It's just another Dead Rat. What does it matter?

[tcpip]

Monte just died.

caseopaya and I took him him out this morning to get some sun and fresh air. He hadn't been well, losing control of a hind paw, and going almost completely blind.

On returning home, he was most insistent that I hold him, high on my chest, resting his head on my shoulder. He didn't want to go anywhere else or want anything else. So for the better part of the past hour I was holding him, closely, listening to his strained breathing.

Suddenly, he coughed up blood and started breathing in coughing fits. This lasted a couple of minutes. The tough ol' rat, he wasn't going to go quietly into the dark, he would rage against the fading of the light. I had to tell him to let it go.

Then he died.

I'm going to miss the ol' fella.

Comments

[missmalice.livejournal.com]

I'm so so sorry to hear this.
My thoughts are with the both of you.

No matter how long they are with us. it's never long enough.
*hugs*

[amarafox.livejournal.com]

Awww :( G'bye, monte. Party on with Nyx, Starlily and pandora in that big cardboard box full of rat treats in the sky

[feywords.livejournal.com]

Sorry you lost your buddy.

[casca-2u.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear that. Monte seems so human, and loving and loved, from your entry.

*hugs*

[bellaforte.livejournal.com]

*hugs*
Sounds like a rat of utmost character.
I hope we all go with the same love for life.

[cptjohnc.livejournal.com]

It sounds like a fitting end to a life well lived. I'm sure he will be missed. My condolences.

[17catherines.livejournal.com]

I am so sorry to hear this. I'm glad he got to be with you as he died.

love

Catherine

[darkstardeity.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[bobstar.livejournal.com]

Ahh, the poor little mite.

The little buggers touch us so deeply.

Both Harley and Monte had such wonderful lives filled with love and scritches.

I'm glad Mouse got to meet both of the boys.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Thank you for you kind words. Monte certainly wanted me to be there. I was fortunate that I'd decided to take the day off. I hope you can be there for your old cat, lovely critters that they are.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Assuming I live for another thirty or so years, and I have two rats every three years, that's another twenty rats personalities I can be introduced to... Quite a few!

It is grossly unfair that such intelligent creatures have such short lives.

(OT: And Joh Bjelke-Petersen lived on and on and on...)

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Sounds like he wanted his last moments to be with someone he trusted and felt safe with, at a time when he felt his most vulnerable.

It seems so. In many ways it was such a great honour to be the recipient of his insistence.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

That would be lovely if you could find the pictures.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Thanks Loki, that made me smile. Monte had a bit of a Neil Young attitude I think. Better to burn out than to rust.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

when i get back to oz chances are ill have to get my cat put down ( skin cancer )

Ouch. That sucks. But it all depends of quality of life, and dignity - and, of course, in the case of humans, their express will.

It's hard making that choice for pets.

[lokicarbis.livejournal.com]

Better to burn out than to rust.

The rat is gone, but he's not forgotten...

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Even as a humanist you can hope it and appreciate the idea for its aesthetic qualities.

Funny thing was several minutes before he died he climbed on to my knee (with assistance) to seemingly stare/sniff at something else in the room.

Terry Pratchet would appreciate that. SQUEAK!

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

He'll get a full write up in a couple of days, just like Harlequin did.

I'll also modify the picture so the size is more acceptable, bandwidth-wise.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I'm glad Mouse gave Monte a lesson on how to be civil! It was a bit of character building he needed to experience. He learned from it, and became a better rat.

The little buggers touch us so deeply.

Smart, wild and full of personality. They are like great people, but with an accelerated lifespan.

[caseopaya.livejournal.com]

He'll get a full write up in a couple of days, just like Harlequin did.

I'm glad, he was just as important as Harlequin!

I miss them both.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Yeah, she takes the loss pretty hard :/

Monte

[klingongal.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry to hear about Monte. Your tribute page (http://au.geocities.com/lev_lafayette/montebanc.html) really touched my heart. I don't look forward to my boys dying...but I hope that when they do they are able to pass with me holding them and letting them know that I love them. (((((HUGS))))

Re: Monte

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the kind words. The boys thoroughly deserve their little tributes. It would be preferable of course, if they did not have to be written.

[dukeofmelbourne.livejournal.com]

Deepest sympathy.

What would Rat Heaven be like, I wonder?

Rat Heaven

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

What would Rat Heaven be like, I wonder?

What do rats dream of and desire?

Food would be high on the list of course.

It would have lots of nooks and crannies, passages to run down, an enormous variety of smells and not much open space or too sun. That said, it would be warm.

There would be mazes, puzzles and strange things things to climb. The most interesting parts would be multi-dimensional.

It would be free of cats, snakes, owls and other such predators.

There would be these strange monkeys that supply them with treats liked cooked pasta and like to give them scritches.

In rat heaven, rats would not age after a certain point and would be able to leap, climb and frolic.

Injuries from their scuffles would be temporary, cartoon-like.

I also imagine there would be a lot of, ahh, ratly frolicking going on. They seem to like that, the little perverts.