Do Rats often recover from Strokes?

[Tpoisson]

My 2.5 / 3 year old male seems to have suffered a stroke the day before yesterday. I wasn't aware of it at the time, but looking back Im sure of the exact moment it occurred.

Thursday afternoon we were cleaning the 3 multi-level cages for our 7 Rats. Suddenly, Ratscal freaks out and starts running rampant throughout his cage, finally ending on the bottom floor in a daze. We calmly grabbed him, snuggled and carried on with the cleaning. He still seemed shook up but we just chalked it up to the vacuum being what had startled him. Boy were we wrong...

Friday goes by very busy, only checking in on the Rats quickly in the morning and again in the evening for dinner. Nothing seemed unusual and everyone was either sleeping or gathering at their cage doors for a treat Ratscal stayed in his hammock, like he does often, so again nothing alarming.

Today is Saturday and my Son went to grab Ratscal for playtime and thats when it was noticed. Ratscal wasn't himself, very lethargic, weak, breathing quickly, eyes half shut and totally not engaged. We freaked out! Being almost 3 yrs old, we immediately thought this was his time to go. So we made him as comfortable as possible, took turns snuggling him and waited.

As time passed it became very apparent that he was paralyzed or very compromised on his left side. Both his hind leg & head, both weak on the left side consistently. He's still drinking if I ofr, eating when I offer food and he has moment of energy where he decides to start walking, only to tucker out after a few attempts at it. Hes exhausted to the max, poor dude.

Long story short, I dont think he's dying of old age, I believe he had a Stroke. And if I'm correct, what's next for Ratscal? Do Rats tend to recover successfully? Are the odds in our favor? What can make him most comfortable for the time being, that I might not be doing? Any tips or suggestions?

Im calling our Vet in the morning asap, but I'd love to hear from you all too!
I appreciate all replies ❤ Thank you all!

 

[Kye]

My 2.5 / 3 year old male seems to have suffered a stroke the day before yesterday. I wasn't aware of it at the time, but looking back Im sure of the exact moment it occurred.

Thursday afternoon we were cleaning the 3 multi-level cages for our 7 Rats. Suddenly, Ratscal freaks out and starts running rampant throughout his cage, finally ending on the bottom floor in a daze. We calmly grabbed him, snuggled and carried on with the cleaning. He still seemed shook up but we just chalked it up to the vacuum being what had startled him. Boy were we wrong...

Friday goes by very busy, only checking in on the Rats quickly in the morning and again in the evening for dinner. Nothing seemed unusual and everyone was either sleeping or gathering at their cage doors for a treat Ratscal stayed in his hammock, like he does often, so again nothing alarming.

Today is Saturday and my Son went to grab Ratscal for playtime and thats when it was noticed. Ratscal wasn't himself, very lethargic, weak, breathing quickly, eyes half shut and totally not engaged. We freaked out! Being almost 3 yrs old, we immediately thought this was his time to go. So we made him as comfortable as possible, took turns snuggling him and waited.

As time passed it became very apparent that he was paralyzed or very compromised on his left side. Both his hind leg & head, both weak on the left side consistently. He's still drinking if I ofr, eating when I offer food and he has moment of energy where he decides to start walking, only to tucker out after a few attempts at it. Hes exhausted to the max, poor dude.

Long story short, I dont think he's dying of old age, I believe he had a Stroke. And if I'm correct, what's next for Ratscal? Do Rats tend to recover successfully? Are the odds in our favor? What can make him most comfortable for the time being, that I might not be doing? Any tips or suggestions?

Im calling our Vet in the morning asap, but I'd love to hear from you all too!
I appreciate all replies ❤ Thank you all!

Could you get a video of him moving.? It'd help the people with experience help you greatly- (post a video to YouTube and link it here)

 

[Tpoisson]

Could you get a video of him moving.? It'd help the people with experience help you greatly- (post a video to YouTube and link it here)

I will try to do that at some point today. Hes currently snuggling with my daughter and I can tell he really appreciates it. Hes doing well today, better than yesterday, which makes me happy. He had a small breakfast, drank water several times already and has been napping most of the day. I cleaned him up with baby wipes too since he's unable to groom himself.

He had a tiny bit of blood on his paws this morning and on the tip of his nose. Cant find any wounds so it may have come from his nose...

All Vets closed today Sunday, so that Really sucks. Ive left messages with a couple close by and sent emails to others, just in case someone will respond before Monday morning.

So far, so good. Hopefully he can hang in there just another night. #prayersup

 

[Kye]

I will try to do that at some point today. Hes currently snuggling with my daughter and I can tell he really appreciates it. Hes doing well today, better than yesterday, which makes me happy. He had a small breakfast, drank water several times already and has been napping most of the day. I cleaned him up with baby wipes too since he's unable to groom himself.

