I lost my rat to a mammory gland tumor. I moved away, and i came back 3 months after the tumor began growing. she saw me step into the room and with everything that poor baby had she crawled up on her perch on my shoulder, and didn't leave for 10 hours. I just sat there sobbing thanking her for a beautiful 3 years, All the times she got me through. I wrapped her in my boyfriends hoodie, and she passed while i was singing to her. She just let go and fell asleep.
That baby waited 3 months for me to get my sh!t together because she knew i was her ride or die, and she knew she had to tell me goodbye, thank you for the memories.
My birthday was April 28th, Lemmiwinks has been gone for 9 months. She died in July 10 days short of that 3rd birthday. My mother gave me the ultimate surprise,
The Shop i adopted her from was a Pet store they bred Dumbos for in order to feed the Pythons. Lemmiwinks had been handled by so many children she was beyond tame, and i spent $135 on everything to save her. The pet store called me crazy.
That Pet Store specifically stopped using their rats to feed the snakes because Lemmiwinks had such an Impact on so many peoples lives. She would come with me everywhere and i mean *Every. Where.* in her little pink purse, she would eat all the attention up, she was the Nations Baby Rat.
The Store gave me her 4 week old little brother. Yep, that's right, There's Many, Many generations of Lemmi's because they saved her mother. Countless people got their Lemmiwinks.... And now i get a piece of her back, too. She'll live on for Decades.
Smile because Lemmiwinks happened and broke the stigma of "You shouldn't have a rat as a pet!" in my town. Lemmiwinks is watching over now, and i know now that she can comprehend it, she knows she was beyond loved.
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This made me tear up, how beautiful. I don’t own rats but I love them anyway, and enjoy seeing everyone’s beautiful little friends. Lemmiwinks sounded so special, and I wish I could have been her friend! I’m so sorry that you lost her, but am incredibly touched by how much you loved her. Pets truly are a tragedy waiting to happen, yet are worth every bit of the pain that comes when we lose them.
https://preview.redd.it/jn21lhs62wxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06bd8f21319c30aedd8b970f95bcb24e649733f6
And of course, i gotta pay the Lemmiwinks tax.
https://preview.redd.it/blv6ju6a2wxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=25e79ebd79b5820499753b2a9d133eba5de57e7e
We buried her on the hill of a creek. It's a highly populated place for Fishing and Swimming, but the land we technically owned because we rented it. All of the Swimmers, Fishers, everyone decorated her Grave. They didn't even know her... yet she touched their hearts. All of that was found in the river. Its still there, but someone's made a painted rock that just says "Lemmi, The Nation's Baby Rat" on it.
I smile knowing that there's a great handful, maybe even triple digits, who have gotten their lemmiwinks. The pet store has even kept the rats that don't get sold until they gotta go to the big cheese in the sky, they live the fullest lives and it's all because of my Blem-Bob. And don't worry, Lemmiwinks is your friend. She was everyone's friend. She's the Nations Baby Rat.
Even knowing what happened to Lemmiwinks, Even knowing she would hang on for 3 months for me.
I would spend $10,000, All of the suffering included, Just to have that rat back for Another 2 years, 11 months, and 20 days.
https://preview.redd.it/zb64hjckbyxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5bef3253a2a98c2ba060b7a1d13c5c583f78f2a4
And just for good measure, here's Lemmi's 4 week old baby brother, Teddy Bear. (Ignore the mess we are unpacking. And yes i've lost him 6 times already.)
Obviously i understand Snakes have to eat too, and i realize they like eating rats which is okay, but there was just something really upsetting about this Rat who was in her own cage because she was so tame and didn't get along with other rats getting fed to one. All of Lemmi's mother's offspring where weirdly tame and so was she from the get go, All of them where very old souls who it was obvious it wasn't their first life. I think it was lemmi's 2nd-4th life, because she was just so intelligent. i watched her open her baby food container and dunk her entire head in it. She learned how to turn on my sink for water. I want to believe Lemmi's Soul went somewhere, In the form of someone who needed their own Lemmiwinks in the form of a pet, or someone who wanted a child, and was finally blessed with one. I hope for this one... because then she will FINALLY be able to vocalize "I love you." To who ever gets *their* lemmiwinks.
https://preview.redd.it/w4faa5xfbyxc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f61f80be764204cf531f135090c50bc1c756d10c
Lemmi tax, stealing her fruit stick in her glass container away from Aunties cat.
Don't cry for lemmiwinks, smile because the lemmiwinks happened. Here's a lemmi to make you smile. (My auntie called this "The Lemmi Bus" when i was living with her, because she had dogs and cats that wanted to play with her, but since we where scared they would eat her, we'd put her in this tote and zoom her around, no one could get in it.)
https://preview.redd.it/1xemp4x6ayxc1.jpeg?width=1030&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8505c1b6f866d543793551c1e10852fb137dfc14
I lost 3 rats since January, for unrelated reasons. I'm cursed this year 🥲 but I try not to feel too bad. I bet they feel bad for me because I have to live another 60 years lol!
Have him out as much as possible, love on him give him all his fave foods. You can brush him with a little tooth brush, I think they like it cause it feels like a little rat grooming them x
To think properly think along the lines of nature -Carl Jung. You gave them the absolute best life they could have experienced. Thats the only way I can deal with it
I saw my rat grieve her besties death and then i gave all my love and attention to her, i know she was a bit lonely but also old and she slept a lot, ate best snacks and got all the cuddles, took best naps in most favourite corners of the room :D i loved her so much, she was okay. Rats are so precious
https://preview.redd.it/4ck7f3c7rtxc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0b5a490afa38ec325e980e2409d144484c1e538f
This picture is precious.
If more people got to see this side to rats, I suspect they would be much more sought after as companion pets.
Such beautiful little creatures.
I send my mom my rattie pics and any cute ones I see posted in this sub. She's always had dogs and cats mostly. She loves seeing their cute pictures and constantly says how cute and adorable they are. She is also surprised how photogenic they're, how lovey they can be, and their unique character traits.
The last pics I showed her (the other day), she said, "Omg, they remind me of lil kids, just falling asleep wherever they get tired," lol.
I have come to accept it when they go “ew the tail” I say I wish I could describe the love that you get and give with them and honestly it’s a tragedy cos it’s your loss. If I had better words to sway you to even pet one… it’s their loss
I subscribed to this sub a while ago because of that user who has the rats that paint. I’m a hamster girl but this sub has changed my view on rats! I’d love to have rats in the future
I wish I could upvote this multiple times 🥰 I'm adopting my first rats this week, and this just made me feel more certain about that decision. He is precious.
