Ratless!

[tcpip]

Poor ol' Scoundrel died about half and hour ago, resting on my chest.



He had a bit of a rough life; like his brother Ragamuffin he was a "rescue rat". He was also suffering a significant ear-infection which gave him a head-tilt which he never recovered from. Another side effect of the infection is that he would suffer sharp bursts of pain; causing him to attack, quite vigorously, whatever was around him at the time. Which would often be a human hand. For a short time we thought we had a pathological rodent - but when the infection was cured he turned out to have a very gentle disposition.

Unusually for a rat he was not overly fond of food and managed to keep himself fairly thin for most of his life. Even with his unbalancing lean and even into his last hours, he was an athletic little rodent, bounding about, jumping and climbing. But at the same time he was prone to illness; apart from the aforementioned ear infection, he also once caught a nasty case of bronchitis which scarred his lungs causing wheezing sounds when he breathed; and the final illness was the most recent 'flu.

For the first time in years our home is ratless. It feels slightly empty as a result. No doubt we shall have more again in the very near future and the ratty cycle will continue.

In the meantime, sleep well my little friend. You're at peace now, and we appreciated your most delightful company.

Comments

[angelfalling.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry :(

[usekh.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear that man, I don't know if I could keep rats myself with their short lives but they are lovely creatures.

[synabetic.livejournal.com]

Aw, so sorry to hear. :(

May he frolic well in rat heaven!

[rm.livejournal.com]

What a sweet looking boy. Sorry he's gone.

[amarafox.livejournal.com]

Rest in peace, sweet ratty.

[castleclear.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry for the loss of pet, and would like to offer sincere condolences.

[cptjohnc.livejournal.com]

I'm sure he'll be missed. We've talked about a pet rat... I think I'll have to look into rescue possibilities.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Rescues are a good choice; although you don't get the same bonding as you do with one you've had since they were ratlings, you also do get the inner glow of making the life of some rodents a lot happier.

Plural intended; one rat by itself can get bored and depressed...

[cptjohnc.livejournal.com]

Good to know -- thanks!

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

There's a couple of good sites on intro to your first rats...

http://firstrats.tripod.com/index.htm

and

http://www.dapper.com.au/

[tempusfrangit.livejournal.com]

Poor rattie.. rest in peace, rattieboy.

[redcountess]

:(

[microbie.livejournal.com]

Aw, what a cutie. Lovely elegy as well.

[lula-neith.livejournal.com]

Aww. Glad he was well-loved while he was here!

[http://users.livejournal.com/raven_/]

RIP little ratty. Sorry for your loss.

[makingthematrix.livejournal.com]

Aww...

My older ferret is three yeas old now and has a very weak heart. I have to be prepared that he can die any day, though usually ferrets live 6-7 years.

I'm really impressed by your attitude.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

My older ferret is three yeas old now and has a very weak heart. I have to be prepared that he can die any day, though usually ferrets live 6-7 years.

A ferret! Lovely creatures, you can roll 'em into a ball! :)

But as you say, even the toughest animals can have a poor constitution.

I'm really impressed by your attitude.

Thanks. That means a lot. :)

[i-beloved.livejournal.com]

Poor little darlin :(

[severina-242.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear your little friend is gone :-( I'm glad I got to meet them. Hugs and loves to you and E

[tashiro.livejournal.com]

My sympathies. :(

[absinthetears.livejournal.com]

I like to think he is somewhere he can jump n climb n no nasty infections can catch him.

I'm sorry you are ratless.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I like to think that as well.. :)

[allandaros.livejournal.com]

Aw, I'm sorry.

[darknova666.livejournal.com]

sorry to hear mate

[laura-seabrook.livejournal.com]

Poor thing.
My niece's dog of 12 years died a few days ago.
It's always sad when our pets go, as we love them so much.

[txxxpxx.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear that Lev. Rats have such sort life spans. It's a shame that our pets cannot have the same life spans as what we do.

[delicious-irony.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about Scoundrel. Hugs to you both.

[silverblue.livejournal.com]

Vale Scoundrel!

There's something intrinsically awesome about rodentia.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

There certainly is... and I don't think it can be narrowed down just to their cute human-like actions with their paws and-almost thumbs or even their incredible smarts (how do they fit all that in their little brain?)

I give it far more to the sense of human-positive social behaviour....

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Want to see something else awesome about rodentia (hat tip to tashiro

Mouse vs viper. Who do you think would win?


http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?Deadly_mouse_turns_tables_on_snake&in_article_id=348926

[mr-figgy.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[17catherines.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry to hear this. May he rest in peace.

[zhenzhi.livejournal.com]

love to you sweet heart. xo

[angel80.livejournal.com]

Sad to hear it. Seems like he was a sweetie too. Him and Rogue both.

[misshavisham.livejournal.com]

Rest in peace ol' Scoundrel and condolences to the rest of the household.

[mireille21.livejournal.com]

RIP Scoundrel, and my sympathies to you.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nightflower_/]

I'm sorry to hear this. Not been a good year for pets in general.

At least Scoundrel had a good life, and you were there to see him through to the end :)

[theamaranth.livejournal.com]

*hug* i'm sorry.

maybe Scoundrel and my Buddha are playing together. :)

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

In the shared spirit world, we know that is the case.

[skurtchasor.livejournal.com]

Saw your rats-in-the-drawer icon over on roleplayers and couldn't resist the urge to click.

One of my rats (passed away in August) had that same ear infection/head tilt problem and eventually succumbed to it. Sorry to hear about your loss.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

The rats-in-drawer are Rogue (white) and Vagabond (grey-brown) now three generations of rodents ago!

They are absolutely delightful creatures to have bounding around. I can't imagine myself living rat free for long these days.

Head tilt is a rather nasty problem. Usually it can be cured fairly quickly if it's the result of an infection; it's the case of a brain tumor however, recovery is less certain. :(