He had a tiny bit of blood on his paws this morning and on the tip of his nose. Cant find any wounds so it may have come from his nose...

All Vets closed today Sunday, so that Really sucks. Ive left messages with a couple close by and sent emails to others, just in case someone will respond before Monday morning.

So far, so good. Hopefully he can hang in there just another night. #prayersup

I'm glad he's still eating and drinking- that's huge for recovery. The red stuff you found may not be blood but porphyrin.! All rats create porphyrin from their eyes and nose(it's like red snot in a way) but normally they clean it away before you can see it. It's good that he's resting and warm- I really hope he pulls through.!

 

[Tpoisson]

I'm glad he's still eating and drinking- that's huge for recovery. The red stuff you found may not be blood but porphyrin.! All rats create porphyrin from their eyes and nose(it's like red snot in a way) but normally they clean it away before you can see it. It's good that he's resting and warm- I really hope he pulls through.!

Thanks ❤ Well, after his breakfast/brunch, he just slept most of the day. I let him, hoping its his bodys way of healing itself by slowing down ya know. Later in the day my daughter fed him a teaspoon of soft beef dog stew, which he liked up mostly besides a couple big meaty chunks. That's all he wanted to eat and then drank some water too. But thats all he'd take all day...breakfast, a few sips of water throughout the day, that teaspoon & a bit more water.

Its now 11pm on Sunday day and I've been trying to get him to eat for about 3 hours now and he just won't. Hes much more lethargic, barely awake and not respond much at all. If I move him or change position, he'll also adjust himself slightly and move his head a tad, but not much more.

His heart rate has slowed from the very fast rate yesterday but I'm thinking its just because he's fading away. Without food or water, the inevitable will occur. He barely had anything today. Barely any yesterday either...poor boy.

A friend stopped by today with a gift. He made Ratscal a little red coffin today and brought it over. As sad as this is, that helped a bit, knowing how many Souls Ratscal has touched and how much he is loved. Now he has a beautiful final resting place and can let go peacefully...I dont want him to suffer any longer...

Tomorrow is Monday and I'll call the Vet in the morning, but I'm not too confident he'll be with us by then. Hopefully I'm wrong, but it just feels like tonight is the night. Im gonna snuggle him until bedtime. I'll touch base again soon. Thanks!

 

[SqueakingJellybean]

Aw, that's rough. I'm so sorry he's going down hill. Poor bean.

Years ago, one of our wee guys, Chase, had a stroke. He spent a few days trying to walk while laying on his side, among other symptoms similar to what you've described. It took him time, but he recovered. This was close to fifteen years ago, so my memory of the event is pretty fuzzy. We may have syringe-fed him for a day or two, then made him soft food until he could hold lab blocks again. He got a lot of lap time. He stuck around for at least another six months, if memory serves.

I hope the vet can help. If not, then may Ratscal's passing be peaceful.

 

[Dena]

I had a rat that looked a lot like yours, who had a stroke around the end of August. He struggled, and it appeared he had another stroke a couple of weeks later. He got to where I had to hold him to feed him, and clean him. He could only use one of his front legs to kinda drag himself around. At either the end of September, or beginning of October, I ended up having him put to sleep. I sure hope y'all get to enjoy a lot of cuddles and he passes peacefully.....

 

[Tpoisson]

Aw, that's rough. I'm so sorry he's going down hill. Poor bean.

Years ago, one of our wee guys, Chase, had a stroke. He spent a few days trying to walk while laying on his side, among other symptoms similar to what you've described. It took him time, but he recovered. This was close to fifteen years ago, so my memory of the event is pretty fuzzy. We may have syringe-fed him for a day or two, then made him soft food until he could hold lab blocks again. He got a lot of lap time. He stuck around for at least another six months, if memory serves.

I hope the vet can help. If not, then may Ratscal's passing be peaceful.

Thank you for sharing your story with me. Im sorry you had to deal with all that, its heartbreaking for sure.

Ratscall actually ended up passing in his sleep. I got up this morning to peek on him and he hadn't moved from the spot I placed him in. We double & triple checked to confirm and spent the day with the family mourning. He was so special to us.

Last night I could feel it. The way he laid in my arms, looking at me with those little glossy eyes, closing them so gently each time I would massage his cheeks & rub the bridge of his nose, seemingly enjoying every moment with me. We spent about 2 hours, chest to chest, snuggled in bed and I just talked to him, reminiscing on the memories we made together and all the things he did in his short life. He was born in California and we moved to Washington State last year, so he's been around! Lol Lots of fun adventures and new things...he had a very full, long life of 3 years and I'm confident he loved every single minute of it. He was spoiled and so are his 6 children that we still have here with us.