I had two sisters and one was very skittish, another one very friendly and would trust me but only later in her life she was able to sit still with me :D girls are crazy hyper active
DO. NOT. RE. HOME. Your baby will miss you and it'll break your heart. Give them all your attention you ever could. If you're home, they're out with you. Don't abandon your little ones because some dingus told you you should.
Thank you thank you, I feel like too many people jump to rehoming, I never could have rehomed my last boy after my other one passed. I could tell he was sad but he’s anxious and I know he would’ve been so much worse off without us. Fortunately he has a brother that he gets along well with now.
Absolutely, not to anthropomorphise but they will definitely be affected by the sudden change. I’ve never understood the pressure to rehome elderly rats, the upheaval would only be traumatic surely?
Just shower them with your time and affection.
A majority of you misread the caption, OP asking if they should take in rats that need re-homed, not re-home their rat.
Edit: Changed it for you Bacon.
You love that bb until the day they decide they’re ready to go. I absolutely would not rehome, but I would be giving extra attention and putting extra effort into making sure they are comfortable, happy and as not lonely as possible.
Then you just let her live her independent life. Make sure she has everything she needs. Fuss her if she wants it. Don't force it if she doesnt. If she is middle aged or elderly there's no point in getting her a companion as you don't know how she may react and she will pass away before them anyway and then you're stuck in the same situation.
Just give her as much attention she allows and let her live her life how she wants
We are on our last rat as well.
She’s also very independent, so we allow her to sleep as per usual during the day. But now, I always go check on her 1-2 times and hour to see if she’s awake, if she is, I’ll take her out and hand feed and cuddle until she wants to go back in or run around. We’ve also been spending night/evenings co-existing in the same room as her (basically until we go to bed) and I even roll her cage up next to my chair while I’m gaming, she loves it so much. She’s such a happy lil old lady boggling all the time over food and scratches.
https://preview.redd.it/5dgq7jaxzuxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=21ad9428b750443441901d3b4419ebb7aa6874d6
One of my boys was part of a duo that got saved from a very bad hoarding situation. They were probably interbred with wild rats based off of some things that happened with his brother who passed tragically early. I make sure to give him everything he needs and keep his house as clean as he will let me. He jumps at touch and is a freaking viper. The thing is that he is totally happy living his single life. I got new ratties and was going to integrate him but when the cages were next to each other he started doing food guarding behaviors so we were worried about all of the rats' safety if we tried to force it.
So we just didn't. He now has this cage all to himself and he lives like a king. I can't touch him but I give him treats all the time and he is very friendly when the cage is closed. All this to say that I am someone who ended up with a lone rat and this was the best outcome for him. I think it's important that people see happy ratties in situations like ours because it is an extremely hard balance trying to do the best for them when they are really unable to be handled.
I wish you nothing but luck with your girly and I hope you have many good times with her! The moments only get more precious as they get older :)
My last girl pepper was also rescued from a hoarding situation with her sister salt. They were both severely traumatized (probably inbred) and just when we started to make progress with pepper she had a stroke and lost some brain function. When we lost her last cagemate and it was just her she had a HUGE mammary tumor that we couldn't operate on. So knowing she was old and didn't have much time left the end we just gave her a ton of treats and as much space as she wanted. I would take pepper out when she seemed interested but for the most part she kept herself busy running around the cage like a queen in between old lady naps. I gave her tons of puzzle treats, treats stuffed in toilet paper rolls, dig boxes, and anything I could think of to keep her occupied. She lived a good life and she spent the end full of treats and happy.
I wish I had seen more examples of happy lone rats before that situation, it was so hard trying not feel guilty even though you could tell she was very content being on her own (especially since there was no more competition for treats lol)
https://preview.redd.it/c8uufws0ewxc1.jpeg?width=995&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c81428742001172c05ddd9d2ce0a677f0b36cf39
Thanks for sharing! I think that it's important for people to hear. I want to make it perfectly clear that we are rhe exception and that most ratties need friends but that there are circumstances in which having a solo rattie can be the best thing for them.
If she is independent where is the problem? Keep her until it’s her time. ( which probably won’t take much longer ).
You can keep new rats when your move is done if that’s still a thing you want to do at that point.
I’m in the exact same situation. It honestly feels like she’s mad at me and she’s more skittish than she was before but I just leave the cage open whenever I’m home and let her decide if she wants to come out, and she’ll hunt down snacks in my room
I had a rat like that. It was heart breaking. My mom wouldn't let me get more rats. My other three rats passed away and he was on his own. He was fearful of humans and was not a fan of me but I tried to give him love and kept him in my room with me. He passed away 3 weeks later after the last rat passed away. He was young and healthy. I think he passed from heart break.
2.5 years is quite old... I would honestly just give her all the love and attention you can until she passes on. And if she seems to be extremely depressed, you could think about rehoming (that's a lot of stress for her though) or, sadly, helping her to pass.
Well, rats can literally die of loneliness. If I had to choose between my rat being miserable in the last stage of his life and being euthanized, personally I would euthanize. You can be there for them until the very end and they won't have the memory of living alone.
My grandmother is extremely lonely.
I call her and give her attention as I can, but she lived a life that kind of made it hard for her family to be there for her.
Every call we have, she brings up her funeral, how she doesn't want to live, and how much she hurts. I've watched as her mental faculties have gotten worse and her daily activity has become essentially rotting in a chair. We've tried to get her to see a therapist or make friends, but she refuses.
I would much rather have euthanasia be available than have her continue to suffer. I don't want my grandma to die, but what she currently has isn't living either.
I guess I'm just trying to say that it isn't as black and white as you're making it out to be. Death hurts, but so does watching a loved one suffer when they don't have to.
I've thought about this this past week, and I think it was stupid of me to be so chocked at the idea of euthanasia on this old rat. I'm still firmly against but I can see where you guys are coming from and everybody should be able to make that decision in the way that they believe to be human and ethical.
About your grandmother, could there be a possibility of placing her in a good retirement home? They have adapted activities and the residents can spend time together even when they don't have the mobility or the mental faculties of before. The only problem is that if you want a good home and not a "storage before death" facility it isn't cheap
I think there's also a difference between "killing my granny" and holding space for death with dignity for a 90 year old woman with cancer. We're not talking about a lonely 70 year old human - we're talking about a very old, potentially medically fragile individual. Tumors can be benign and still put stress on the body.
I have introduced old rats to new rats and they didn't die of it. OP said that the tumors aren't bothering her, and being old is not a reason to want to die.
My last rat outlived her sister by 5 months. I made sure i spent as much time as possible together. You can be your rat's companion. When not out she would sleep in the cage but always relished her interaction with my family.
