Birthday Pin-up
Card by Skye
Where the fud?
Is it to eat?
((clap clap)) Yey ai has ur fuds!
High five!
Nomnuts!
Go wey ai iz nomming ;P
Scritches from Skye
Snuggles from Maya
Nomyoggy
Nomnomnom
Today my lovely rats have been mostly eating lots and lots
There’s nothing really new on the ratty front, so here are some up-to-date photos of the small furry fellas Click on each photo to bring it up larger.
Today my lovely rats have been eating Yorkshire pudding pieces
I can’t believe it’s been so long since my last post - almost 10 months!
My apologies to anyone who regularly visits the site for neglecting to update it, I intend to rectify that right now! I found it difficult to write about the rats for a while after Shy-Shy died, because he was the reason I started this project and he was the last of the original “Lovely Rats” gang. I have just the two reprobates left: Dublin and Jinx, and here they are looking their usual silly selves:
Sillyheads
There is nothing new to report, only that the two of them are still the silliest looking rats you have ever seen. Dublin has mastered the “Daft-But-Cute-As-As-Teeny-Fluffy-Baby-Kitten” look and Jinx continues charge around the place in a frantic but slightly idiotic way, occasionally pouncing on his brother for no apparent reason. Of course Dublin shrugs it off (he has some sense) and is pacified with yoghurt drops and reassuring scritches from the Rat Mother (me)
Evidence of Nuttiness
Today my lovely rats have been mostly eating fruit and nuts.
Happy Birthday My Lovely Rats Blog - I can’t believe it is three years since I wrote the very first post! I just squished this post in after I realised in May that I’d missed this momentous event! Happy Birthday Blog!!!
Today my lovely rats are mostly eating nostalgic pies
The last one of the infamous four. My lovely Shy-Shy has departed to the Rainbow Bridge.
We had been on holiday for a week and my neighbour had kindly fed the rats for me, including dishing out Shy-Shy’s baby food everyday. Shy-Shy had been eating okay all the time we were away, and he seemed very happy to see me. He trundled over to the edge of the cage and poked his wee nose through at me, bruxing away. Then over the next two days he just stopped eating and his breathing was very laboured. I tried to coax him to eat and he would only lick a bit of food off my finger, so I decided to take him to the vet. I’m convinced he was just waiting for me to come back.
On 13th July we all kissed him goodbye.
Here’s some memories of a very special little rat…
Tiny at 6 Weeks Young
When Shy Shy first came to live with us he was very nervous and shy, hence his name. He was my daughter Maya’s rat and she named him.
Nom Nom
Despite being the most bashful rat of the litter to begin with, he was the fastest to tame and was always way ahead of his brothers in many ways. He was an intelligent boy with a bit of a wild streak!
Peepo
Rat Transport
An Inquisitive Soul
Not Missing a Thing
Ratsitting
Here Shy Shy is rat-minding Dublin and Jinx. He was quite protective of them and was the most tolerant member of the group.
The Brothers
Old Boy
He had a sweet baby face even when he was getting on a bit - this is one of the last pictures taken of him.
Good Looking
So here’s a final picture just to show what a handsome rat Shy Shy was… A bright little star, full of personality. He will always be remembered as a special member of the family. To the Rainbow Bridge..
Today my lovely rats have been mostly eating scraps.
Baby Face
Shy-Shy looking deceptively youthful. Aaw my poor old-man rat is losing his appetite. He refuses his dry rat food mix. He can be coaxed to eat baby oat breakfast though. His breathing has become a little more shallow lately and after the loss of his brothers I think he’s slowing down. He has his routine though (just like an old man!) and watches the younger boys at play time from his box in the cage. It’s desperately sad really. I tried to put my (usually separated) three rats together but it looked like they were going to freak out, and I didn’t want to put any stress on Shy-Shy as his health is a bit iffy. I have a feeling it’s his last days now, poor old thing…
Today my lovely rats have been mostly eating boring old rat food.
Dublin Scrutinising his Birthday Card
On 24th May the boys celebrated their first birthday with home made muesli biscuits!
Jinx Grabs a Biccy
Dublin Gets his Teeth into it
I wouldn’t dream of spoiling my rats.. I mean.. doesn’t everyone bake for their pets?! They also got little parcels of yoghurt drops and a great party game of “Chase the Feather on a Stick”. This is a type of cat toy which is brilliant for rats - they love to chase it around the floor like a couple of kittens - hilarious!
Today my lovely rats are mostly eating sunflower seeds
On the 14th April our sweet Pip departed to the proverbial Rainbow Bridge…
Since the death of his brother Stripe, Pip had been struggling against the ongoing effects of Mycoplasmosis. Although we tried an antibiotic called Septrin for roughly a month, the infection was too advanced, and his shallow gravelly breathing continued. In the end his body just couldn’t fight any more and he stopped eating.
