<:3 )~ The Rat Stash- Hot Gifts for Cool Fuzzies

[xxchelle]

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to both The Rat Stash, and anyone who bought hammocks in March. It is very very appreciated!

 

[violet976]

Chelle: It was my pleasure, & hopefully lots of happy rattums are snuggling away for a great cause! I plan on starting your hammock bundle today, so hopefully I'll have it out within a week for your bubs!

Godmother: Your fantastic Animal Prints Playhouse is complete & shipped out today with your Fleece Owls Playhouse!!! What a spoiled bunch of rattums you have there. :lol2:

 

[violet976]

Lots of new premades!!! Available until Monday only. Bigger pictures can be seen on the websites Premades page! :dance:

20" Cats Tunnel w/ gray fleece - $12 Shipped

16" Rainbows & Planets Tunnel w/ black fleece - $10 Shipped

18" Animal Prints/Blue Stripes/Swirls Tunnel w/ blue & white fleece - $11 Shipped

18" Lizards & Crazy Critters Tunnel w/ orange fleece - $11 Shipped

17" Beetle Bugs Tunnel w/ orange fleece - $11 Shipped

15" Rainbows & Cupcakes Tunnel w/ purple fleece - $9 Shipped

16" Cupcakes & Retro Flowers Tunnel w/ teal fleece - $10 Shipped

20" Cats Tunnel w/ Red Fleece - $12 Shipped

Small Animal Prints Burrow Hammock w/ light green fleece - $12 Shipped

Small Bunker in Lizards w/ orange fleece - $11 Shipped

Small Pocket Bunker in Blue Stripes & Swirls w/ pink fleece - $12 Shipped

 

[violet976]

Alex: Ok, I was dying to try out some more designs in solid fleece, so... your order is complete & everything came out splendid! I'll PM you in a moment to let you know as well. Thanks so much & I hope your rats enjoy their snuggly new hammocks!

Countdown has begun to get those orders in. Just a reminder that you have until April 18th to avoid any delays on your orders while I am petsitting (April 23-May 2). During that timeframe I will still accept orders, but there will be delays in checking fabric availability. :thumbup:

 

[violet976]

I am placing a hold on all further orders at this point. Verdell took a sudden turn for the worse last night with his respiratory battle (fine one second, couldn't breath or barely move the next), & is currently at the vets office getting Dex, oxygen & possibly xrays, along with a new antibiotic regime. I stayed up all night feeling as if I was going to lose him, but my baby took some water & rest & trooped through for me. Since I don't know what condition he is in, I want make sure I get as much time with him as possible right now & don't want to promise any order dates I might not be able to fulfill. Current orders might be delayed by hopefully one week at most, but if anyone does not want to wait I will gladly refund the money back to you. My sincere apologies for the delay, I just don't know what condition he is in & I want to make sure I have time to really be there for him.

Please everyone, think good thoughts for him pulling through this. I know eventually respiratory problems usually win in the end, but I am nowhere near ready to let this sweet man go so young...

 

[xxchelle]

*hugs* Please keep us updated...

 

[Nickelrat]

Healing vibes have been sent to Verdell. You two are in my thoughts and prayers!! :hugs:

 

[jorats]

Healing vibes for your little guy. Stay strong for him.

 

[violet976]

Thanks so much guys. I have been notified from the vet that both rats were put in the oxygen chamber. Verdell also had a chest xray, which I am told the vet said "didn't look good". Since that's extremely vague, I am going to have him go over what we're looking at as well as go over the meds he's prescribing to try & ensure no underdosing (I have my medication chart). Since x-rays are relatively new to me, & since I'm unclear of whether the heart or lungs looked bad, I'm going to try & get a detailed account of what that x-ray is actually indicating here. Any chance you think he'll let me have a copy of the x-ray so I can try to post it on here, or do most vets not do that?

He should be coming home with me today, but I have no real idea what we're dealing with yet or how much time I have left with him based on what the vet found today.

 

[lilspaz68]

Oh I am so sorry you are going through all this good luck to your babies!~

 

[Godmother]

Take care of your sweetie; everything else can wait. :hugs:

 

[mamarat]

:hugs: Sending healing vibes to your sweeties.

 

[violet976]

Thanks for the well wishes everyone. I'm happy to state that, while not in the best physical state, Verdell is still hanging in there & resting in the other room, & at least now has some new meds to try. Minx kept him company all day at the vet, but I'm sure they are happy to be home. PS: Thanks so much to Chelsey, as the bubbins had wonderful hammies to keep them cozy at the vet. The full update on Verdell's visit is in this thread:

http://www.goosemoose.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,118/forum,rat/topic,4068711.0

So, until I'm in the clear with Verdell & know I can catch up on all existing orders, I plan to leave the hold on new orders. As soon as Verdell is looking a bit better & I've squeezed in every ounce of snuggle time he'll allow me, I plan to squeeze those existing orders out (so long as no turn for the worse, I'll probably be sewing again in the next day or two, as Verdell is simply not an all day snuggler...). I can sew in my room next to the cage & keep an eye on him, so I really expect to not fall more than a week behind on current order estimates. Again though, any concerns or if you simply don't want to wait, please contact me & I'll let you know either how quickly I can sew them up or issue you a refund if you like. Thanks so much & I do hope everyone understands. If you don't see me on for a couple of days, please be patient as I'm probably just soaking up Verdell time. :heart:

 

[violet976]

Verdell finally came out of his travel cage on his own late last night & walked around the bed a bit, the first time I've seen him really move since we got back from the vet. I'm trying not to be overly optimistic, since he still sounds just as bad & is winded so easily, but anything is better than watching him lay in that travel cage barely moving. He's been great at eating all his meds down, is absolutely loving the soggy mushed lab blocks with Boost, & got some cantaloupe down as well. The water concerns me some, as I have only seen or heard him drink once, but I'm hoping the watered down lab blocks & cantaloupe is helping, along with eating small amounts of water off my finger. I also moved him into the top level of the FN today, blocked off by two shelves so there could be hammocks for him, so he can finally stretch his legs a little more.

