R.I.B. Report: Clint may be in dire straits (part report, part question)

On May 5th, Clint had a mass removed from the base of his tail. It appeared suddenly, then over the course of about two or three weeks, went from a possible rat-zit the size of half a pencil eraser to the size of a dime, skin taut and irritated. He had his stitches out on Friday, and the vet says his healing has been fantastic-- until today.

Today, he started dragging his feet. Hind-end paralysis appears to be setting in. When we were at the vet for his stitch removal, I noticed that the base of his tail (body-side) was looking lumpy. The vet examined the lumps and was fairly sure it was just his bones, but that we should keep an eye on the area. Today, the area seems lumpier and a bit reddened. He's gotten slightly worse since this morning.

Hind-end paralysis on its own isn't a death sentence; we've had enough elderly ratties to know that. What we're thinking is that the mass (we're looking at sending it in for biopsy depending on what the vet says this week) may have spread further under the skin and may be moving up his spine. We could be off, I have no idea-- we're not vets, and of course this would happen on Sunday. Our vet is pretty outstanding, though, and she should be able to see him tomorrow or the day after; she'd know better than we would.

I don't know what else we can do apart from making him comfortable for as long as he's still experiencing a decent quality of life. He's still eating, still snuggling with Agent J, and, though it takes some effort, still makes it out for treats.

Agent J has not shown any signs of illness but is visibly concerned for his brother.

Has there been any evidence of Harlan-Teklad blocks or other foods causing that kind of rapidly-moving mass in rats? They've had no citrus, and we wash our hands before handling them if we've had any. They get fresh fruits and vegetables, yogies, plain Cheerios every so often, fresh water (of course), and, as a treat or with medicine, a little bit of peanut butter.

This could be just algae in the gene pool, but like any rat-parents, we're trying to figure out if there's something we could have done differently.

It does sound like your man may have more cancer in him. Honestly, most rat genetics are horrible because of the ongoing uncontrolled breeding. It really has nothing to do with how you have kept him. He has lived his life to his fullest potential because of his wonderful care. I have had both ends of the spectrum, even within the same litter - the youngest sister died at 1.5 years, while the oldest sister died at 3 years. So even in the same family being kept in the same cage, there was a huge difference.
Give him lots of love and keep him comfortable and we will hope with you that it is something treatable.
:hugs:

I am so sorry
I hope the vet has better news for you when you go

@Joanne-- Thank you. He's barely a year and a half old, so he's theoretically got lots of life left in him. If he can beat this, he'll be golden. It's just moved so fast. Cancer is a vicious beast. The Mr. isn't taking this well. Knowing that there's nothing we could have done to make this not happen is really eating at him. He comes across as a tough old grump, but he's got a great big squishy heart when it comes to rats.

@SQ-- Thank you for your support. We're hoping she's got some sort of answer.

This is scary... And the first I've read about something like this happening. Although, it's almost similar to a post I just read. The tail had hardened and the hardening moved down the spine rendering the rat motionless and finally death. I sure hope that's not the case with yours. Please keep up posted.

The vet says Clint is likely dealing with one of two things-- either it's rapidly-moving cancer, or bacterial meningitis (or some similar bacterial thing with neuropathic pain involved). He's on high-powered antibiotics and Metacam. She said that if it's bacterial, we should see some improvement within 48 hours. If there's no improvement, we start looking at quality-of-life.

On a happy note, Clint seems perkier today. While his mobility isn't much better, he's more enthusiastic about moving and has come out for treats and cuddling. Here's hoping another couple doses of antibiotics produce more change.

Clint is still relatively perky, but his mobility continues to decrease. He's having more trouble with his hands, and moving more than a couple of inches tires him out. It's not looking good at this stage, but we'll keep hoping.

They got blueberries this morning. Agent J was upstairs in his UFO; out of line of sight of his brother, he didn't see that I'd also given Clint a blueberry. He hopped out of the UFO and carried his blueberry downstairs to Clint. J only started to eat his once he saw that Clint already had one.

If Clint doesn't make it through this, it's going to break J's heart.

We regret to inform you that an agent of SHIELD: Rat Division, has fallen while fighting for his life. Clint was a brave soul, deeply loved by his brother, Agent J, and by all here at Mission Control. He will be sorely missed.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope his brother is doing alright.

I'm so sorry Clint lost his most important battle. I hope Agent J does not get too depressed. Are you planning on bringing a new agent into the fold?

I am so very sorry

I'm so very sorry.

Thank you, everyone. He was such a sweet wee guy. Never did get too comfortable with hands, but he was adorable nonetheless.

We will be looking in to bringing another agent onto the team, but Agent J needs to go through debriefing first. He's developed some manner of lump on the underside of his upper lip, and it's protruding now. It's a little purple-black skin-tag-looking thing. We're hoping it's not major and can be dealt with quickly, easily, and relatively painlessly. Until we know what it is, we're holding off on further recruitment.