Pip was the leader of the gang, and very much a rat’s rat. He tolerated being picked up and fussed, but he wasn’t overly friendly. He would rarely seek out human attention, so the day he slowly made his way across the cage to me and climbed onto my chest, I knew something was wrong. I thought at first he was asking for food (I had been giving him soft baby food for a while now) but he wouldn’t even take his favourite yoghurt. I tried him with different favourites, and water, but he didn’t want anything. So I put him back in his bed with some extra bedding to keep him warm. No sooner I had put him in his bed, he was up again and making his way feebly towards me. Now I was quite distressed - I knew he was asking for something but I didn’t know how to help. I think I knew then that he had had enough of his illness, and somehow I was a comfort.
I took a few deep breaths and calmed myself down, and carried Pip in the house to monitor him more closely. I wrapped him up in a blanket and sat with him on my chest. He made no attempts to move and soon fell asleep. He had used up the last dregs of energy and it was obvious that he was not going to recover, so I made the decision to take him to the vets to be put to sleep. I didn’t see any point in trying to keep him alive - I think in his own way he “told” me he was ready to go. It was terribly sad for us all - especially so soon after Stripe’s death, but we didn’t want Pip to suffer any more.
On a brighter note - here are some fond memories of our lovely Pip…
Slumbering Fuzzy
This is Pip at six weeks old, on the day we brought him home from the Rescue Centre.
Pip and Rocky
Pip was very timid at this age and snuggled up to his brothers for security. We wouldn’t have guessed he would become the Alpha male in months to come.
Too Cute!
“I is shy”
Pin-up Pip
Pip was such a good-looking rat!
Cuddly Boy
Here Pip demonstrates his good nature and patience at being man-handled by young children!
Guarding the Tube
Pip was a good alpha leader - firm but fair. There were never any serious fights among the pack of four. In fact, when Stripe was ill, Pip was protective of him.
The Last Days of Pip
Finally one of the last photographs taken of Pipsy, with a yoggie drop in his mouth!
Today my lovely rats are mostly eating ethereal yoggies.
Just a few days after Stripes 2nd birthday, he began to show signs of being seriously ill, and sadly, over last weekend he declined very quickly. It was all so sudden and unexpected.
I continued to give him soft food and keep him warm, but he grew tired very quickly and slept most of the time. He was too weak to walk properly, and just shuffled very slowly, if at all. He lost weight in a matter of days, and his eyes were encrusted with porphrin in the mornings - which I bathed in cooled boiled water on cotton wool buds. He didn’t seem to mind this, in fact, although he was weak, one time he managed to crawl up to me in his cage, and kissed me on the nose. It was a poignant moment since I knew he didn’t have long left with us.
On Monday 30th March we took all three of the older boys, Stripe, Pip and Shy-Shy to the vets. Shy-Shy and Pip were no longer responding to the Baytril antibiotic, and Stripe was still deteriorating. Shy-Shy and Pip were examined and the vet prescribed a different antibiotic: Seprin. The vet took one look at Stripe, and we both came to the decision that it would be best to put him to sleep. She gave him gas to make him sleep, and then gave him the dreaded injection. He died peacefully while I stroked him.
We buried Stripe next to his brother Rocky in our garden and my daughters found a stone and shell to mark the place. Here are some images of Stripe in those magic moments of his life:-
One Tiny Fuzzy
At 6 weeks old, Stripe was a curious but very timid boy. He was already endearing us to him. He was chosen for my daughter Skye, and she named him because of the stripe on his back.
Dreamy Days
At 7 weeks, Stripe was still napping often, and growing very quickly in size and confidence.
Curiosity
With plenty of handling and positive reinforcement, Stripe became a friendly little guy, and never nipped like the other boys. He was the most submissive member of the group. He was still jumpy though, and freaked out at strange sounds, or fast movement.
Praying for Yoggies!
Stripe was the only rat to have a fascination with my face, and was the first rat to give me “rat kisses”. When he was this age, he used to climb on to my glasses and sit there!!
Stripe in his Prime
During an Intro with Jinx & Dublin
Stripe was not able to accept Jinx & Dublin into the group. I think it was partly because he was too scared of them.
Wash Time
The Last Photo of Stripe
Here he is on his birthday, thoroughly enjoying his cake! He had a special bond with his brothers and will missed by all of us.
Go find Rocky and have fun at the Rainbow Bridge Stripey…
Today my lovely rats are mostly eating porridge with yucky medicine in.
I have some sad news, Stripe, my sweet affectionate little rat is not well at all. Over the last two days he has suddenly become very weak and is unable to get about the cage very much.
His breathing is quite shallow, and I think it is quite serious.
I’m feeding him soft food with Nutrical, keeping him warm, and monitoring his condition. He’s already on a course of the antibiotic Baytril for his Myco infection.
Get better Stripey.
Sweet Stripe
Today my lovely rats are mostly eating yoghurt.