Our tough old lady left us today, just eight days shy of her 3rd birthday.
She had been going strong until Thursday night, when I noticed that she didn't launch herself out of the cage door when I opened it to serve dinner. She ate Thursday, but without gusto. Yesterday she only ate baby food and yogurt. This morning she wouldn't even take Pedisure.
I kept her with me most of the day, and around 4:30 she had a seizure. Still, she displayed that same tenacity that carried her through the mysterious epilepsy she had as a baby, multiple respiratory infections, and the fractured leg just over a month ago...she raged against they dying of the light for two and a half more hours before passing away. Even after I could tell she was gone...it was almost as if I felt her leave her body...Victor heard a few more moments of faint heartbeat through the stethoscope.
This is the end of a generation for us; Leather was the last of the second group of rats we adopted. Her passing leaves Oliver alone right now, and I have to figure out what to do...earlier attempts to introduce him to the other boy groups were very unsuccessful, so we may be sending him for a neuter so he can move in with the girls. I owe Oliver a lot; I firmly believe that having him to harrass was one of the things that kept Leather going so long.
I will miss Leather greatly, but I have to say: hers was a long and well-lived life.
Posted by Abita at September 3, 2005 10:16 PMI'm so very sorry x
Posted by: Ratty at September 4, 2005 04:38 AMLoving pets is so hard because they are always leaving us. I'm sorry about Leather. I am crying for her, and I never even met her. I just know how it feels. She's happy now and running around without the stiff leg. That I believe.
Posted by: Eanna at September 4, 2005 04:58 AMI went back looking for your pic of Leather when she was little cuz I think she must've been the cutest rat ever. I love this picture.
http://www.ratinabox.com/ratablog/babyleather2.jpg
Posted by: Eanna at September 4, 2005 05:04 AMAwww guys, I'm so sorry about your loss. xxx
Posted by: Lynn at September 4, 2005 09:05 PMIm so sorry to hear that Leather as gone.. im sure you will all miss her greatly.
and nearly 3, thats almost like us reaching 110 or something....
chin up, atleast now she wont suffer or have any more health problems.
scritches
colleen Rufus and Reuben
Oh I am so sorry about Leather, she was a beautiful rat. Perhaps I could put an obituary up for her on my site (It will be listed under the 'from the Rainbow Bridge' - My site's called The Vermin Realm, there's a link on my blog) . Let me know if you'd like me to do that. So sad for you - fell in love with her the second I saw her pic x
Posted by: Shamisen at September 8, 2005 06:11 PM