silentmagician
Junior Member
Distel came to us as a shy and unsure little fellow; his name, Dutch for the flower "thistle," was very fitting. The first couple months of playtime consisted of him huddling on a floormat and eyeing the laminate in the hallway with great suspician. He eventually mustered the courage to leave his "mental cage" and take a few cautious steps outside his comfort zone, first with a timid belly-crawl, and then finally realizing he had the ability to jump and climb. After that he developed into quite the stinker who liked to dart around annoying his companion and eventual friend (after some work), Karel de Grote. Their relationship was rewarding to watch bloom, as they went from barely tolerating each other to Distel tenderly caring for Karel during his friend's last days.
I've never met a rat who was so picky. Distel was the real life version of "Ratatouille." He had impeccible taste for the fine things in life, from gourmet foods to the most expensive yarns which he would "quality check" by stealing the ball while I was knitting. Foods that were not up to his standards were met with a turned up nose and a look that clearly said, "We both know you can do better." Fresh mint was a favorite, and he was the official pruner of our potted mint plant (in moderation!) The rat would disappear into the mess of mint to do his job, which he took very seriously. Karel would wander over to check out what was happening, at which point the mint would start shaking and screeching until poor Karel backed away looking very confused about why the plant was shouting at him.
After battling a respiratory infection for several months, he finally succumbed despite our best efforts. He was just over 2 years old. Though he remained a shy homebody all his life, once you earned his trust he was an affectionate and gentle friend.
I've never met a rat who was so picky. Distel was the real life version of "Ratatouille." He had impeccible taste for the fine things in life, from gourmet foods to the most expensive yarns which he would "quality check" by stealing the ball while I was knitting. Foods that were not up to his standards were met with a turned up nose and a look that clearly said, "We both know you can do better." Fresh mint was a favorite, and he was the official pruner of our potted mint plant (in moderation!) The rat would disappear into the mess of mint to do his job, which he took very seriously. Karel would wander over to check out what was happening, at which point the mint would start shaking and screeching until poor Karel backed away looking very confused about why the plant was shouting at him.
After battling a respiratory infection for several months, he finally succumbed despite our best efforts. He was just over 2 years old. Though he remained a shy homebody all his life, once you earned his trust he was an affectionate and gentle friend.