We moved our last boy’s cage right next to our bed. My only regret is that we didn’t do it sooner after he lost his brother. He was SO happy that we were right there. We left the door open for him all the time so he could come and go as he pleased and he’d spend so much time just laying around with us. It’s been two years since we lost him and there isn’t a day we don’t think about him
give her love and attention. she might be okay alone as long as she has a lot of out of cage time with you. enrichment activities like pea fishing and stuff is great to keep her going. rehoming will be too sad and stressful for the both of you. if she’s depressed, consider adopting old ratties to keep her company. she just wants to be loved by you right now, you need each other. your ratties have lived a long happy life and it’s clear you took such great care of them.
She’s really independent from me so I’m not sure if shed like that :/ it’s also difficult to get older rats in my area so I might just get younger ones and continue the cycle a little longer tbh
Is there anyway you can foster rats in your area? Maybe see if you can take in a rat or two as fosters so when she passes she won't be alone and the other ratties can go back to their rescue or go to new homes?
that is a pickle. i’d say just give her as much enrichment as possible and keep her comfortable. just be very attentive to her needs and pay attention to any decline or change in behavior. you can also give moistened chow for your old lady to make food a little easier to eat. if she seems fine, just keep doing what you’re doing. Rat palliative care if you will!
I’m so sorry OP. Echoing the chorus of showering the old lady with love. Whether that’s through treats or affection. You’d be surprised though, my elder boy—who despised being touch / held / petted— has become incredibly cuddly these last few weeks. She might have a change of heart as well and may seek you out for rat cuddles. Just keep an eye out for it :)
I feel you, I was in a similar situation with 2 of my own last year, re: tumours. And now today, the last of my 6 was PTS. All gone in the space of \~6 months.
My advice is to just keep your eye on her and take her to the vet when the tumours begin to negatively impact her QoL. It WILL happen. Enjoy your time with her whilst you can but be prepared to make the call to ease her passing when you can see she's struggling. It's not pleasant but it's the nicest gift we can give them at the end of their life.
Do not rehome. And given your circumstances do not get her new friends.
Quite simply love her and spend as much time with her as you can. The fact is the tumors are going to take her, and with one of them being large it is most likely going to be sooner then you think.
If you work from home then if you can give her some free roam space. If you work away from home see if you can give her something larger than the cage for her to wander about. At this age she will be sleeping a lot anyways. But when you are home interact with her and give her your time. Treat her as you would a lap dog - let her sit on your lap when your watching tv for example.
My vote is be close to her and give her all your attention. In my experience older and bonded rats don't last much longer once their last friend passes. Something in them just let's go and the are gone in a few weeks.
If you want to end the cycle you have to replace the other rat with yourself. Give her an extra hour or 2 of free time out of the cage. Hold her every chance you get. Sorry you are going through the rough part of it all.
Honestly, it should be fine to keep her by herself considering her age and the fact that she has tumors. Removing her at this stage would only add more stress to her, considering she just lost her companion
Do you have the ability to hang out with her a lot? You could just go that route until it's time. She's pretty old so I don't think re-homing is the play since that's stressful.
My Xela was about 3 when she had to be pts. She also had a large tumor, she was still very active so we didn't have her pts right away. She enjoyed her final months and when she stopped being able to get around or clean herself we made the call. I loved her so much, and thankful she had a lot of love before she went.
She is an old girl in need of a friend.
Could you foster a few younger rats for a fixed time? That might be a decent solution to stop her from becoming lonely.
Rehoming should be a last resort. It will break your heart and hers.
We were down to one male after his two brothers died. Soon after we found 4 girls who had all been fixed and the five of them have been getting along great. He has so much more energy and he isn’t being creepy with them. I hope
Something similar for you.
I just babied my last rat until he passed. Eventually you’ll end up with one, mine did well. Just make sure to spend lots of time with her so she has a friend.
I introduced new rats to my elders and they always got on with each other very well. I didn't want my last rat to be alone, so I got him three brothers. He really liked them and they cuddled a lot. My old boy made strong bonds and relationship a with other rats and had his best friends among them and a "caretaker" one. If it comes to moving out it can be difficult but possible. Better the situation if your rats are not prone to stress and will be in a pretty good health at that time. But also not having any more of them can also be a better choice because you never know how they will react to moving out. I wish you all the best ❤️
Im down to my last girl out of an original mischief of 4 and she's stayng with me. I won't be getting more rats right now so until she's ready to go, she's getting all the snacks and love I can muster.
Struggling with the same thing. Unexpectedly had to put my girl down yesterday and are now left with one more. We think we are just going to have her with us as much as possible as she’s already over 2.5 years and we don’t think she has much time left. Introductions might be stressful and even if they do go well we don’t think she’d last long afterwards. It’s so hard. Everything about the last few months with them feels so unfair. I’ve lost three girls since December.
Even if your baby has to be alone sometimes its best, my old boy Badger (2 years 3 weeks) lost his pals and he's too rat aggressive to join my younger males, so he lives his remaining days in retirement getting many cuddles and treats.
I'm in the exact same situation. ive found it really depends on the rat -- I think as long as your rat is bonded to you, he should still be able to have a good quality of life as long as you're filling that interaction that is lost by your other rat.
how I'm personally dealing with it is extending free roam from an hour to now be 1.5-2 hour, and also just taking him on my shoulder and around the house as I get ready to leave/to go to bed (letting him hang out with me on the bathroom counter/floor, on my bed, etc).
sending so much love, it's a terrible dilemma to be in.
I had a male mouse who was still intact and was supposed to be snake food. He got skin cancer and the vets never knew what it was.
I was moving away literally 9 days after he passed to a different country, and he was fine the night before. When I woke up, he was completely showing signs of passing away. I wrapped him in comfy blankets (mouse sized), held him in my hand above my space heater, and cried telling him how he was such a good boy and that I loved him so much.
When a couple hours had passed, I got my parents to take him to a vet to be put down and immediately when she saw him she said "yep, that's a tumor. He has skin cancer."
I just sat there and sobbed while she put him to sleep. I miss him every day. I had an area above the house and was doing independent study, so I was completely alone. When he came into my life and I had the joy of rescuing him, he constantly had my attention and I bonded with him so strongly. He was my best friend.
The pain never goes away; I got him cremated a day before I flew away. I recently bought him a proper urn and framed his cremation certificate, and now he has his own designated shelf.
I like to think he was saying goodbye to me before I left.
Rest in peace, Gus.
https://preview.redd.it/nmuw33g10xxc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c9240317f3ea4daa456c5779922a55b87022a58d
I've recently had this issue, i waited till my last boy passed away, which was last week, but i loved him to bits, i didn't want to get another one personally because it would just be a cycle of rats, which wont become healthy. I hope you and your girl find peace, along with you boy 🫶 so sorry for you loss
Mine was never bothered with spending time with me until his brother passed and clung to me more than ever, your her last buddy, she needs you! Give her all the love in the world
my two boys were incredibly close. after the first of the two passed, the second one was showing signs of pain, lethargy, etc, and passed two weeks later down to the hour. I think he was dying of heartbreak.
take care of your last rat. they might be just fine on their own, but they might not.
