My Rats

Lucy the rat

Olivia the rat

This morning began with another trip to the vet. Let's see. . .do you want the bad news, the really bad news or the really, really bad news. As you know, one of my rats (Olivia the rat) has had problems with her eyes, she has 2 tumors and periodic bleeding. This trip to the vet, however, was because of my other rat, Lucy. This morning she was laboring to breathe and wouldn't eat. We found that Lucy has what is believed to be a tumor in her lungs. It is keeping her right lung from inflating properly and making it difficult to breathe. There is nothing that they can do for this. She may need to be put to sleep. We are just going to monitor her and make her as comfortable as possible.

Olivia the rat got a checkup as well. For as many problems as she has, she is still extremely happy-go-lucky. We have surgery scheduled for her on Thursday. The vet is going to remove her tumors and spay her. This will help with the bleeding. Our vet seems fairly confident that she will pull through this surgery just fine. The bad thing is, Olivia the rat would not do well without Lucy. Lucy is the mothering type. . .she takes care of her. She builds the little nest (of bedding and newspaper) that they sleep in each night and makes sure everything is tidy while Olivia the rat is goofing off and having fun. Both are just amazing pets. I know that many of you find that hard to believe, but I can't stress it enough. They're so intelligent and gentle and loving.

Part of me wishes that I didn't care so much, but I do. After Logan's death, I was afraid that I wouldn't feel anything. . .good or bad. . .ever again. Caring so much about animals gives me a glimpse into the person that I used to be. Good or bad, I don't ever want to lose that.