Whiskers from Hamilton Animal Control

I woke up this morning to an email from Hamilton Animal Control, my local city run facility. The email stated that they had a rat there, young, who was dropped off by the young boy (and his mom) who saved him after he was thrown from a car. He has a bloated tummy and an injured tail and he isn't eating very well. They wanted to know if I could come and get him. Of course I said yes.

The story goes like this. The young boy and his mother were driving. They saw a person throw something out their car window as they were driving. The little boy saw the thing run away from the side of the road, told his mom to stop and went searching for the creature. He found a young rat whom he named Whiskers. They dropped him off at Animal Control before heading home.

I now have Mr. Whiskers at home. His tummy is bloated but I don't think there is internal bleeding since his poops are normal and the skin is not discoloured. If he wasn't obviously a male rat, I would think that he was a very pregnant young girl. His breathing is icky, but nothing that a treatment of baytril/doxy won't fix, the breathing is more likely due to the stress of what he has been through in the last 24 hours. He is puffy and seems sore. His tail is discoloured - but upon closer inspection I think it is just dirt. His tail is warm and seems to be functioning normally. The tail injury is luckily right at the end. It looks awful, but seems to be healing. I am going to wait a bit to clean it up, as he seems kind of unsure of things right now. It is not bleeding, so thats a plus. All he has done so far is sleep, which is a bit alarming for a rat as young as he is... but again, I'm certain that the last 24 hours have been pure hell for him, plus who knows where he was before that. He weighs 136g and has not touched his oatmeal yet.

He has a vet appointment tomorrow morning. I think he will be ok. Just thought that I would share his story and a couple pictures of him.

oh that poor baby!!
I hope he does ok.
sending good thoughts his way and yours too

Poor darling. I read your post just before bed and had a dream about this little guy. I woke up thinking of him. Go glad he's with you Crumblina - keep us updated on his progress, he's precious!

Lucky lovely Mr. Whiskers

How awful for the little guy! I hope he recovers from his traumatic day. That boy and his mom need a reward for saving him when they could of just kept on driving. As for the people that tossed him ....... !!!!! Hopefully he checks out alright at the vet. Are you keeping him?

Just returned from the vet. Whiskers is doing a million times better today. The swelling in his abdomen has gone almost completely down, except for a spot that I expressed concern about. The vet said it didn't feel herniated, and that I should just watch it. He doesn't scream or squirm when you try and palpate it so I think it is ok. His tail is odd looking but my vet agrees that since it is warm, its another wait and see. The injury on his tail is old and again, since it has healed up he told me just to watch it. I plan on soaking his tail to try and clean it for him since it is quite dirty, but I'll do that a bit later this afternoon. He ate half a bowl of oxbow last night, plus the snowflake treat, some cheerios and some puffs. Lots of normal poop in his cage, so I think he is going to be ok.
Dr. G says that Mr. Whiskers is a very lucky boy!

he is indeed a very lucky boy to have found his way to you!

I am so relieved that it looks hopeful at this point for him
will keep him in my thoughts and prayers

I'm glad to hear of a happy ending to a sad and tragic story. Some people are truly awful to treat an animal like that (but not surprising to hear); at least two wonderful people saved him and now he's with you; he's safe, loved, and will have a happy life. Sending him healing wishes for a full and quick recovery. He is adorable.

dspch911 said:

How awful for the little guy! I hope he recovers from his traumatic day. That boy and his mom need a reward for saving him when they could of just kept on driving. As for the people that tossed him ....... !!!!! Hopefully he checks out alright at the vet. Are you keeping him?

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Sorry! Somehow I missed your question. Yes I will be keeping him. I need to get him neutered though... When I can get the funds together LOL

Here are some pics from last night. He is recovering quickly! Such a sweetheart!

Oh man, I LOVE him. Something very special about this one. Loving the pics, he looks so peaceful and relaxed. Those are some very cute ears too!

What adorable and very lucky boy! I am so, so glad that lady and her son stopped to get him. They get a gold star next to their names in my book.
I'm looking forward to following his story and him getting to have friends and living a happy ratty life.

crumbilina said:

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Looks like he knows he has nothing to be afraid of anymore Lucky, lovely little boy!

I had to say it too...he's so lucky!

Oh my what a story! Disgusting and Amazing at the same time.
He's been touched by an angel I swear!
I'll be following his story for sure!

Whiskers is now in a new, much larger cage, and he is pretty frightened in it. I suspect he was a feeder and was kept in an aquarium or bin. He doesn't "get" ladders and does not understand that a ledge is not a whole new cage. He will come around with time, but boy, the poor guy is pretty confused. He is happy when I play with him and he LOVES the treats that I had purchased for old man Basil. He will actually run up and snatch it away and run back to the litter box to eat it, whereas before, he would freeze. He is a lovely boy, but needs a bit of work

aww poor baby!! that' so sad when they are scared of things most rat take for granted

he'll come around. it's great he likes to play with you.

Wow I'm surprised and pleased that he is warming up so quickly after what has no doubt been an awful history with scary humans. I'll try not to think about that.

Seriously though if I had the expendable income I would fly there and give him smooshy nose kisses myself!

Is he in with anybody right now?

He looks so relaxed in his pics He won the jackpot for sure