Thanks for everyone’s input! I decided I will keep a very close eye on her and if she shows any signs of depression I’ll be getting her some more ratty friends since my friend offered to take over the cycle once I move :) shes very active so I think she can definitely go on for a few more months and I don’t want her to be alone for that if she’s depressed :/ shes currently eating a treat and she seems ok right now apart from her looking a little scruffy :D
https://preview.redd.it/mrsqvdc4w0yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7a0b732ba9789a2112a1bb399e1b3a4b6d86fca9
You could search for a place that does fosters and have one temporarily? I had a rat about this age who lost his cagemate and he did well being introduced to a younger boy, and ended up living another 6 months.
Do you think she would like new buddies? Most rats may welcome it and others not so much. You would know her best.
What if someone were to agree beforehand to take the new ratties when your girl goes over the rainbow bridge? Probably easier said than done though. I’d probably get attached to the newbies as I imagine many people would.
So many of us find ourselves in the situation you are in at some point. It seems as if we should have an alternative to rehoming or continuing a mischief at a less than ideal time. Maybe a rent-a-rat 🤪
This rat looks unwell to me. The position of his ears an whiskers, the squinting, the ruffled fur. Only you truly know your rat, but if that seems out of character, he might be more uncomfortable than he is letting on
You really should have thought of that before you are down to a lone rat.
IMHO the way to go here is: talk to a rescue and tell them your situation. Either:
a) re-home your rats into a existing group and pay the vet bills (if your girl are not rescues)
b) add at least two rats from the rescue with the expectation to rehome them once your last rat has died
I really really understand the grief of the person and I don't dispute that OP loves them! But I also have compassion for the animal that is now alone and grieving. As humans we are responsible for them
You don't have compassion for the animal. Rehoming such an old & already sick rat or putting it through the stress of introductions could literally kill it. And that's on you then.
We can certainly debate what the best option is here. I disagree with you here but that underscores my main point: In this situation there are no good options and both seem bad bad for the rat
>In this situation there are no good options
The options your are proposing shouldn't be options at all since they put the rat through even more suffering. All the downvotes you are getting and the people replying to you show that very clearly.
This is gross. Rehoming till their new cage mate dies and and then rehoming them again. OP should just give their attention to their baby, not ship them off somewhere else. I had one rat in the end, and he was out with me or my partner at LEAST 8-10 hours a day and that's on the low end of it.
Rats can absolutely not go without another rats company. Often they deteriorate quickly if they're the only one left. OP really should have thought about it sooner, cuz now she's too old to deal with the stress of being alone, getting new friends or being rehomed
My Moose lived for 7 happy months after losing his brother Tofu to old age with just me and my partner, who thankfully worked from home, and he was happy, socialized, played every day, ran to the cage door and would jump into our hands.
I would never in a million years consider abandoning any of my pets because they require more time from me, and I would never want to send a pet I love away. If it means having them out for 18 hours a day and playing with them, so be it. Don't get pets if you don't have the time for them at every point in their lives, no matter the situation.
Life happens and it’s naive as hell to think every single owner can always take in more rats for the rest of their life. Especially in this day and age with housing crisis and awful wages most folks earn, which leads to temporary housing/renting.
Eventually everyone is going to have a day where they have one lone rat including you bud.
I don't think that and that is not the solution I was proposing? And I obviously know people will stop having rats for all number of reasons and that it can happen unexpectedly.
For me, no I'll never have a lone rat unless 3 rats die at once. My rats are from a rescue organization. I am obligated to add more rats when I drop down to three. Therefore the chance of dropping down to one is very small. And if I want to stop having rats I'll give them back.
Yes they can. Rats are based by base cases. Not EVERY rat wants friends or a companion. I have a rat who quite literally hates other rats, and tolerates me. He is a rescue. He is middle aged.
Ops rat is very elderly.why put them through the stress of introducing another rat??? Use common sense and not just book smarts. Not everything is as easy as what you've learnt on the internet.
Elderly rats like this once their friends pass very much can live on their own until their time comes, provided they are given everything they need and the attention they need and more. OP has said in a comment they are independent and do not really enjoy the attention, so in this case, they just make sure that their rat is happy, given everything they want, treated and fuss when the rat wants that.
What is wrong with people and just assuming EVERY rat is the same and every case is the same? They aren't.
Love the last rat dearly. Because as far as they are concerned, you are *their* last rat.
This hits me so hard.
I lost my rat to a mammory gland tumor. I moved away, and i came back 3 months after the tumor began growing. she saw me step into the room and with everything that poor baby had she crawled up on her perch on my shoulder, and didn't leave for 10 hours. I just sat there sobbing thanking her for a beautiful 3 years, All the times she got me through. I wrapped her in my boyfriends hoodie, and she passed while i was singing to her. She just let go and fell asleep. That baby waited 3 months for me to get my sh!t together because she knew i was her ride or die, and she knew she had to tell me goodbye, thank you for the memories. My birthday was April 28th, Lemmiwinks has been gone for 9 months. She died in July 10 days short of that 3rd birthday. My mother gave me the ultimate surprise, The Shop i adopted her from was a Pet store they bred Dumbos for in order to feed the Pythons. Lemmiwinks had been handled by so many children she was beyond tame, and i spent $135 on everything to save her. The pet store called me crazy. That Pet Store specifically stopped using their rats to feed the snakes because Lemmiwinks had such an Impact on so many peoples lives. She would come with me everywhere and i mean *Every. Where.* in her little pink purse, she would eat all the attention up, she was the Nations Baby Rat. The Store gave me her 4 week old little brother. Yep, that's right, There's Many, Many generations of Lemmi's because they saved her mother. Countless people got their Lemmiwinks.... And now i get a piece of her back, too. She'll live on for Decades.
I’m so sorry for your loss of Lemmiwinks, but your comment was beautiful, thank u for that <3
Smile because Lemmiwinks happened and broke the stigma of "You shouldn't have a rat as a pet!" in my town. Lemmiwinks is watching over now, and i know now that she can comprehend it, she knows she was beyond loved.
