Question
Hermione
Today, we had to put our beloved Hermione down. She had 3 tumors, one so large and close to her urethra the vet said it was inoperable. (Yes, we did get her to a vet once we noticed it but they grew so quickly, they only developed within the last 8 weeks or so.And in the last two days she developed another respiratory infection.) But now Ziva is left all alone. Of course, we plan to give her all the love an attention we can but I was wondering if rats are capable of mourning? She's still eating and drinking as usual but every once and a while she starts making this sort of chirping sound, seems to be coming from her throat. Or could this be a sign that she is sick? What else should we do so she doesn't get lonely? (We can't get another rat at the moment.)
Also, the vet advised that Ziva should sniff the Hermione's body after she passed. She did; she laid on her for awhile then went back to her cage. Was that a bad idea? Also, should we clean the cage promptly to remove all scent of Hermione or give it another day or two?
Thank you. Let me know if you need anymore info. I can't go into it anymore. It still hurts too much. We miss our little girl...
AnswerI am very sorry for your loss. I refuse to own females any longer because of the development of these devastating tumors. Trust me I would not judge you for waiting, not waiting, not doing it, doing it, whatever...when it comes to removing these nasty tumors because truthfully once they are removed, more start to erupt and the next thing you know, your putting your rat through her third or even fourth surgery, not knowing when enough is enough, only wanting to save your rats life and have them live as long as possible. My last female was my beloved wild rat, Holly, who became a tumor factory right on target, around 2 years of age, when they tend to develop them anytime after their heat cycles cease for good. She did live to be close to 4, but only because I was ready to put her down at the age of 3, having not one but EIGHT tumors, all in a cluster together on her side. She had the best lungs ever, never having any respiratory issues and still had alot of life in her so the decision to euthanize her was haunting me. The vet knew it and came to the conclusion that we should "try" to remove what we can...if she makes it thats great, if she passes while under anesthesia, I was going to let her go anyhow. He gave her a 5% chance of surviving knowing the surgery would take an hour at least,which is a long time to have a tiny mammal under anesthesia. She made it, much to our surprise, and lived to be 2 months shy of her 4th birthday, but she developed more tumors and we put her on steroids for her last year of life to try to slow down the growth of these monsters. The steroids, long term use, compromised her immune system and she went into complete organ failure....so that was that.
No more females for me. I dont have the guts to spay them at the age required to give them a good chance of not developing these tumors, which is between 3 and 5 months of age, so I just stick to my sweet massive couch potato boys. LOL
Your little girl looks like my boy, Ben, btw.
Anyhow, to get to your question at hand, yes, rats mourn and sometimes to the point they die of a broken heart. I wont lie to you. I have lost several males that stopped eating and fell ill several months after losing their beloved cagemate. It doesnt tend to happen when they have other surviving rats, but when they become solo. On the other hand, my boy, Santana, the one eyed boy, lived solo after losing all three of his brothers. He lived another 8 months on his own. Another one of my boys,Bo, lived to be 3 weeks past his 4th birthday, my oldest rat on record. He lost his brother, Templeton, when they were 3 and a half, so he went on without him too and lived alone. It depends on the rat. I spent extra time with all of my solo survivors only to have them just withdraw from me and keep to themselves. Within a month they were ill with something, usually respiratory related. This occurs usually from stress due to mourning the loss of their cagemate but it can also occur if they are rehomed or their original care taker should pass on themselves, they can mourn them as well. Excuse me if I am not using the right words, care taker or care giver. Not sure if care giver is even a word?
Either way, the answer is very much yes, our sweet sensitive rats can indeed mourn their cagemates. Also, the vet was spot on by suggesting you allow your girl to see Hermiones remains. This gives her closure and may help her get past her natural mourning state much better than having a rat not know where their cagemate went, esp if the cagemate had gone to the vets and spent the night, returned back to them several times over. They would expect to see their cagemate yet again thinking the absence was only temporary. They know when their friends are no longer alive. By laying on her, she knew that she was no longer alive. You and I know how intelligent these little animals are, they should never be under estimated as you already know any how. I do think that she will adjust fine. Bringing in a new rat can sometimes stress a mourning rat, so even if things were in your favor to get another rat for her, I would suggest to wait for a time anyhow to give her some space to occupy the cage, do things her own way for once. You can even try putting a stuffed animal in her cage with her, removing of course any eyes or nose that is made from buttons that she may chew. She may destroy the stuffed animal anyhow so dont use anything you want back. LOL I have a few stuffed animals (little small mice or rabbits) that I had given to my rats to cuddle with and once they passed, I put the toy in a baggie and saved them. :( Just dont use beanie babies or anything with small bits.
But....there is always a "but" you said she is making a chirping. Since the only audible sound rats make other than squeaking or bruxing, the chirping is more indicative of a rattie cough or congestion. She needs to be seen by your vet as soon as possible and treated for a full 30 days since the chances the stress of losing Hermione is high that her immune system has weakened some and good old Mycoplasmosis has taken the opportunity to move in on her respiratory tract.
Unfortunately, I am an expert on treating myco, not only because of all of my past rats but my exposure to rats at various clinics I have shadowed at. Many vets treat myco their own way, often being the "wrong" way which is either using the wrong drugs or not using the right drugs long enough, allowing relapse to occur which in turn causes damage to their fragile lungs.
Sounds like your vet has experience with rats, esp because he knew the importance of showing your girl her sisters remains. If you need more info on treating myco or any respiratory disease, check out my website, Sandyscrittercity.com and go to the page on myco. In fact if you havent been to my website, check it out anyhow when you feel up to it. I know all to well how your heart hurts when losing a little fur friend. It downright aches and they will always have a place in your heart forever.
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