# Rats with health issues you cannot heal



## rottengirl (Mar 16, 2016)

Hi all, 

I just wanted a place to rant about my pets health issues that I can't cure or heal, that will eventually kill them. 
Dolly has congestive heart failure and every day I look into her beautiful face and wish there was something I could do for her to make the hole in her heart disappear. All I can do is give her her daily dose of Furosemide and pray that she stays with me until tomorrow. Luckily I live with my parents and so I have enough extra money to give to my rats. But this isn't a problem I just can't throw money at, and it will be the reason I lose her. 

 


Feel free to vent here about your pet losing their battle against their health issue. I kind of need to feel not so alone right now.


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## Phoene (Dec 21, 2017)

So sorry about your girl. Wren is also dying from something I cannot cure, so I know what it feels like. I (like you) felt the need to write a post about my girl. I really believe that the one and only problem with rats is their short lives and how easy they get sick. But, they are SO lovable and sweet, and perfect in every other way. Just love them for as long as you can. I always worry that my animals don't know how much I love them and I try to make it clear to them, but I don't know how much they understand.

This is what I said in my post:
Some of you may have read some of my previous posts and remember, but I'll do a recap anyway. Now, my girl Wren has had a respiratory infection since a little after I got her (or maybe even when I got her). I think she got it when, after I had fun giving her a lot of toilet paper and watching her and her sister hid it away, the cage got _very smelly and stayed that way for maybe 24 hours (they were the first rats that I had had for only a day or two and I didn't want to clean out the cage and scare them). After that Wren started sneezing, but I thought it was just new home sneezes and let it go for almost 6 weeks (I know now that new home sneezes don't last that long). I got both sisters on antibiotics but they did nothing for Wren. Phoebe was not sick.

I then made the mistake of leaving the rats out to run around my room all day unsupervised. When my aunt had a rat she had her out all day every day so I thought this was safe for the rat. Phoebe found the one thing in my room that was dangerous and died. She climbed into a trash can that was on top of my chest of drawers and nocked it off the edge so it got stuck between the wall and the chest of drawers. I don't know if she tried to get out then or when she heard me come into the room with treats, but when I went looking for her I found her head sticking out. She suffocated to death when she tried to get out. I don't like to say it, but it would have been so much easier if it had been Wren that died (don't think that I didn't love Wren as much as Phoebe, but Phoebe was not sick and so I wouldn't have the problem I have now if she had lived instead).

Now, I got another rat because the rescue I was looking for rats from (Mainely Rat Rescue) said that it didn't matter if Wren was sick. Lark started sneezing a few weeks after I got her but it wasn't so bad. At this point, Wren was still on antibiotics. The vet said that using a nebulizer would help better than the antibiotics so I got that. Wren was taken off of the antibiotics.

All was well enough until Wren got a tumor. The vet said the removal of the tumor would worsen her breathing so I chose not to do the operation. The tumor got a little bigger, her breathing a little worse, and I was preparing myself for a time where I had to put her down. Lark's infection then got worse and I got her (and Wren) some antibiotics (we are not 1/2 way done with a 2-week course).

I don't know when I really noticed (I should have written it down), but recently Wren has lost a lot of weight. I can feel all her ribs and see her shoulder blades. I am going to put her down soon if she doesn't gain weight. One of the reasons I am writing this is because as I said at the top of the post, I don't know really why she is losing weight. She is eating (I made mush for her which she eats as she wasn't eating a lot of dry food) and she still poops a lot. Her tumor is not huge or growing rapidly so I don't think it is stealing all her nutrients. Could it be from the antibiotics? I have heard my mother say that if you take too many antibiotics you get poisoned by them. The vet gave us some probiotics which I gave to her when she was taking her first course, then somehow lost. What can I do to help her gain weight? Do I take her off of the antibiotics? If I do, will this hurt Lark because the antibiotic immune infection will spread to her? 