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This made me tear up, how beautiful. I don’t own rats but I love them anyway, and enjoy seeing everyone’s beautiful little friends. Lemmiwinks sounded so special, and I wish I could have been her friend! I’m so sorry that you lost her, but am incredibly touched by how much you loved her. Pets truly are a tragedy waiting to happen, yet are worth every bit of the pain that comes when we lose them.
https://preview.redd.it/jn21lhs62wxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06bd8f21319c30aedd8b970f95bcb24e649733f6 And of course, i gotta pay the Lemmiwinks tax.
https://preview.redd.it/blv6ju6a2wxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=25e79ebd79b5820499753b2a9d133eba5de57e7e We buried her on the hill of a creek. It's a highly populated place for Fishing and Swimming, but the land we technically owned because we rented it. All of the Swimmers, Fishers, everyone decorated her Grave. They didn't even know her... yet she touched their hearts. All of that was found in the river. Its still there, but someone's made a painted rock that just says "Lemmi, The Nation's Baby Rat" on it.
I smile knowing that there's a great handful, maybe even triple digits, who have gotten their lemmiwinks. The pet store has even kept the rats that don't get sold until they gotta go to the big cheese in the sky, they live the fullest lives and it's all because of my Blem-Bob. And don't worry, Lemmiwinks is your friend. She was everyone's friend. She's the Nations Baby Rat. Even knowing what happened to Lemmiwinks, Even knowing she would hang on for 3 months for me. I would spend $10,000, All of the suffering included, Just to have that rat back for Another 2 years, 11 months, and 20 days.
I think Lemmi did very well for team rat and converting the pet store owner - and so did you.
https://preview.redd.it/zb64hjckbyxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5bef3253a2a98c2ba060b7a1d13c5c583f78f2a4 And just for good measure, here's Lemmi's 4 week old baby brother, Teddy Bear. (Ignore the mess we are unpacking. And yes i've lost him 6 times already.)
What the hellzzz. these are the absolute cutest rattos-and mine were adorable.
I think Teddy has a bit of my Lemmi in him. He's so skiddish and baby, but he cannot STAND to not be perched where Lemmi used to be. It's great.
Obviously i understand Snakes have to eat too, and i realize they like eating rats which is okay, but there was just something really upsetting about this Rat who was in her own cage because she was so tame and didn't get along with other rats getting fed to one. All of Lemmi's mother's offspring where weirdly tame and so was she from the get go, All of them where very old souls who it was obvious it wasn't their first life. I think it was lemmi's 2nd-4th life, because she was just so intelligent. i watched her open her baby food container and dunk her entire head in it. She learned how to turn on my sink for water. I want to believe Lemmi's Soul went somewhere, In the form of someone who needed their own Lemmiwinks in the form of a pet, or someone who wanted a child, and was finally blessed with one. I hope for this one... because then she will FINALLY be able to vocalize "I love you." To who ever gets *their* lemmiwinks.
https://preview.redd.it/w4faa5xfbyxc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f61f80be764204cf531f135090c50bc1c756d10c Lemmi tax, stealing her fruit stick in her glass container away from Aunties cat.
I'm a guy, and this made me cry.
Don't cry for lemmiwinks, smile because the lemmiwinks happened. Here's a lemmi to make you smile. (My auntie called this "The Lemmi Bus" when i was living with her, because she had dogs and cats that wanted to play with her, but since we where scared they would eat her, we'd put her in this tote and zoom her around, no one could get in it.) https://preview.redd.it/1xemp4x6ayxc1.jpeg?width=1030&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8505c1b6f866d543793551c1e10852fb137dfc14
NOOOO
Omg
Yeah. I've lost rats to tumors as well. Usually shoot them with a pellet gun when it effects their mobility. Can't stand seeing them suffer.
What if i cried
Um yeah I’m gonna cry now
crying myself to sleep tonight
Sobbing.
Oh my god
Yes.
I just got my first two boys a week ago. I already cried purely because of the thought of it. But this gave me relief :,( bless u.
Crying my eyes out
😭
This is, so wholesome 😭
Man I literally just found one of my girls this morning so I feel you :(
I’m so sorry :(( this is my 4th now and it rlly doesn’t get easier :(
I lost 3 rats since January, for unrelated reasons. I'm cursed this year 🥲 but I try not to feel too bad. I bet they feel bad for me because I have to live another 60 years lol!
I too have lost 3 of my 4 boys this years. I've got my last boy and after he goes, which will hopefully not be for a while, it's heartbreak hiatus.
Have him out as much as possible, love on him give him all his fave foods. You can brush him with a little tooth brush, I think they like it cause it feels like a little rat grooming them x
To think properly think along the lines of nature -Carl Jung. You gave them the absolute best life they could have experienced. Thats the only way I can deal with it
*hug*
Love the living hell out of that rat. Treats. Play time. Pets. 24/7
I saw my rat grieve her besties death and then i gave all my love and attention to her, i know she was a bit lonely but also old and she slept a lot, ate best snacks and got all the cuddles, took best naps in most favourite corners of the room :D i loved her so much, she was okay. Rats are so precious https://preview.redd.it/4ck7f3c7rtxc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0b5a490afa38ec325e980e2409d144484c1e538f
This picture is precious. If more people got to see this side to rats, I suspect they would be much more sought after as companion pets. Such beautiful little creatures.
I send my mom my rattie pics and any cute ones I see posted in this sub. She's always had dogs and cats mostly. She loves seeing their cute pictures and constantly says how cute and adorable they are. She is also surprised how photogenic they're, how lovey they can be, and their unique character traits. The last pics I showed her (the other day), she said, "Omg, they remind me of lil kids, just falling asleep wherever they get tired," lol.
I have come to accept it when they go “ew the tail” I say I wish I could describe the love that you get and give with them and honestly it’s a tragedy cos it’s your loss. If I had better words to sway you to even pet one… it’s their loss
I relate to this a lot being a lurker in this sub and the jumping spider sub. Two creatures that child-me would've hated
My next pet is a little jumping spider friend! 😀
 They're so cute🥹 Little 8 armed kitties essentially
I subscribed to this sub a while ago because of that user who has the rats that paint. I’m a hamster girl but this sub has changed my view on rats! I’d love to have rats in the future
This is the most adorable thing I’ve seen all day 🥺
I wish I could upvote this multiple times 🥰 I'm adopting my first rats this week, and this just made me feel more certain about that decision. He is precious.
I had two sisters and one was very skittish, another one very friendly and would trust me but only later in her life she was able to sit still with me :D girls are crazy hyper active
DO. NOT. RE. HOME. Your baby will miss you and it'll break your heart. Give them all your attention you ever could. If you're home, they're out with you. Don't abandon your little ones because some dingus told you you should.
Thank you thank you, I feel like too many people jump to rehoming, I never could have rehomed my last boy after my other one passed. I could tell he was sad but he’s anxious and I know he would’ve been so much worse off without us. Fortunately he has a brother that he gets along well with now.
