Kona - RIP 5/24/14

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:tumkiss: -- Tummy Kiss for KONA !!
It's such a great feeling when you see them holding food ( hard food ) with their paws & able to eat it! Such an every day event with rats that we miss when they are not able to do it. He has to feel much better now & I am hoping that he stays that way for a very long time!:bliss:
I know I would feel so wonderful when Doodles was able to "be like a normal rattie". My prays go out to Mr. Kona.
 
Kona boy held a yogie today in his paws and ate it - not as fast as he used to eat, but he ate the whole thing. He even had to hold it in one paw at one point at push off Bumbles with the other as he was trying to steal it! He even climbed into the bubbles (you guys refer to it as a sputnik) with GMC today and later I found him on top of GMC & Bumbles in a hammock!!! Now we just need to fatten the boy up again.... His face has already filled out some. I do know who has been eating all the extra food and getting the calories in that cage - OMG you guys should see Bumbles - he is Peanut the second... However, since I'm pretty sure Bumbles will get PT next I don't mind him have the extra weight right now.

I'm so happy to see my boy better and I was able to keep my promise to Curley. When we had him pts I promised him his death wouldn't be for nothing and that I would learn from this and that the next time it happened (although I hoped it wouldn't) I wouldn't fail that rat like I feel I failed him. So sorry Curley, you'll have to wait alittle long to see your boy again I got something right this time... :banana:
 
Vet wants us to given another 7 days of dex and then start every other day. She has also taken him off doxy - which I do not agree with and have said so - especially since he has a stinky winky. OMG do I get a nasty odor when I remove a plug!!! He is still on the clavamox, but according to the hubby that is all she wants him on for now. So I have told him if anything happens to him since he doesn't have the doxy I'm taking them both out!:hang: He is eating, but we think he will need another SQ fluid dose tonight. He ate cucumbers yesterday....

Petunia, he had his attack guard rat the other day Bumbles actually nipped at me when I went to get Kona out of the cage for meds.
 
Daddy had to chase him down today for meds and SQ fluids :hello: he also climbed into the hanging baskets (his favorites). Does anyone know how dex is sold? We get it in prefilled syringes at the vet, but drs foster and smith sells it in tablets 0.5 mg for 15 cents a pill with a prescription. Just wondering it that would be an option rather than paying $120 for 7 shots.
 
Kona has been on bromo now since 5/4 and daily dex shots since 5/12. Tomorrow will be his last daily dex shot and we will start every other day. He's good in the fact that he feeds himself, he held and ate a cheerio today, he gets up ladders and in hammocks - although slowly, he hasn't had a plug in a few days and I've seen him grooming down there - that's a Yay! for me, but he really needs to gain weight and we're still giving him SQ fluids every few days. I guess I should be happy he has gotten this far and I am, but he's skin and bones... Oh, and his dull eyes are sometimes shiny again like they should be, but then there are times that they are dull and he's confused looking. He's a fighter and we're definitely glad he popped me in the nose on the 12th and we didn't have him pts.
 
I write this feeling completely heartbroken and so freakin' :cuss: off !! My precious boy had to be pts unexpectedly tonight and for a reason I never expected and I'm in complete shock over. I knew something was wrong when I came home from work from the way Bumbles was acting so I went in to check them before getting his medication ready. Bumbles and GMC were on the hammock with him and Kona was tucked into the pocket of the hammock. I knew from looking at him he was dying :disbelief:, but what happened next I have to say has left me a bit traumatized. I picked him up and blood just started pouring out his butt (liquid and clumps). It was then I could see he was having some trouble breathing, the tip of his tail was purple, and he was cool to the touch. I meet our vet at the clinic and blood would come out just by touching his stomach. We believe he must of had a bleeding ulcer probably caused by the steroids. Its so unfair he fought so hard and was doing good. I basically just spend the last 24 days forcing food, medications down his throat and injecting him daily - for what? I spent 24 days torturing him - for him to suffer what appeared to be a painful ending - WHY???? I knew he wasn't going to win against PT :angel2: RIP my sweet boy - mommy & daddy love you!
 
so sorry for your loss. what a traumatic thing to go thru. I'm sure when you're over the shock you'll look back and realize it wasn't all for nothing, and only the very very end of a long good life was bad. sadly it's impossible to tell how one's life will end, and it's not often the peaceful passing we would like. but it's only a very short bit of bad time compared to much much more good time.
 
