R.I.P. Elinor and Marianne

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chrid515

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Two years ago, I bought my two soon-to-be favorite rat buddies of all time: Elinor and Marianne. This was my first time as a rat mom, so obviously I made some mistakes along the way, but I think I overall did a good job of caring for them and giving them a good life.

However, I WAS NOT AT ALL prepared for their deaths, and there are things that happened that I have a lot of questions about. I feel like I really screwed up somehow...

The rats have been taken to the vet twice since I got them just for a regular check up. Both times no major alarm bells were raised-- they were relatively healthy (for store bought rats, though the vet told me I need to buy from a breeder next time).

Since I got them two years ago, I knew the end was coming relatively soon and the vet warned me of this last time we saw her in January. I've done some research and talked to friends who've had pet rats. I got pretty much the same story from all sources-- The girls will develop tumors, primarily around the hips. These tumors will slow and restrict their movement, and I'll need to adjust their living arrangements to account for this. If taken to a vet, rats will sometimes recover and be fine for a few more weeks/months, but eventually will succumb. If one rat dies before the other, a new rat should be purchased or the remaining rat should be re-homed so she doesn't get depressed.

Based on what I had read/heard, I expected this to be a somewhat elongated process. The friends I talked to made a point to emphasize how they hated seeing their rats slowly deteriorate and warned me it would be a difficult process.

However, what actually happened was not at all a "process" as I was expecting it.

In terms of behavior, eating habits, etc everything seemed FINE until Sunday I noticed that Elinor was walking REALLY slowly. I picked her up to inspect her and saw for the first time that she had a tumor on her left hip. I thought, "Uh oh... this is the beginning of the end. I'll need to really keep an eye on her." I pet her for a little bit, and moved the food and water so they were more easily accessible.

Then, an hour later, she came crawling out of the rat closet again and tried to climb up to the couch to get to me. I picked her up, rat phoned her, and noticed her breathing was WAY off. My vet's not 24 hours, so I hit the internet to see if there were any 24 hour vets near by that treat exotic pets. I called a couple of places-- none treated rats. I was planning to call my vet first thing in the morning to schedule an appointment, but it was too late. Elinor died in my arms within five hours of my noticing her breathing was off (about 2:00 a.m.).

WHAT HAPPENED!? Is it even possible for a rat to develop and die of a tumor so quickly? Is it possible the tumor was there for a while but was too small for me to notice it? Full disclosure: Elinor was a little overweight. It's a problem, but I had a really hard time getting it under control. Maybe her weight prevented me from seeing the tumor?

I was shocked that Elinor died so quickly, but I knew what to do with Marianne. As predicted, Marianne indeed got depressed after Elinor passed. Of course, I obsessively inspected her for tumors and rat phoned her. She seemed entirely healthy, but I knew this wouldn't last long without a companion. So I contacted a rat rescue about two hours outside of town and arranged to bring her by at the earliest possible date that I could make it--today (Thursday).

Though lethargic, Marianne seemed to be eating ok, though not as much as normal. I made a point to keep her near me on the couch or on my shoulder as much as possible. I hated the thought of seeing her go, but I couldn't buy another rat (technically, my apartment complex does not allow them and I'd already been caught and fined once).

Then, on Wednesday morning I opened up the rat closet to check on her and there she was-- dead in the cage.

WHAT!?

I knew that rats could die of depression, but I had no idea this could happen so quickly! She literally died within 48 hours of Elinor's death.

I'm baffled and kicking myself for not moving heaven and earth to get her to the rat rescue IMMEDIATELY after Elinor's death.

I haven't had a chance to talk to my vet yet, but I'd really like to know-- is anything I described above normal? Can rats develop and die of tumors within a day or two? Can they die of depression within a day or two? What can I do better next time?

I'm sorry for the long post. I'm just baffled, feeling like a ****ty rat mom, and all around hating myself right now. I keep on thinking of all the things I could have done differently...

Your thoughts and advice are much appreciated.
 
Hi
first off I am very sorry for your losses

the girls almost certainly did not die from the tumors. the tumors they get are mostly external, although a rat can have some that are more internal that you may never even see. they need to be VERY large before they cause any problems.

Surgery can be done to remove the tumors; sometimes a new one will pop up later, or even more than one, but not always

you said the girls were at least 2? and possibly older? it is quite possible that they simply died of old age, esp if you didn't see any real signs of distress in the days leading up them passing away.

rats are prone to respiratory illnesses, but from what you wrote, it seems Elinor was fine right up until just hours of her dying, and that leads me to believe she honestly just died of old age.

your girl Marianne probably passed away of old age as well... it's possible, even likely, that losing her buddy contributed to her dying so soon afterward, but these were both old rats, as far as rats go. Even if you'd found her a new friend, there's no way to know if they would have liked each other, and there's no way to know if it was just simply Marianne's time, as an older girl. You know?

Now your girls are together again in rat heaven, if you believe in that, I mean...

Rat's lifespans average only about 2 yrs. though sometimes you're lucky and they can live to 3 or beyond. That's not the norm though

I've had er, about 20+ rats now? and only two lived past 24 mos, - a girl lived to 30 mos and a boy lived to about 28 mos
All the rest of mine died at or before, 2yrs old :( one was only 18 mos old.

& It can happen suddenly, esp if they are old. Even very young rats can die suddenly from an illness or condition that had no outward signs. Same as ppl, you just never know what might be going on inside them.

as far as the tumors go, they have to be very large to affect them, and even then, it's not that the tumors kill them so much as you need to have them put to sleep because they tumors are causing them to have pain or a poor quality of life.

I hope this puts your mind at ease. There was nothing you could have done any differently, and it certainly sounds like they had a great & long life with you, and were very loved and well cared for. it's never long enough for us, of course.

you were a great rat mom!
it's too bad that you are not allowed to have rats where you are, there are so many rats who would benefit from a home like yours.

again, sorry for your loss, RIP Elinor and Marianne
 
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