Ratablog

A Lump on Witter

Witter, taken about ten minutes ago.

I discovered a lump on him Tuesday night. It's on his right side, behind his arm, and it's hard and difficult to move. This is a big contrast to the lumps Rizzo and Krycek had--they were kind of squishy, and you could move them around somewhat. However, like the lumps we've seen before, this seems to be growing fast: Nothing noticeable on Sunday, it was there Tuesday, and it felt bigger Wednesday and Thursday. Since Dr. K is off on Wednesdays, I took him in for an exam Thursday. Sadly, the news wasn't good.

As I mentioned, Abita and I observed the lump wasn't free-moving. I was concerned it was attached to his ribs, rather than muscle, and Dr. K's exam suggested the same thing. Of course, Witter's lungs are right up against his ribs, and suddenly, we had a possible explanation for his long-ongoing respiratory problems.

I did ask her if it was possible the lump was attached to muscle instead of ribs, and her answer was it was possible, but it would be easier to move it around if it were.

Surgery is an option, but it would be a majorly invasive procedure: Ribs would be removed for certain; his lung probably would be, as well. Recovery would be long, and with the apparent aggresiveness of it there's no guarantee it hasn't spread already, or that it wouldn't reoccur.

As Dr. K was telling this to us, Witter, in the travel cage, made a small bed of the blanket, layed down on it and bruxed & boggled, then went to sleep. He looked so peaceful and happy...

I did a lot of thinking Thursday night, while Witter played on my lap & peed on my hand, and I ignored Forbidden Planet. Witter is my boy who crawls out onto my arm when I open the cage door, and who tugs at my clothing without (usually) making a hole in it. He plays in my lap and crawls up my arm to my shoulder and pees on me, then licks and grooms my hand and arm before taking a quick nap.

He's about two years old. Except for him being abandoned at the vet, I suspect his life with his former humans was good--obviously, he's a well-socialized rat. His life with me and Abita has been fabulous (IMO, anyway). I think he's had a good life.

He doesn't know he's sick.

Part of being a caretaker, for any living thing, is deciding on what makes a good quality-of-life. We'd all love to keep our loved ones with us for as long as possible--but sometimes, they're in so much pain or discomfort, their quality of life is...well, not of the highest quality.

As I said, he's had a good life. I'd like the rest of it to be as good as it can, and for me, that includes his being comfortable. I don't think he'd be comfortable with stitches in his side and ribs missing.

After talking it over with Abita, I made the decision to let nature take its course. I'll continue to keep treating him for respiratory problems, because he loves taking his medicine--pina colada mix works wonders! He still enjoys eating blueberries & grapes, and watching old movies with me. He'll get more treats than usual, and I asked Abita if she thought he'd like one of his water bottles filled with pina colada mix. He'll continue to have a good life, tho it might be shorter then I'd like.

Posted by Publius at February 28, 2004 08:27 AM