I'm so very sorry Vickie. I believe the bleed is due to the bromo. We've had two rats bleed because of it and my vet said there is documentation of bromo doing this.
 
I'm so sorry for your boy. Everything was looking so hopeful, it is such a heartbreaking thing to happen. Feel happy that he spent his last moments snuggled up to his friends, and then in your arms. You gave him an extra few days in decent life, and that is worth it. It may not seem like a few days extra is anything to us, but to anyone about to pass or to animals that live such short lives, it is much more than we can imagine. Rest in peace little Kona.



((As for never again using bromo, I wouldn't be so sure. I think poor Kona just got unlucky with a rare side effect. The bromo has kept my rat in completely decent state for over 6 months now, and has worked wonders for others, too.))
 
The other possibility was he had a mass in his abdomen as well that was interfering with his urinary tract causing the bleeding (UTI's usually clear up very quickly as soon as they are put on abs). I am so very sorry...its hard enough to get them through PT but with another issue on top of it...? :(

I usually only give dex a few days in the beginning if I am going to use bromo, then bromo alone after that...if I find he regresses and never responds to the bromo, then I add back the dex but try to stabilize them and bring the dex dose down to once every 2 days or so.
 
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lilspaz68 said:
The other possibility was he had a mass in his abdomen as well that was interfering with his urinary tract causing the bleeding (UTI's usually clear up very quickly as soon as they are put on abs). I am so very sorry...its hard enough to get them through PT but with another issue on top of it...? :(

I usually only give dex a few days in the beginning if I am going to use bromo, then bromo alone after that...if I find he regresses and never responds to the bromo, then I add back the dex but try to stabilize them and bring the dex dose down to once every 2 days or so.
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Yea, I think we went too long on the dex. That is what I said last night. This just has me confused. He did have that large lump and the smelly winky, but it wasn't smelly anymore since he was on the clavamox.
 
Wow, what a shock for you. I'm so sorry that Kona had to pass that way. PT's are ugly to deal with, and the outcome is always negative. For me part of the decision is the age of the rat. If they're young you hate to give up on them too soon. You did what you felt was in the best interest of your boy. If you had done nothing, you would always be thinking 'what if...'
He's with his dad now at the Bridge, peaceful and pain free. RIP Kona, you fought the good fight...
 
I am so sorry:cries: so deeply sorry ....

Please do not think everything that you did for him was in vain or that you think you did him any harm. You did what any of us would do to try and prolong his life especially when he did such a great turnaround like he did!
Seeing what you saw there at the end before you had him pts I agree was traumatizing, it was so unexpected - but you did all you could for him.

Wishing you more comfort in the days to come. You are a great mom & any rattie would be blessed to have you:flowers3:.
Play hard at the rainbow bridge Kona & give kissies to all our babies for us.
 
I left a message today at the vet to see if they can do a necropsy. I realize it might be too late, but I don't think they are open today. I just want to know what went wrong - should of asked that night. I know he's still there since he won't be picked up until tomorrow by the funeral home for cremation.

Thanks for all the message they do help!

EDIT: Unfortunately he was frozen so I guess we'll never know.... that's ok I wasn't so exciting about the thought of them cutting him open anyway....
 
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Bumbles and GMC are missing Kona - they are depressed and always standing at the cage door just staring out - looking at us like "You can bring him back now" I should of bought them with me when I had him pts, but I was in too much of a panic and was afraid they would get blood all over them, but he didn't seem to bleed unless I lifted him up. It was internal he was bloated. Saying good bye really seemed to help with the depression when I brought Axe and Throttle with when Popper was pts.

I will keep watching them though and try not to mistake depression for PT since these two are my last to left from my original five and are also Curley's boys.... Please no more PT .......:cry3:
 
dspch911 said:
Bumbles and GMC are missing Kona - they are depressed and always standing at the cage door just staring out - looking at us like "You can bring him back now" I should of bought them with me when I had him pts, but I was in too much of a panic and was afraid they would get blood all over them, but he didn't seem to bleed unless I lifted him up. It was internal he was bloated. Saying good bye really seemed to help with the depression when I brought Axe and Throttle with when Popper was pts.

I will keep watching them though and try not to mistake depression for PT since these two are my last to left from my original five and are also Curley's boys.... Please no more PT .......:cry3:
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This is so sad:worry:.......I do hope your boys live out their lives PT FREE!!!
Let's think positive. I too have your same worry with the 7 I have left. I still have not cleaned Doodle's cage. I don't wanna throw out her last poopies!:wrong: - kinda weird huh?
 

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