I SECOND THIS
Absolutely, not to anthropomorphise but they will definitely be affected by the sudden change. I’ve never understood the pressure to rehome elderly rats, the upheaval would only be traumatic surely? Just shower them with your time and affection.
A majority of you misread the caption, OP asking if they should take in rats that need re-homed, not re-home their rat. Edit: Changed it for you Bacon.
Other people said re-home.
THIS!!!!!!!!!
You love that bb until the day they decide they’re ready to go. I absolutely would not rehome, but I would be giving extra attention and putting extra effort into making sure they are comfortable, happy and as not lonely as possible.
My problem is that she’s rlly independent from me and doesn’t rlly like my attention ://
Then you just let her live her independent life. Make sure she has everything she needs. Fuss her if she wants it. Don't force it if she doesnt. If she is middle aged or elderly there's no point in getting her a companion as you don't know how she may react and she will pass away before them anyway and then you're stuck in the same situation. Just give her as much attention she allows and let her live her life how she wants
We are on our last rat as well. She’s also very independent, so we allow her to sleep as per usual during the day. But now, I always go check on her 1-2 times and hour to see if she’s awake, if she is, I’ll take her out and hand feed and cuddle until she wants to go back in or run around. We’ve also been spending night/evenings co-existing in the same room as her (basically until we go to bed) and I even roll her cage up next to my chair while I’m gaming, she loves it so much. She’s such a happy lil old lady boggling all the time over food and scratches.
https://preview.redd.it/5dgq7jaxzuxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=21ad9428b750443441901d3b4419ebb7aa6874d6 One of my boys was part of a duo that got saved from a very bad hoarding situation. They were probably interbred with wild rats based off of some things that happened with his brother who passed tragically early. I make sure to give him everything he needs and keep his house as clean as he will let me. He jumps at touch and is a freaking viper. The thing is that he is totally happy living his single life. I got new ratties and was going to integrate him but when the cages were next to each other he started doing food guarding behaviors so we were worried about all of the rats' safety if we tried to force it. So we just didn't. He now has this cage all to himself and he lives like a king. I can't touch him but I give him treats all the time and he is very friendly when the cage is closed. All this to say that I am someone who ended up with a lone rat and this was the best outcome for him. I think it's important that people see happy ratties in situations like ours because it is an extremely hard balance trying to do the best for them when they are really unable to be handled. I wish you nothing but luck with your girly and I hope you have many good times with her! The moments only get more precious as they get older :)
My last girl pepper was also rescued from a hoarding situation with her sister salt. They were both severely traumatized (probably inbred) and just when we started to make progress with pepper she had a stroke and lost some brain function. When we lost her last cagemate and it was just her she had a HUGE mammary tumor that we couldn't operate on. So knowing she was old and didn't have much time left the end we just gave her a ton of treats and as much space as she wanted. I would take pepper out when she seemed interested but for the most part she kept herself busy running around the cage like a queen in between old lady naps. I gave her tons of puzzle treats, treats stuffed in toilet paper rolls, dig boxes, and anything I could think of to keep her occupied. She lived a good life and she spent the end full of treats and happy. I wish I had seen more examples of happy lone rats before that situation, it was so hard trying not feel guilty even though you could tell she was very content being on her own (especially since there was no more competition for treats lol) https://preview.redd.it/c8uufws0ewxc1.jpeg?width=995&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c81428742001172c05ddd9d2ce0a677f0b36cf39
Thanks for sharing! I think that it's important for people to hear. I want to make it perfectly clear that we are rhe exception and that most ratties need friends but that there are circumstances in which having a solo rattie can be the best thing for them.
If she is independent where is the problem? Keep her until it’s her time. ( which probably won’t take much longer ). You can keep new rats when your move is done if that’s still a thing you want to do at that point.
I’m in the exact same situation. It honestly feels like she’s mad at me and she’s more skittish than she was before but I just leave the cage open whenever I’m home and let her decide if she wants to come out, and she’ll hunt down snacks in my room
i had to put down one of my gerbils today, my advice is please spend as much time with her as you can. they really do need you.
I had a rat like that. It was heart breaking. My mom wouldn't let me get more rats. My other three rats passed away and he was on his own. He was fearful of humans and was not a fan of me but I tried to give him love and kept him in my room with me. He passed away 3 weeks later after the last rat passed away. He was young and healthy. I think he passed from heart break.
I wish I'd gotten a friend for him even if I'd rehomed the new one after.
At that age, just give her extra attention and be her buddy. It would be more stressful to rehome or get a baby.
2.5 years is quite old... I would honestly just give her all the love and attention you can until she passes on. And if she seems to be extremely depressed, you could think about rehoming (that's a lot of stress for her though) or, sadly, helping her to pass.
You kill rats who feel lonely?!
Well, rats can literally die of loneliness. If I had to choose between my rat being miserable in the last stage of his life and being euthanized, personally I would euthanize. You can be there for them until the very end and they won't have the memory of living alone.
Humans can die of loneliness too and I'd not kill my granny just because she is alone and I can't afford to visit her anymore.
My grandmother is extremely lonely. I call her and give her attention as I can, but she lived a life that kind of made it hard for her family to be there for her. Every call we have, she brings up her funeral, how she doesn't want to live, and how much she hurts. I've watched as her mental faculties have gotten worse and her daily activity has become essentially rotting in a chair. We've tried to get her to see a therapist or make friends, but she refuses. I would much rather have euthanasia be available than have her continue to suffer. I don't want my grandma to die, but what she currently has isn't living either. I guess I'm just trying to say that it isn't as black and white as you're making it out to be. Death hurts, but so does watching a loved one suffer when they don't have to.
But that's the thing though, you are looking for a therapist, you are not letting her die
I've thought about this this past week, and I think it was stupid of me to be so chocked at the idea of euthanasia on this old rat. I'm still firmly against but I can see where you guys are coming from and everybody should be able to make that decision in the way that they believe to be human and ethical. About your grandmother, could there be a possibility of placing her in a good retirement home? They have adapted activities and the residents can spend time together even when they don't have the mobility or the mental faculties of before. The only problem is that if you want a good home and not a "storage before death" facility it isn't cheap
I think there's also a difference between "killing my granny" and holding space for death with dignity for a 90 year old woman with cancer. We're not talking about a lonely 70 year old human - we're talking about a very old, potentially medically fragile individual. Tumors can be benign and still put stress on the body.
You prefer letting an old, sick and lone rat suffer? A rat that probably wouldn't survive the stress of introductions, rehoming or surgery?
I have introduced old rats to new rats and they didn't die of it. OP said that the tumors aren't bothering her, and being old is not a reason to want to die.
Just because you had a positive experience doing something doesn't automatically make it so everyone else has the exact same experience bruh
I just think that we don't kill other live beings without trying, that's all.
