# All of A Sudden (Brutus)



## RosesAndRats (May 7, 2015)

There's some irony in this, and if I didn't have feelings I'd probably find it funny. 

I'm in a class to get my CNA, and for over 3 weeks I had to wake up at 6:15 to go to a nursing home, to take care of the elderly. I'm a senior in high school, and this is my only chance to take this class for free, so of course I'm taking it seriously. I was not going to miss a single day of clinicals. I prayed and prayed that nothing happened to my rats while I still had to go, because I knew that if a rat died I would be too upset to go anywhere. 

See, Ashley currently has a large mammary tumor, and recently grew another one lower by her hind legs/genitals. I was concerned that I'd wake up and find her gone. She's been sleeping a lot more lately, she's weaker, and she's about 3 years old. It's to be expected. 

I did not expect Brutus to bust an abscess Wednesday the 14, which happened to open up on two different spots. It was large, and infected, and nasty. I took him on the 16th (after my last day of clinicals) to see our vet, who specializes in "exotic" pets, and also does emergencies/surgeries. Even she was taken back by what she saw, and a little confused if my perceptions are correct. She scheduled the surgery for Monday morning. 

I dropped him off Monday morning thinking it would go over fine, and I'd have a few laughs at his drugged up behavior when I picked him up later. He was alert and completely healthy, I thought the whole thing was completely localized. He didn't even have a hint of something wrong other than that abscess. 

I was literally in the drive thru line at Chick-fil-A when my vet personally called to say that the surgery wasn't going well, that it was attached to another ball of something bad, as well as a tumor. The other Thing was attached to his intestines and his urinary tract and there was no way he was going to make it. She said the best thing to do was to just let him pass on since he was already under anesthesia. 

(Also, I'd started to get sick Sunday, I'm still sick, so this whole thing was just made worse by this.) 

I would upload pictures of him now, but my computer's being difficult so maybe I'll make a reply later. 

Brutus was a Brute, who was large and lazy, and Blaire and Albert really seem to miss having him around. At least he gets to see his baby mama Athena now.


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## Ratloved (Oct 4, 2015)

Sorry to hear about Brutus!


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## Asteria (Jul 6, 2016)

Rest in peace Brutus, it sounds like he was very loved by you and his ratty friends.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

I'm sorry about Brutus you did your best and he passed peacefully.


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## Rattielover965 (Apr 26, 2016)

I'm so sorry


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## RosesAndRats (May 7, 2015)

Thank you for your comments, everybody. For those interested in knowing, my family has been communicating with the vet. Apparently Brutus had very aggressive lymphatic sarcoma, and it was everywhere. It would have been impossible to save him. He also had another type of cancer, I think, and so the place they took him for studying is actually taking real interest in him. (What a good boy, helping science.)

Unfortunately, my other boy Albert has passed away this morning. He got sick Friday night and it was snowing. Our vet is about 45 minutes away, and the way he looked and acted, it was very reminiscent of the way Belle and Athena looked right before they passed. It was impossible to get him any help that would have been immediate, and it looked far too advanced to just give him simple antibiotics. He showed symptoms the same time I noticed a small, infected opening by his penis. It oozed pus at the touch. The vet said Brutus did not have anything that was contagious, so the coincidence is a bit jarring. All of it is a bit jarring. 

I'm down to my 3 girls now. Ashley still has a large mammary tumor under her front left arm, and a smaller tumor on the inside of her right hind leg. Her hind legs and her hips seem weak, and it's flabbergasting to watch her bounce around so happily when her mortality is so obvious. The next several months will be interesting.


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