My rat was in a "coma"...

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Teresa

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Hi all. This is very difficult for me to post, but I'm trying to find answers.

I'm not a newbie rat owner. I once had 13 males, then for the last year or so I have kept 5 females. 3 females were sisters, the other 2 also sisters. They lived very happily.

One rat: Cairo, had two separate operations for mammory gland tumour. Because she seemed weakened, I finally decided to keep her separate. She was doing well, eating mainly baby food, but doing okay.

Her sister became afflicted with a dental problem on a Friday night, no chance of the vet. My husband said that it was best for the sister to go in with Cairo. So he put her into the cage. On Saturday morning I found Cairo to be in a complete vegetative state. No response, eyes closed. I did not touch her, my husband removed her, saying she was dead and put her into a holding place. She looked very dead to me. Her position, her legs etc- she seemed dead.

10 hours later, in my grief I wanted to see her again. She was alive. Eyes open. We had a cuddle, but she died in my arms. I'm broken. So many what ifs. Any experience of this? Rats put themselves into a coma?

10hours. I could have saved her.
 
I am so very sorry.
It is possible that she had a stroke or a seizure and therefore was lying still and not movong

Thanks for your reply. I was thinking that it may have been a stroke myself. I'm just utterly devastated thinking that she lay in a box, all alone, when I could have given her comfort.
 
She may have been unconscious for the majority of the time she was in the box alone and just “woke up” again when you went to see her. Either way, you were there for her in the last moments of her life and that’s all that matters. I’m sorry for your loss.
 
That happened a couple of times to me. There was no saving them, it's like they partially shut down and then finally dies. I'm really sorry this happened to you.
 
Thank you for your replies. It's always tough to lose one of our rat babies. X
 
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