RatPalace.com - Pet Rat Care and Discussion

Tue Dec 13, 2005 2:40 am

Well, Saturday was a bad day. I was cleaning the boy mouse cage and Soliel jumped out of my hand. The door to the rat room was open because I had been bringing bags of bedding in, and I thought Jack (who is a horrible, devil of a cat) was occupied with the can of tuna I had given him (specifically so he'd stay out of the way while I was cleaning.)

Well, he wasn't. Soliel jumped out of my hand and Jack launched himself from the doorway and landed on him, breaking his back instantly.

He didn't die. We rushed him to the vet- luckily it was before noon on Saturday and the vet was still open. I could tell that there was really nothing that the vet would likely be able to do, so I was basically going to have him euthanised. Sad

But by the time we got there, he was behaving normally-- but dragging his back half. He wasn't acting as if he was in a lot of pain...he was dragging himself around the table with a normal, bright eyed expression on his face- not the normal squinty eyed, sick/hurt face.

He had some reflex response in his hind right leg, and he never lost color, so we began to question whether his back was actually broken...he wouldn't sit still for x-rays, and we really didn't want to sedate him in his condition, so we didn't know for sure.

Because he was in such good spirits, we decided not to euthanise him right away. The vet loaded him up on painkillers and said to keep heat on his back, and to see if he'd make it through the night. I heated up washcloths in the dryer and wrapped him in them, changing them every 30 minutes as they cooled for the rest of the day.

I put him in a hospital cage with his mother. Before everyone gets upset, there was NO way he could have mated with her in his condition, and he isn't closely bonded to any of the other males, not even his brothers. I didn't want him to have to be alone, but I knew if I put any of the other males in with him they'd just pick on him or kill him. I put his mom with him, hoping she'd at least snuggle up to him and keep him company, and she did.

Still, he declined over the course of the day, and when I was getting close to the decision to take him in for the last time, he passed on his own.

Soliel was the son of Marshmallow and Flame, and he was easily my most handsome man mouse, with his brilliant orange fur and black undercoat, making him look almost ticked- he was actually a brindle.

Though he wasn't overly fond of me, I enjoyed watching him play with his brothers and run on his squeaky yellow wheel, and the boy cage looks empty now with only four to fill it.

I'll miss you Soliel, and I hope you find plenty of orangey girlmice and yellow wheels at the bridge.

From now on, Jack is going to be locked in the laundry room when I clean the mouse cages.

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--Brittany

"He who breaks a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom."

Tue Dec 13, 2005 2:54 am

Oh, my! I am so sorry to hear about your loss! He was such a cute little guy. Puppy Dog Eyes

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Shanna
~ Serendipity Rodentry ~

Wed Dec 14, 2005 10:08 am

I'm so sorry, Brittany - what an awful accident, but such fighting spirit.

Sleep tight, Soliel, and play hard, little guy. Hug

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Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Wed Dec 14, 2005 10:34 am

I'm so sorry.

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Kate & the M.O.U.S.
If you saw a man drowning and you could either save him or photograph the event ... what kind of film would you use?
~ Anonymous

Wed Dec 14, 2005 6:36 pm

That's very unfortunate, but at least you did what you could and it sounds like he went pain free.

Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:43 pm

I'm so sorry. :*

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Arvay and the Squirmin' Vermin

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'

--Erma Bombeck

Thu Dec 15, 2005 9:18 pm

Aww fatmanmousesquish Sad

you told me about on AIM but I didnt realise you had a thread in his honour. Here is my condolensces and I hopes he gets to eat lots of junkfood and mate until his eyes bug out in happy mouse heaven ^_^

Fri Dec 16, 2005 7:44 am

Thanks everyone.

With Jack around, my house is just not a safe place for mice. I've tried to keep him locked out of the rat room...but my parents go behind me and let him in when I'm not home. Jack is a complete terror, and every training method I've tried falls through because my parents go behind me and undermind everything I do with him...blah. This isn't the first time he's bothered the mice, this is just the first time it's been fatal. For now, I found a way to keep the mice up on top of my big rat cage- but Jack is already teaching himself to climb up to get to them.

I know most people are against it, but Jack is probably going to have to learn to live, for the most part, outside. He'll be allowed in at night and when I can be home to watch him, but for the most part he'll have to be outside. I don't live near a busy road, and our backyard has a tall privacy fence that should keep most things out and him in. He's neutered, up to date on his shots, has ID tags, and won't go out permanantly until I've gotten him used to being out there...I won't just toss him out without a clue.

Honestly, he'll have a much better quality of life that way- as it is, no one is ever nice to him because he's constantly in trouble for something, and I'm unable to train him or keep him away from the rodents thanks to my parents. He can't be happy getting screamed at and squirted all the time, and when he goes out he'll have plenty to do and things to destroy and wild things to hunt, and he'll be able to get plenty of attention of the kind that doesn't involve anyone telling him how bad he is. I just think it'll work much better for everyone involved.

ANYWAY, thanks again for the kind words, guys. Hopefully with some changed this kind of thing won't happen again.

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--Brittany

"He who breaks a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom."

Sun Dec 18, 2005 7:38 pm

I am so sorry that Soliel passed, but you did what you could for him Hug

I have a cat just like Jack. He is a hunter, and would kill the rats if he could. Since we live on a road with virtually no traffic, he can go outside whenever he wants, and chooses to only come in at night. I just make sure that my door is closed, though it sounds like you are trying to do that.

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Rosie

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I miss you Tut, Goldy, and Raoul Angel rat