A question about euthanasia

[Jenny Smith]

I have two female rats, both about 2 years old, purchased at the same time (presumably from the same litter, from a feeder box at a small pet store) they both got tumors within a couple of months of each other. The tumors are growing quickly and the vet I spoke to says that due to the age of the rats there are dangers with removal and the possibility of infection after the fact.. this, coupled with the fact that more will likely sprout up afterwards, made her uncomfortable with doing surgery. That isn't a problem for me, she knows more than I do. Right now, neither rat seems in any pain and they're both eating well and playing.. the vet said that when they stop playing and eating etc that it's probably time to euthanize..

My question is that since they both have growths that sprouted up so close together, would it be more humane to put them both down when the time comes for one, or to keep the other alive so she can live out her days (I'm nervous that the grief/loneliness/stress of meeting a new cage mate would make life harder for her)

Anyways, thank you for any advice or answers

 

[SQ]

I am very sorry that you and your girls are going through this

Just in case it is an option, some people treat mammary tumors to try to slow their growth
Surgery is an option if the rattie is in good health, but they will continue to develop more mammary tumors since they are not spayed. If they have a pt that is not yet showing symptoms, in some cases anesthetic seems to cause the pt to grow faster
Here is some info about mammary tumours and treatment options http://ratguide.com/health/neoplasia/mammary_tumor.php

If you were planning to get more ratties, you might want to get 2 young ratties and intro them.
That way your older girls would be friends with them so if one girl needs to be put to sleep, her sister would not be alone.

Please check out our Reference Thread as there is a lot of good info there https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/

Btw if you have access to a good vet with the knowledge and experience to safely spay and neuter rats, then you would want to consider doing that. - boys could be neutered and introed 3 weeks after surgery.
I have never heard of a girl developing mammary tumours if spayed by 4 months of age and spaying at any age helps to prevent or slow their growth (See the Reference Thread for reasons to spay or neuter ratties)

 

[Fidget]

If you plan to keep having ratties then SQ's suggestion to get 2 young ones to introduce now is best I think. If you don't plan to have more then I suggest you wait until one is needing to be put to sleep and base your decision on how the other is doing at that time..