Since there is not much more I can do for him, and because I think I might be overly pestering him with rubs & love, I will probably be back to slowly sewing up some of my current orders today or tomorrow. He'll probably appreciate the break, & I can still keep an eye on him from across the room. Hopefully I will get to the post office tomorrow to get a few packages out that I meant to send before this all happened.

Thanks again to everyone for the understanding & even more so, the support & well wishes. Hopefully my little man still has a bit of good time left for him. :heart:

 

[pshuga03]

I'm so glad you're seeing an improvement in lil Verdell and I'm sending some "i love water" thoughts his way hehe *hugs*

 

[Godmother]

I bet he's doing fine for water with the mushy lab blocks & cantaloupe. So glad that he is doing better. :heart:

 

[violet976]

Thanks for the kind words, I had not posted on here but my sweet bubbin pie Verdell left us on Thursday. He put up a strong fight, but I couldn't ask him to fight any longer & I had given him my word that I wouldn't make him go another day in that state. I think he knew, because he spent the whole drive snuggled in my arms sucking up every last drop of love. His last thoughts were in my arms, & I do believe he was happy up until the end. :heart: His memorial is here, for those who weren't fortunate enough to know my little man:
http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=18697

Minxie is hanging in there, I've had to take her out to force cuddles upon her, but she is handling them gracefully considering she never trusted me all that much. I finally pulled through the tasks of cleaning the cage out, stopping frequently to try & smell the last traces of my wonderful baby boy. I keep smelling the laundry as I fold it, thinking I can catch a whiff of him here & there. & I managed to find a clump of Verdell hair in the washing machine just now... I'm sure it probably seems crazy to cling to such things... These past few days have just been hard... it feels like I am slowly erasing him from these walls. I know that these things are not him anymore, it's just hard to convince myself to let go of these last bits of him.

& sadly, I realize that life goes on whether we like it or not. Minxie reminds me everyday that she needs a companion, that I alone am not enough for her. I managed to locate a lone boy at a rescue about three hours from here, & though I'm not ready for a brand new soul, Minxie has a hole to fill & this little man needs a home. I've arranged to adopt him on tuesday, I just hope he knows what big shoes he has to fill.

On top of everything else, I still have to leave for petsitting on thursday & will be taking everything with me. Anyone who doesn't have an order placed should try to let me know what they would like by wednesday. I meant to give everyone a lot more notice, but plans changed. If anyone is tentative on an order, you can also just tell me which fabrics you'd like me to bring along so I'll have them on hand. Those with current orders are set to go, & thanks so much to you all for being so patient during this & letting me have time with my baby boy & grieve with Minx. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. :heart:

 

[violet976]

Thanks guys. I just got off the phone with the rescue & we are all set to pick him up tomorrow. Sadly I have no quarantine option at this point as Verdell was just at my moms house (where I'll be petsitting), Minx is about to be at my moms house as I can't leave her with my father who can't touch her/clean her cage (allergies/hives), & with my mother leaving I have no one here who can care for one or the other in a safe house. Add to that the fact that Minx is pretty much refusing anything except her banana meds & I'm afraid to leave her like this for much longer. I lost Jasper that way, after his second loss even another rat wasn't enough to snap him out of his grief. Hopefully Minx is not at that stage of grief just yet. She's probably more ready for another friend than I am, but I'm sure he'll work his magic. They always do.

Ok guys, thanks for bearing with me. I think I have managed to address all correspondence I fell behind on, so if you were awaiting a response & haven't gotten one, please email/pm me again as it might have gotten lost. So far, I have the following on my to do list, so if you're not here & should be, let me know as well.

TO DO LIST:
(these are not in any particular order)

-Danielle - Fleece/fabric scraps box. Will be mailed by Wednesday morning
-Alex - 4 completed hammocks. Will be mailed by Wednesday morning.

-Petunia - hold for lizards tunnel
-DebsRats - order
-Stacey - order
-Kirsten - order
-Kelly - raffle prize
-Kat - order
-summer - order
-alex - order
-MRR - donation hammocks
-Chelle's Critter Haven - donation hammocks


Also, since there was a hold on orders placed this month, I am extending Aprils Rescue of the Month, LilSpaz68, through May as well. It's easier all around & I really want to be able to give back to her during this hard time. :heart:

Anything I've forgotten, please let me know. My brain is all over lately. :thumbsup2:

 

[victoria]

Violet, I had the same predicament with Cloud when Lizzie passed away and had to find her friends right away because she was literally dying of loneliness. It's heartbreaking because you feel as though you are replacing your baby (Verdell in this case) but I firmly believe it's often the best thing for the rat, even with the added risk of not quarantining. I hope Minxie takes to her new friend, even though he will never replace the void left by Verdell in both of your hearts.

Once again, I'm so sorry for your loss :hugs:

 

[xxchelle]

:hugs: Take your time on the CCH hammocks, you need to worry about YOU and Minx right now, that's what's most important.