Cabotine passed away last night. :cry4:
I will write a memorial later... I am at work now, with no access to my pictures nor the heart to start writing about her life...
She was doing perfectly fine all evening, zooming across the office and resting in her favorite places. She was coming to me when called for scratches and cuddles, and ate like a little piggy - she had yogourt, mushed blocks with a bit of olive oil, and baby cereal mixed with Ensure. She even had a puff. When time came to take everyone home, I did my run of benebac, which she took eagerly. After a few more minutes of one on one cuddles, I put her back on the desk to try and get her to eat more mushed blocks while I was putting the benebac back into the fridge. That's when I heard BF panicked voice saying " Hey, what's wrong! Don't panic, don't panic!" I ran back into the office and he was holding her above the desk, she was quiet for a few seconds and then squirmed to escape. I asked him to put her back on the table and she started running in circles, but then stopped and positioned herself like she was going potty, so I relaxed a bit, and noticed her front right paw seemed very weak. Then she started running in circles again, so I grabbed her and secured her onto my chest... she calmed down right away and stayed in my arms 'til the end, while I was petting her and telling her she could go now, that I loved her and was happy I got to know her for 2 years, that she would go meet with her Maman, her adoption sister Lili, and her beloved Pollux. She twisted twice into my arms while I was talking to her to reassure her, and she passed. The whole thing lasted about 15 minutes. :sad3:
I held her into the cage for a few moments so that her friends could come and say goodbye. This is the very first time I introduce a passed rat to the remainder of the colony, and it was heartbreaking. They all came to her, smelled her, trying to figure out what was wrong, and then walked away with what looked like a heavy heart - I cried my eyes out.
I had another rat, Chipie, that passed overnight, and whose only warning was being very limp before bedtime - and I found her dead in the morning. She had foaming mixed with blood on her nose and mouth, I was told that she probably died of a very aggressive PT; in the end, Cabotine was the same - there was lots of foaming mixed with blood, that seemed to have come out of her nose and mouth... is this something common with PT or is it possible they choked to death? Those are the only two I lost to PT, and Chipie was not even officially diagnosed...
Blah... This brings me down to my goal of 4 rats. As expected, I don't feel like celebrating... I'd rather go home and go to bed, with all my remaining ratty friends...
