy who is doting on them and already spoiling them rotten. Brisby, Peaches and Sookie are now in their new home together and are loving every minute of it. i originally bought peaches and brisby for this very person as a christmas gift but i found Sookie about to be "let free" by a girl whose mother had just discovered she had converted the underneath of her bed into a cage. she was happy here but i can already tell she's happier with her new family. here, being among 10 others, she got pushed to the side a lot by the other rats. now, she's the center of attention and she's basking in it. 

i'm very thankful that more rats came into my life then left it this year though. this year i welcomed Bribery, Eyes, Ink, Babydoll, Sookie (though she is not with me now she was one of my babes for a time and is still alive though no longer living with me) and Stewart into the family. we've also celebrated first birthdays with Kakushi and Sweetipie. and second birthdays with Violet, Twix, Tween and Stewart, we're hoping that they will be with us for next christmas as well. 




thank you very much for starting this lilspaz, its a wonderful memorial to all the babes we've lost this year and to all the ones we got to bring into the family. i know you only intended to post about the ones that left but whenever i think about the lost babes i can't help but think of the new loves and the accomplishments of the ones left behind. again, thank you for starting this topic


----------



## Meliss (Sep 1, 2007)

I only lost one rat this year and that was Tara--- who got a virus from her moms breast milk and was having trouble breathing and we decided to put her to sleep since we couldn't help her. I am thinking now that it was a respirtory infection because she was hiccuping really loud-- and I wish I would have brought her to a second vet to get a second opinion. I think she would still be with us today


----------



## Kimmiekins (Apr 14, 2007)

I can not BELIEVE I forgot Stewie. It's still fresh and hurts...









Stewart, AKA Stewie
Jan-ish 2006, December 20, 2007


----------



## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

What lovely stories of these wonderful, unforgettable ratfriends. 








for all of you!


----------



## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I need to add Mattie as she passed today on Christmas. I will use my favourite pic of her when she was well.  Such a beautiful little lady, such a short month.


----------



## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

I am so sorry for all of your losses...

This year, we lost my little Melon. She was perfect, and I miss her all the time.

I am at work, or I would post pictures.


----------



## ration1802 (Sep 25, 2007)

And Katie .. who died this morning. The last casualty of 2007 (hopefully)


----------



## Slink (Dec 29, 2007)

It's so sad to hear of everyones losses, they are all so beautiful.

I lost my best friend, William this year. He was so amazing, I already basically posted a novel about him in my intro thread.

He got sick earlier on this year from what our not so bright vet thought was an abcess/ulcer. He was such a beatiful little man. He passed on in August this year at 3 years of age...not so peacefully...in my hand from what appeared to be some sort of fit after i injected some water into his mouth. I think the stupid vet had him on to higher dosage of something rats arent even ment to have...some sort of pain killer for cats and dogs?

Anyway this he when he was well napping on my clothes-


----------



## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I would assume the painkiller was metacam? I often use it for my rats. I am not sure why he was giving him metacam for an abscess tho. 

The fit you saw is just part of them dying. Its the nerve impulses firing randomly causing what looks like seizures, and flailing...some are very quiet and do barely any at all. He wasn't suffering, it was just his time to go. 

3 years is an awesome age for a Gentlerat.


----------



## Slink (Dec 29, 2007)

Oh wow thats such a relief, all the reading I've done has told me that his heart would have been under alot of painful pressure when he was passing. I'm not sure if it was Metacam but he was taking pain killers because he had a big nasty smelly hole in his head and when he would eat his soup or porridge which was all I could really give him through the abcess, he would squeak and bleed but he'd nuzzle into the towel to get rid of the blood and keep eating. So awful. I hate to think it was my fault, I spent $100s on vet care, I shouldnt have forced him to drink from a syringe.

So sorry i'm thread hijacking! I could talk about my little Wizzy all day


----------



## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Slink said:


> Oh wow thats such a relief, all the reading I've done has told me that his heart would have been under alot of painful pressure when he was passing. I'm not sure if it was Metacam but he was taking pain killers because he had a big nasty smelly hole in his head and when he would eat his soup or porridge which was all I could really give him through the abcess, he would squeak and bleed but he'd nuzzle into the towel to get rid of the blood and keep eating. So awful. I hate to think it was my fault, I spent $100s on vet care, I shouldnt have forced him to drink from a syringe.
> 
> So sorry i'm thread hijacking! I could talk about my little Wizzy all day


The abscess was on his throat or his cheek? He should've been on antibiotics, having that abscess flushed out (unless it went into his throat), and the metacam was for the pain...poor William. 
No, I just went thru it with a wee one on Christmas. She twitched and gasped (she wasn't moving much, but I have seen the seizures), her heart racing, then she stopped breathing, her heart fibrillated and she was gone. I have checked with epileptics and the seizures aren't painful, and most of what you experience when they pass are just nerve impulses. Your William was already gone as such. ((hugs))


----------



## ration1802 (Sep 25, 2007)

One of my little boys, Oz, died at 6 weeks from blood loss. I came home to find him cold, shaking and on deaths door. I held him, and he got quieter and quieter, then suddenly started writhing in my hands, stretching as far out as he could, gasping for breath. It is one of the worst things we can see, as pet owners, our little loved ones fight to be set free - but on the occasion that you are there to hold them and ease their passing - they thank you for it, I'm sure.