My 2 kids, husband & I all cuddled in the bed around Ratscal, each taking a turn to spend one-on-one time with him. We gave kisses, whispered our goodbye messages to him, more kisses, pets & hugs. He was getting an overdose of love last night ❤ Then we all gave one final kiss, I laid him down for bed and that was the last moment spent with our Ratscal boy. It was one beautiful moment that none of us will ever forget. I truly believe that he needed that to finally let go and that's exactly what he did. Peacefully, to the sound of meditation music playing, while we all slept. Im happy he's at peace now and living his best Rattie life in the cosmos somewhere ❤

Thanks to everyone that sent kind words and helped me through this. It was very helpful & healing. Sending love XO

 

[Tpoisson]

I had a rat that looked a lot like yours, who had a stroke around the end of August. He struggled, and it appeared he had another stroke a couple of weeks later. He got to where I had to hold him to feed him, and clean him. He could only use one of his front legs to kinda drag himself around. At either the end of September, or beginning of October, I ended up having him put to sleep. I sure hope y'all get to enjoy a lot of cuddles and he passes peacefully.....

Thank you for sharing your story with me. Im sorry you had to deal with all that, its heartbreaking for sure.

Ratscall actually ended up passing in his sleep. I got up this morning to peek on him and he hadn't moved from the spot I placed him in. We double & triple checked to confirm and spent the day with the family mourning. He was so special to us.

Last night I could feel it. The way he laid in my arms, looking at me with those little glossy eyes, closing them so gently each time I would massage his cheeks & rub the bridge of his nose, seemingly enjoying every moment with me. We spent about 2 hours, chest to chest, snuggled in bed and I just talked to him, reminiscing on the memories we made together and all the things he did in his short life. He was born in California and we moved to Washington State last year, so he's been around! Lol Lots of fun adventures and new things...he had a very full, long life of 3 years and I'm confident he loved every single minute of it. He was spoiled and so are his 6 children that we still have here with us.

My 2 kids, husband & I all cuddled in the bed around Ratscal, each taking a turn to spend one-on-one time with him. We gave kisses, whispered our goodbye messages to him, more kisses, pets & hugs. He was getting an overdose of love last night ❤ Then we all gave one final kiss, I laid him down for bed and that was the last moment spent with our Ratscal boy. It was one beautiful moment that none of us will ever forget. I truly believe that he needed that to finally let go and that's exactly what he did. Peacefully, to the sound of meditation music playing, while we all slept. Im happy he's at peace now and living his best Rattie life in the cosmos somewhere ❤

Thanks to everyone that sent kind words and helped me through this. It was very helpful & healing. Sending love XO

 

[Big Schpog]

Thank you for sharing your story with me. Im sorry you had to deal with all that, its heartbreaking for sure.

Ratscall actually ended up passing in his sleep. I got up this morning to peek on him and he hadn't moved from the spot I placed him in. We double & triple checked to confirm and spent the day with the family mourning. He was so special to us.

Last night I could feel it. The way he laid in my arms, looking at me with those little glossy eyes, closing them so gently each time I would massage his cheeks & rub the bridge of his nose, seemingly enjoying every moment with me. We spent about 2 hours, chest to chest, snuggled in bed and I just talked to him, reminiscing on the memories we made together and all the things he did in his short life. He was born in California and we moved to Washington State last year, so he's been around! Lol Lots of fun adventures and new things...he had a very full, long life of 3 years and I'm confident he loved every single minute of it. He was spoiled and so are his 6 children that we still have here with us.

My 2 kids, husband & I all cuddled in the bed around Ratscal, each taking a turn to spend one-on-one time with him. We gave kisses, whispered our goodbye messages to him, more kisses, pets & hugs. He was getting an overdose of love last night ❤ Then we all gave one final kiss, I laid him down for bed and that was the last moment spent with our Ratscal boy. It was one beautiful moment that none of us will ever forget. I truly believe that he needed that to finally let go and that's exactly what he did. Peacefully, to the sound of meditation music playing, while we all slept. Im happy he's at peace now and living his best Rattie life in the cosmos somewhere ❤

Thanks to everyone that sent kind words and helped me through this. It was very helpful & healing. Sending love XO

You know, I read all your messages about your beloved and the stroke etc. I think you're probably right about his ailment. I think one of the biggest strengths of a rat lover is being there for your animal when s/he is passing onto the Bridge. I hope I can be as strong and as steadfast as you were for your beloved.