I am giving her until this Friday to improve, if she doesn't I think I'll put her down. She isn't having a happy life anymore. All I want is the best for her and I feel like I haven't given that to her. When I got her I didn't know much about rats (even though I read a lot online). I made a bunch of mistakes, letting the cage get smelly, not going to the vet after 2 or 3 weeks of sneezing, leaving the rats out all day, etc. I feel bad that she is only around 13 months old and she is near her death. Lark is only 7-8 months and she is sick. 

If you actually read all this, thank you. If you didn't read it all, thank you anyway._


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## Kelsbels (Aug 12, 2015)

<3 I'm so sorry everyone <3

Late last year Starbuck had extreme pain, she had fallen off a box and landed weird. We rushed her to the emergency vets after we heard her screaming later on that night. The vet found she had some bruising on her rib and asked if she could stay the night and they'd give her painkillers. 

So happy that it was just a bruise, and worried throughout the night come morning we went back to the emergency vet to pick her up. They noticed that something was growing in her vaginal canal. They did an ultrasound and couldn't find anything (it's very tiny). They said it was most likely cancer and that they wouldn't do anything with it. 

We went to our normal vet. He looked inside and found it to be a polyp growing inside. There was no telling the size of the polyp apparently some can be sticking out and some grow along the wall of an organ. He didn't want to risk surgery unless she was losing a lot of blood. He gave us painkillers to give her. 

No too long later this growth got bigger, as long as she peed pooped and did her normal stuff she was fine. She was still extremely active. We had to give painkillers when she started screaming, and eventually, we gave it every day. We looked online talked with groups to find out what would be the best solution. A lot of folks suggested spaying but it was too late at that point, that growth was huge. Some suggested hormone treatment, which we tried, but in the end, it also didn't work.

Finally I noticed that the polyp was sticking more out of her. It made me feel awful and all I could think was, "I don't want to remember her this way" and that it was just too much for her even though she got around just fine. Finally, I asked her, "Starbuck, I love you, do you need help to pass?" and she gave me a long serious look. It was a confirmation that yes, she was ready. When my boyfriend got home we talked about it and decided that we'd need to take her in in the morning. 

It was like 6am and suddenly we heard a commotion in the cage. We ran downstairs and found Starbuck dragging herself around the cage bleeding. Her sisters were worried and followed her very concerned. Neptune was covered in blood (from Starbuck sleeping on her) and Tree was at the door scared. We took Starbuck out and rested her in the carrying cage. I guess at the time my bf and I were glad we both talked about putting her to sleep the night before, because we said our goodbyes then, and also when Starbuck was resting on her side. We got ready and went as quickly as possible to the vet.

What made it easier at least for me, was that she seemed ready to move on at that point, she didn't completely bleed out, but she didn't have much energy. She passed very peacefully. 

It's been some months now and I can't help but think about if there was actually anything we could have done for her. Even though the vets suggested that it was better left alone and monitored. Probably realistically there wouldn't be anything. Sure, spaying earlier might help, but who knows.

I just wanted to share this, I've been in mourning for a while and with Starbuck it was exhausting with all the back and forth hoping she'd suddenly be well again.


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

Fu-Inle said:


> My rat Sam is currently battling with a life long chronic uri problem. She's almost died multiple times, she's been severely underweight for the past 8 months. Last night she was open mouth breathing and I thought she wasn't going to survive but almost 24 hours on shes seems to be better. Everytime she starts to get better and puts on weight she goes downhill and loses it again. She just turned 2 she doesn't really do much these days besides lay around and breath hard, she use to be very bright and playful and I may consider euthanasia if her quality of life doesn't improve.


Update: she had another gasping fit 2 days ago but after nebulising a bronchilator to her, it resolved. She's perked up alot and has a better appetite but this like the 5th time she's climbed back from rock bottom. It's like an inside joke with my vet. Every time I see her she's like "don't be suprised if she doesn't survive the night" then I come back with her a couple months later in an even worse state than before.


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