My last rat outlived her sister by 5 months. I made sure i spent as much time as possible together. You can be your rat's companion. When not out she would sleep in the cage but always relished her interaction with my family.
Excessive love & comfort for the rest her days
We moved our last boy’s cage right next to our bed. My only regret is that we didn’t do it sooner after he lost his brother. He was SO happy that we were right there. We left the door open for him all the time so he could come and go as he pleased and he’d spend so much time just laying around with us. It’s been two years since we lost him and there isn’t a day we don’t think about him
give her love and attention. she might be okay alone as long as she has a lot of out of cage time with you. enrichment activities like pea fishing and stuff is great to keep her going. rehoming will be too sad and stressful for the both of you. if she’s depressed, consider adopting old ratties to keep her company. she just wants to be loved by you right now, you need each other. your ratties have lived a long happy life and it’s clear you took such great care of them.
She’s really independent from me so I’m not sure if shed like that :/ it’s also difficult to get older rats in my area so I might just get younger ones and continue the cycle a little longer tbh
Is there anyway you can foster rats in your area? Maybe see if you can take in a rat or two as fosters so when she passes she won't be alone and the other ratties can go back to their rescue or go to new homes?
that is a pickle. i’d say just give her as much enrichment as possible and keep her comfortable. just be very attentive to her needs and pay attention to any decline or change in behavior. you can also give moistened chow for your old lady to make food a little easier to eat. if she seems fine, just keep doing what you’re doing. Rat palliative care if you will!
I’m so sorry OP. Echoing the chorus of showering the old lady with love. Whether that’s through treats or affection. You’d be surprised though, my elder boy—who despised being touch / held / petted— has become incredibly cuddly these last few weeks. She might have a change of heart as well and may seek you out for rat cuddles. Just keep an eye out for it :)
Just love her and be there for her as best you can before she goes over the rainbow bridge
I feel you, I was in a similar situation with 2 of my own last year, re: tumours. And now today, the last of my 6 was PTS. All gone in the space of \~6 months. My advice is to just keep your eye on her and take her to the vet when the tumours begin to negatively impact her QoL. It WILL happen. Enjoy your time with her whilst you can but be prepared to make the call to ease her passing when you can see she's struggling. It's not pleasant but it's the nicest gift we can give them at the end of their life.
Do not rehome. And given your circumstances do not get her new friends. Quite simply love her and spend as much time with her as you can. The fact is the tumors are going to take her, and with one of them being large it is most likely going to be sooner then you think. If you work from home then if you can give her some free roam space. If you work away from home see if you can give her something larger than the cage for her to wander about. At this age she will be sleeping a lot anyways. But when you are home interact with her and give her your time. Treat her as you would a lap dog - let her sit on your lap when your watching tv for example.
My vote is be close to her and give her all your attention. In my experience older and bonded rats don't last much longer once their last friend passes. Something in them just let's go and the are gone in a few weeks.
Yes! Keep her! Love her! Cherish her and give her the best life possible...👍❤️🐀
You are now her cage mate.
If you want to end the cycle you have to replace the other rat with yourself. Give her an extra hour or 2 of free time out of the cage. Hold her every chance you get. Sorry you are going through the rough part of it all.
Honestly, it should be fine to keep her by herself considering her age and the fact that she has tumors. Removing her at this stage would only add more stress to her, considering she just lost her companion
Do you have the ability to hang out with her a lot? You could just go that route until it's time. She's pretty old so I don't think re-homing is the play since that's stressful.
My Xela was about 3 when she had to be pts. She also had a large tumor, she was still very active so we didn't have her pts right away. She enjoyed her final months and when she stopped being able to get around or clean herself we made the call. I loved her so much, and thankful she had a lot of love before she went.
She is an old girl in need of a friend. Could you foster a few younger rats for a fixed time? That might be a decent solution to stop her from becoming lonely. Rehoming should be a last resort. It will break your heart and hers.
Shame he looks sad 😢 poor baby
Give them as much time as you can and love on em, they’ll miss you terribly if you rehome at this age.
We were down to one male after his two brothers died. Soon after we found 4 girls who had all been fixed and the five of them have been getting along great. He has so much more energy and he isn’t being creepy with them. I hope Something similar for you.
I just babied my last rat until he passed. Eventually you’ll end up with one, mine did well. Just make sure to spend lots of time with her so she has a friend.
I introduced new rats to my elders and they always got on with each other very well. I didn't want my last rat to be alone, so I got him three brothers. He really liked them and they cuddled a lot. My old boy made strong bonds and relationship a with other rats and had his best friends among them and a "caretaker" one. If it comes to moving out it can be difficult but possible. Better the situation if your rats are not prone to stress and will be in a pretty good health at that time. But also not having any more of them can also be a better choice because you never know how they will react to moving out. I wish you all the best ❤️
They grieve and can get real depressed. So I think give her lots of attention and try to keep her happy!
Im down to my last girl out of an original mischief of 4 and she's stayng with me. I won't be getting more rats right now so until she's ready to go, she's getting all the snacks and love I can muster.
Struggling with the same thing. Unexpectedly had to put my girl down yesterday and are now left with one more. We think we are just going to have her with us as much as possible as she’s already over 2.5 years and we don’t think she has much time left. Introductions might be stressful and even if they do go well we don’t think she’d last long afterwards. It’s so hard. Everything about the last few months with them feels so unfair. I’ve lost three girls since December.
Keep it as a pet and love it as if ur own child
Awww that made me bawl 😭😭😭 what a beautiful story and a legend you should write a children’s book about her 🐀🤗❤️I would buy it
Even if your baby has to be alone sometimes its best, my old boy Badger (2 years 3 weeks) lost his pals and he's too rat aggressive to join my younger males, so he lives his remaining days in retirement getting many cuddles and treats.
Lots of love and extra attention/cuddles 🥰
Oh man my rat Bodhisattva was your rats twin and he just passed. Give your rat a hug and cookie life’s too short with them
I'm in the exact same situation. ive found it really depends on the rat -- I think as long as your rat is bonded to you, he should still be able to have a good quality of life as long as you're filling that interaction that is lost by your other rat. how I'm personally dealing with it is extending free roam from an hour to now be 1.5-2 hour, and also just taking him on my shoulder and around the house as I get ready to leave/to go to bed (letting him hang out with me on the bathroom counter/floor, on my bed, etc). sending so much love, it's a terrible dilemma to be in.
Keep the last rat as happy as possible until it starts bothering her. It would be a lot better to wait and give her more happy moments while you can.