----------



## Slink (Dec 29, 2007)

lilspaz68 said:


> Slink said:
> 
> 
> > Oh wow thats such a relief, all the reading I've done has told me that his heart would have been under alot of painful pressure when he was passing. I'm not sure if it was Metacam but he was taking pain killers because he had a big nasty smelly hole in his head and when he would eat his soup or porridge which was all I could really give him through the abcess, he would squeak and bleed but he'd nuzzle into the towel to get rid of the blood and keep eating. So awful. I hate to think it was my fault, I spent $100s on vet care, I shouldnt have forced him to drink from a syringe.
> ...


Well I would say it was on his cheek because it burst through his head. See I dont have ANY vets in my town that know how to treat rats. They just treat them as they would a g-pig.

Excuse this horrid picture, this was the infected side of his head:










I wasnt actually holding him as such until he started jerking, it was so messy, my other little boy Harry was running around spastic and trying to get at Willy and I was telling Harry to go away because I didnt want him biting Willy and it was all very loud and panicy and I'm sure it contributed. It was odd because I got home late that night from work and walked into my room and Willy got out of bed to greet me and he looked a little sad, so I gave him some tin spaghetti and he ate a little bit, then started hanging around my feet at the computer so I picked him up and sat him in my lap and he rolled off my lap and hit the ground so I picked him up and sat on the bed with him and Harry started going INSANE and I gave Willy some water...and a few secs later the water just leaked out of his mouth onto my lap and I picked him up and looked at him front on and his good eye was watering and he was looking at me so I got on the phone...I was yelling at my partner who wasnt home...yelling at Harry to stay away, crying saying to my patyner over the phone he was dieing and typing away on my computer trying to find SOMETHING to help and he just...stopped. Harry went quiet for days and wouldnt come out from under my pillow for anything but to drink some water and eat some soft food.

Gah I'm highjacking thread again.

Ration how did Oz die of blood loss? That sounds terrible  It's so reassuring to see everyone coping with so many losses and I'm very sorry and sympathise with all. I guess in some cases, passing is best, to end all their pain. The illnesses these little creatures are susceptible to are so horrible, it's so hard to see them go through it, it just makes me think how much they must go through being so small


----------



## ration1802 (Sep 25, 2007)

Slink said:


> Ration how did Oz die of blood loss? That sounds terrible  It's so reassuring to see everyone coping with so many losses and I'm very sorry and sympathise with all. I guess in some cases, passing is best, to end all their pain. The illnesses these little creatures are susceptible to are so horrible, it's so hard to see them go through it, it just makes me think how much they must go through being so small


Oz got bitten on a finger (the SMALLEST knick), and the bleeding wouldn't stop. We never realised that rats COULD get clotting disorders. He bled (not significantly heavy, but constantly) overnight and that morning we decided to take him to the vet, the evening surgery. We applied pressure and assumed that it had stopped. Well, it continued bleeding all day and I came home to find him in such a state (he'd bled so much, his blood wasn't even red any more) and it was so sad and a complete shock. Now if I see even the smallest amount of blood - it turns into an episode of ER, only the rat version.

Our poor little ratties put up with a lot from their tainted gene pools - but at the end of the day, they have us here fighting their corner and trying to make even the hardest moments bareable for them. We own them on paper, but I think it's obvious to all that then own us in every other way 

Oh, and to all the ratties that are still plodding onwards, happy new year from my bunch! xx


----------



## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Slink, PM me and we'll discuss what could've been wrong with William, so we stop hijacking this thread. As sad as it was maybe you can learn something.

Shelagh


----------



## mink (Jun 24, 2007)

I lost 2 ratties this year technically, and one end of last December. I don't have a lot of rats. Before December 2006, my last rat to pass away was my Spike around Jan/Feb 2005. These recent losses hit me real hard.

~ I lost my Mika in July, she had a couple internal tumors and got a little lumpy looking, but she still got around ok and was full of energy the night before she passed away. The vet said she was inoperable and to bring her in to be Pts when she seemed unhappy or in pain, but she passed away beforehand. I got her around April 2005, she was the cutest little thing. She was so kissy, but always on the go. Kiss and run all the time lol.

