Carol Weekes
Well-Known Member
I've had over 50 rats as beautiful animal companions over the last 14 years. Until five years ago, I'd had larger groups of rats (a dozen or so at one time), but found the short lifespans of 21 - 29 months on average, combined with the various illnesses that seem to afflict most rats at some point in their short lives, as well as always seeming to have one or more ill and not being able to go more than a month or two without one passing became too difficult to deal with. So when I got down to one old rat, I only adopted two young ones at a time. I figured it would be easier to deal with, with less numbers.
I don't know whether having had so much pet loss and illness over the years has acted as a trigger, but even with just two rats at the moment, I still find myself feeling anxiety whenever someone starts sneezing or makes even very infrequent noise. My two current boys are 17 and 20 months old. Both are petstore rats, as we don't seem to have a good breeder in my area. I've treated them for on-again, off again light sneezing that has never lasted for more than two days, or for very rare hoot noises that have never lasted more than a day. Meds have always been doxy, amoxi, or baytril, or a combo thereof for at least 3 to 6 weeks.
Having lost their brother to a sudden cardiac-related death in early June, after a vet having given them all a clean bill of health, was a shock.
I see that others here often feel panic/anxiety when their rats display any symptoms of 'something not right', usually sneezing or noises. Is this something that most rat lovers go through on a regular basis? Does keeping pets with short life spans and what seems like too-frequent illness symptoms create more anxiety in rat lovers than people who keep longer-living pets like cats and dogs? Frankly, I never had this kind of anxiousness before getting into rats, but I'd never lost pets as often either.
Right now, having never taken a hiatus from rats (although I'd come close a few times over the last decade) I feel I need to take a break from the anxiety related to having pets whom you love so much, yet only get on average about two years. I'm struggling with the decision. I feel that, if I don't get more right away when these two eventually go, that I'll feel empty without them. Yet, the stress that comes from them aging and getting closer to that 'getting old age' and it's often related illnesses is very hard too.
Have others here taken breaks for that reason? Did you manage to go very long before getting more? And how do you deal with the stress that comes with rat illnesses and lifespans. Perhaps some people are just better at managing it than I am. I'm really at a crossroads right now. I almost feel guilty about the idea of going a few years as a 'breather', yet feel I need to have some time where I'm not worrying about pet illness or losing a pet so frequently. Sorry for the long post; just wondering if others have been in this kind of situation and how you've dealt with it.
I don't know whether having had so much pet loss and illness over the years has acted as a trigger, but even with just two rats at the moment, I still find myself feeling anxiety whenever someone starts sneezing or makes even very infrequent noise. My two current boys are 17 and 20 months old. Both are petstore rats, as we don't seem to have a good breeder in my area. I've treated them for on-again, off again light sneezing that has never lasted for more than two days, or for very rare hoot noises that have never lasted more than a day. Meds have always been doxy, amoxi, or baytril, or a combo thereof for at least 3 to 6 weeks.
Having lost their brother to a sudden cardiac-related death in early June, after a vet having given them all a clean bill of health, was a shock.
I see that others here often feel panic/anxiety when their rats display any symptoms of 'something not right', usually sneezing or noises. Is this something that most rat lovers go through on a regular basis? Does keeping pets with short life spans and what seems like too-frequent illness symptoms create more anxiety in rat lovers than people who keep longer-living pets like cats and dogs? Frankly, I never had this kind of anxiousness before getting into rats, but I'd never lost pets as often either.
Right now, having never taken a hiatus from rats (although I'd come close a few times over the last decade) I feel I need to take a break from the anxiety related to having pets whom you love so much, yet only get on average about two years. I'm struggling with the decision. I feel that, if I don't get more right away when these two eventually go, that I'll feel empty without them. Yet, the stress that comes from them aging and getting closer to that 'getting old age' and it's often related illnesses is very hard too.
Have others here taken breaks for that reason? Did you manage to go very long before getting more? And how do you deal with the stress that comes with rat illnesses and lifespans. Perhaps some people are just better at managing it than I am. I'm really at a crossroads right now. I almost feel guilty about the idea of going a few years as a 'breather', yet feel I need to have some time where I'm not worrying about pet illness or losing a pet so frequently. Sorry for the long post; just wondering if others have been in this kind of situation and how you've dealt with it.