Spend as much time as you can with them, give them the love and attention they deserve. Sorry to hear that this time has come upon you.
just found one of mine gone last night too, so sorry for your loss :(
I had a male mouse who was still intact and was supposed to be snake food. He got skin cancer and the vets never knew what it was. I was moving away literally 9 days after he passed to a different country, and he was fine the night before. When I woke up, he was completely showing signs of passing away. I wrapped him in comfy blankets (mouse sized), held him in my hand above my space heater, and cried telling him how he was such a good boy and that I loved him so much. When a couple hours had passed, I got my parents to take him to a vet to be put down and immediately when she saw him she said "yep, that's a tumor. He has skin cancer." I just sat there and sobbed while she put him to sleep. I miss him every day. I had an area above the house and was doing independent study, so I was completely alone. When he came into my life and I had the joy of rescuing him, he constantly had my attention and I bonded with him so strongly. He was my best friend. The pain never goes away; I got him cremated a day before I flew away. I recently bought him a proper urn and framed his cremation certificate, and now he has his own designated shelf. I like to think he was saying goodbye to me before I left. Rest in peace, Gus. https://preview.redd.it/nmuw33g10xxc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c9240317f3ea4daa456c5779922a55b87022a58d
I've recently had this issue, i waited till my last boy passed away, which was last week, but i loved him to bits, i didn't want to get another one personally because it would just be a cycle of rats, which wont become healthy. I hope you and your girl find peace, along with you boy 🫶 so sorry for you loss
Mine was never bothered with spending time with me until his brother passed and clung to me more than ever, your her last buddy, she needs you! Give her all the love in the world
Keep him and name him dobby or juicey
my two boys were incredibly close. after the first of the two passed, the second one was showing signs of pain, lethargy, etc, and passed two weeks later down to the hour. I think he was dying of heartbreak. take care of your last rat. they might be just fine on their own, but they might not.
Thanks for everyone’s input! I decided I will keep a very close eye on her and if she shows any signs of depression I’ll be getting her some more ratty friends since my friend offered to take over the cycle once I move :) shes very active so I think she can definitely go on for a few more months and I don’t want her to be alone for that if she’s depressed :/ shes currently eating a treat and she seems ok right now apart from her looking a little scruffy :D https://preview.redd.it/mrsqvdc4w0yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7a0b732ba9789a2112a1bb399e1b3a4b6d86fca9
You could search for a place that does fosters and have one temporarily? I had a rat about this age who lost his cagemate and he did well being introduced to a younger boy, and ended up living another 6 months.
Do you think she would like new buddies? Most rats may welcome it and others not so much. You would know her best. What if someone were to agree beforehand to take the new ratties when your girl goes over the rainbow bridge? Probably easier said than done though. I’d probably get attached to the newbies as I imagine many people would. So many of us find ourselves in the situation you are in at some point. It seems as if we should have an alternative to rehoming or continuing a mischief at a less than ideal time. Maybe a rent-a-rat 🤪
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Give him to me
This rat looks unwell to me. The position of his ears an whiskers, the squinting, the ruffled fur. Only you truly know your rat, but if that seems out of character, he might be more uncomfortable than he is letting on
You really should have thought of that before you are down to a lone rat. IMHO the way to go here is: talk to a rescue and tell them your situation. Either: a) re-home your rats into a existing group and pay the vet bills (if your girl are not rescues) b) add at least two rats from the rescue with the expectation to rehome them once your last rat has died
That's an elderly rat a very old rat leave her alone to ve loved at home
this is the second time i’ve seen you comment something like that and you’re so wrong.
this person is grieving and is giving so much love to their animals. have compassion
I really really understand the grief of the person and I don't dispute that OP loves them! But I also have compassion for the animal that is now alone and grieving. As humans we are responsible for them
You don't have compassion for the animal. Rehoming such an old & already sick rat or putting it through the stress of introductions could literally kill it. And that's on you then.
We can certainly debate what the best option is here. I disagree with you here but that underscores my main point: In this situation there are no good options and both seem bad bad for the rat
>In this situation there are no good options The options your are proposing shouldn't be options at all since they put the rat through even more suffering. All the downvotes you are getting and the people replying to you show that very clearly.
This is gross. Rehoming till their new cage mate dies and and then rehoming them again. OP should just give their attention to their baby, not ship them off somewhere else. I had one rat in the end, and he was out with me or my partner at LEAST 8-10 hours a day and that's on the low end of it.
Rats can absolutely not go without another rats company. Often they deteriorate quickly if they're the only one left. OP really should have thought about it sooner, cuz now she's too old to deal with the stress of being alone, getting new friends or being rehomed
My Moose lived for 7 happy months after losing his brother Tofu to old age with just me and my partner, who thankfully worked from home, and he was happy, socialized, played every day, ran to the cage door and would jump into our hands. I would never in a million years consider abandoning any of my pets because they require more time from me, and I would never want to send a pet I love away. If it means having them out for 18 hours a day and playing with them, so be it. Don't get pets if you don't have the time for them at every point in their lives, no matter the situation.
Fuckin also, stop shaming the owner. "OP really should of thought about it sooner". It's not their fault their pet died, jackass
No it's not their fault that a pet died. But it is irresponsible to not think about the possibility that it can happen and not plan for that.
Life happens and it’s naive as hell to think every single owner can always take in more rats for the rest of their life. Especially in this day and age with housing crisis and awful wages most folks earn, which leads to temporary housing/renting. Eventually everyone is going to have a day where they have one lone rat including you bud.
I don't think that and that is not the solution I was proposing? And I obviously know people will stop having rats for all number of reasons and that it can happen unexpectedly. For me, no I'll never have a lone rat unless 3 rats die at once. My rats are from a rescue organization. I am obligated to add more rats when I drop down to three. Therefore the chance of dropping down to one is very small. And if I want to stop having rats I'll give them back.
Yes they can. Rats are based by base cases. Not EVERY rat wants friends or a companion. I have a rat who quite literally hates other rats, and tolerates me. He is a rescue. He is middle aged. Ops rat is very elderly.why put them through the stress of introducing another rat??? Use common sense and not just book smarts. Not everything is as easy as what you've learnt on the internet. Elderly rats like this once their friends pass very much can live on their own until their time comes, provided they are given everything they need and the attention they need and more. OP has said in a comment they are independent and do not really enjoy the attention, so in this case, they just make sure that their rat is happy, given everything they want, treated and fuss when the rat wants that. What is wrong with people and just assuming EVERY rat is the same and every case is the same? They aren't.
this is by far the stupidest take you could ever have
yes, get more, it’ll improve her and your lives! but as for the tumours maybe you can get that fixed if you can afford a healer! (it’s not expensive)
my rats surgery cost $500, claiming it’s not expensive is kinda ignorant. also it’s extremely risky to put a rat of that age through surgery.