Mika being a ham, my most favorite rat pic of all time. 



















Mika as an old lady (on my fiance).












~After I attained Mika, my fiance promptly went back a day or two after, and bought her cage-mate which he named Naru. Naru passed away end of last December in her sleep, don't know why. She seemed to be getting older. She was sooo squishy and cuddly and smothered you in kisses. She practically lived out of her beloved hammock, she even chewed a couple holes so she could be in-between the layers. She was a miss-marked Himalayan, but slowly became almost perfect markings. 




















Mika and Naru found my camera case..










Ok.. theres a story, Mika knocked down my clock and ran like the wind..just after this pic..










And Naru had to go investigate! 









Naru and my fiance.. he loved her soooo much too!











~ Maya passed away in August, during a nap. Old age or something unable to detect. I took her in from a friend who hardly held her and she was quite neurotic.. but would brux up a storm at being cuddled.. until some door closing or tv noise would make her freak out and scramble while having an 'accident' all over. I got her around December 2005, she was fully grown at that point but I don't think by much. She never came looking for attention, she shook like a leaf at times, scrambled, sometimes had to practically be a juggling act. She never once bit, nor kissed. But I still loved her anyways. 

I only got a few pics of her, since I found the flash / camera noises made her jump. She was a mis-marked Himalayan, only brown on her nose. 



















<3


----------



## Dusk (Nov 20, 2007)

I lost my baby, Coffee, about a week before Christmas. Poor little thing, no idea why or how she died. My dad found her in her cage when he went to give her a treat.


----------



## kancerr (Apr 7, 2007)

above is mocha and spazz(shes the hairless one). dont have a very good picture of mocha. she passed away of cancer early in 07, was with me for about a year. ;/

below is spazz my hairless, lost her on the 4th of november 07. she passed away from old age as far as i know. was always healthy at her vet check ups. got her at a pet store who adopted her from somebody who had other rats who beat her up, dont know how old she was when i adopted her. she hated other rats but loved people ;], was like losing a best friend. ;/


----------



## mopydream44 (Jun 10, 2007)

I "lost" one rattie though technically it wasn't in 2007, and she did not die. I adopted Cricket from a rescue, so my hairless rat wouldn't be the only outsider (now it all seems so ridiculous). After a month and 1/2 of failed introduction attempts, and two pretty significant injuries, I brought her to meet my boyfriends sister, who had 4 rats. I didn't truly expect Cricket to get along with her rats (and perhaps a small secret part of me didn't want her to) but the plan was to let Jackie (sister) adopt her. 

Of course Cricket got along famously, and she moved through the intro process in days. My heart sank, and I really wanted to build another cage and adopt a friend for her to keep her but Dan (boyfriend) thought it would be best for her to stay. We already have 8 ratties, and I knew he was right. Plus, there was really no insurance that Cricket would get along with whatever new rat I adopted for her, and it would mean an additional amount of time (over a month potentially after adoption, QT, and intros) being a lone rat. We both love her very much (she was super snuggly) and as much as I want to believe she needs us more I couldn't be that selfish. 

This is a true example of letting the one you love go. She has a good home, rattie friends, and a good new rat mom. I'll try to post a pic later. I do miss her so! 

*tear*


----------



## Macabri (Oct 8, 2007)

I lost my Jezebel in December. My first rat and my baby. At least I got to bring her ashes home the day after Christmas.

I miss her so much.


----------



## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

Let's see I lost my sweet sweet girl Meeha









Meeha

We lost Sapphyre









Sapphyre

and we lost our hammy cloud (can be seen in my avatar. I think that Meeha's death was by far the hardest this year. She was my everything!


----------



## rattusnorvegicus (Dec 31, 2007)

eskimo- december 22, 2007 -december 29, 2007. 
though i only had you for seven days, you shal always
be in my heart. she died from a respritory infection and
a heart problem. she was very loveable and very 
intelligent but you passed away on my.


----------



## Holly (Dec 31, 2006)

My first rat, Gregor Samsa, was euthanized on Feb. 14th. He was just too good and loving for this world.


----------



## Chivahn (Mar 30, 2007)

I lost brothers Little Kevin Bacon and Lieutenant Rupert Dickings, Esq. III a week to the hour apart from eachother back in October. I'm not sure what happened. They were just dead within a matter of about a day....they both had this lump in the same spot of their chests, like their ribcage was deformed and there was something sticking out....Dr. Tran was in with them, and he is completely find and happy and healthy. 

RIP buddies


----------



## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Sigh...Dolci this morning at 6:20 am


----------



## kaylaface (Sep 6, 2007)

This year I lost dirty Harry and Eeyore. I didn't have Eyore long, and never managed to get pictures but I have some of dirty Harry.


----------

