Let's talk about "face wiping"

[BlueSkyy]

And no, I don't mean washing your rat's face.

I'd say a decent proportion of my boys have presented this symptom weeks-days before dying and I need to understand it.

I'm sure you've seen it after giving medicine. The rat squints his eyes closed and pushes his face/mouth along whatever surface is handy, "wiping" his face/mouth along the ground.Usually accompanied by pushing down and out with the hands.

I can understand this behavior if a rat has just been forced to take some nasty-gross med and is trying to get the taste out of his mouth.

But why WHY do my sickly old ones do this with EVERYTHING. I am nursing an oldie through pneumonia and he is on Oxbow+water mush and he is wiping his face after a single lick of something he's had his whole life. He is face-wiping after drinking WATER.

And he's not the first... I'd say 50% present with this in their final weeks-days.

I just want to help but I don't know how.

 

[Carol Weekes]

I'm thinking that it has to do with the fact that, when anyone (person or animal) is preparing to transition, the body starts shutting down and resists the desire for food and drink on a normal basis. They may only eat or drink very little on their own in the last few days or couple of weeks and often resist any food or drink the last day to few days. They may not even be able to process it properly if kidneys or other organs are shutting down. They simply want to be left alone, kept comfortably, but not have food or medicines forced into them. If they can't process it, they'll know this instinctively, and push the food or liquid out. If you recognize this happening, simply offer stuff, but don't force it - and if they don't want it and you sense they are preparing to transition, just respect their decision to refuse stuff and just love them and keep them comfortable. I know this is not easy to do, but something we learn to recognize in them.

 

[lilspaz68]

I call this behaviour chin-wiping and some rats will do this after nasty meds, or sticky meds..they don't want to touch it with their paws, because they don't want to have to clean their paws and lick it up anyways.

If the rat is really old they may be more compromised and chin wiping is easier than sitting up and doing a proper face wipe.

for me when they are done, and don't want to eat or drink anymore, they either pull their head away or just let it drool out of their mouth.

 

[jorats]

I've had plenty of old rats and only a handful did the chin wipe. It's always after eating something mushy, I figure they either don't like it or are having trouble breathing through their swallowing process.

 

[BlueSkyy]

The problem is, he has a good appetite. He just can't (or won't) eat. He lunges for the food, takes a mouthful, and the wipes his mouth all over the fleece. I just gave him some banana-strawberry juice on a spoon and he really went for it, but then started wiping his face and I have no idea how much he actually swallowed.

He's on three ABs right now, and as far as I can tell, his teeth are all fine.

 

[Carol Weekes]

I'm wondering if he's having some issue swallowing. Other than respiratory symptoms, how is his balance, ability to hold food in paws, etc.? I ask because, sometimes when a rat has PT, they lose their ability to swallow properly, even though they may feel hungry. Otherwise, perhaps have a vet take a look inside his mouth to make sure there is nothing going on inside. I don't know what else it might be if he's doing this with everything. I hope you can find an answer soon - poor little guy.

 

[BlueSkyy]

He's got HED and maybe PT... he's just been dragging himself around but can still wash his face if I prop him up.

What do you do for a rat that can't swallow?

 

[SQ]

You might want to see if your vet can tell you what is going on, so you can see if there is anything you can do
and you can make informed decisions

I had a boy that was hungry but wouldn't swallow
......... I didn't know what was going on until I took him to the vet and found out that he was physically unable to swallow.
I had him humanely pts so he wouldn't starve to death

 

[Joanne]

With the description "seems really hungry but then can't or won't eat", that immediately makes me think PT. Have you tried syringe feeding him? If he can't swallow, then it is time to say goodbye. Normally if it is something like overgrown teeth causing a problem, then that is easily rectified with a trim. (Although you would want to determine the cause.)

 

[BlueSkyy]

PT must be more common than we think in boy rats, then...
I've only ever had males and many of them present with these same symptoms.
Was thinking it may have been PT in all of them from the descriptions but always told myself "PT isn't that common in males."
My boy who was confirmed to have kidney cancer presented with these same symptoms as well.

 

[jorats]

It really does sound like PT. My vet once told me that she sees PT as an old age disease in rats. So basically palliative care and in some cases medications to slow it right down.