What to do! My rat has an abscess behind her eye.

Question
I'm faced with a really hard question. I just don't know what to do.

My pet rat, Rosie, is almost 2 and from a pet shop. She has had one trip to the vets to remove 2 lumps but the healed and she was fine.

recently within the last 3 weeks she has not seemed her self. she became more quiet and lazy.

last week she lost all sense of balance and cant walk properly. she is in a box because i'm worried she will fall down in her cage.

On Friday i took her to the vets and received bad news. The vet said it was an abscess behind her eye she was put on antibiotics and the vet told us that there were three things i could do.

one was to have her put to sleep. two was to let her suffer and not put her to sleep, and three was to have her eye removed.

she seems to be at the end of her life now i know it but i don't think i can put her down.

I would like to know whether if she has her eye removed would she still be suffering by not being able to see very well?

Would you think it best that she should be put down as she is suffering and lose a dear friend or do i have her eye removed,will she look ugly or be suffering if i do remove her eye?

I wont leave her and not do anything because i think that is just cruel.

your opinion would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
I'm very sorry to hear Rosie is having such troubles!

Well, you need to decide what you can afford, what you're willing to afford, and what Rosie can take. I don't know her personally so that's a tough call to make, and I really can't tell you what to do. If you have her eye removed, she will adapt and be fine -- rats are very good at overcoming physical obstacles.

But she's also 2 years old. How much longer do you expect her to live? Is she currently healthy, other than her eye? Can you afford to have the eye removed, even if she dies of old age in another 4 months?

I'm sorry; I really wish I could help more. Good luck!