# A Rattie runs over the rainbow bridge



## catz (Dec 10, 2010)

I don't know if I can post this here but I needed somewhere to say goodbye to my rat Pip. We rescued him and his brother Squeek from a man who had them in a tiny cage and only fed them rabbit food, throwing small portions in to watch the poor guys fight over it. 

Poor guy came to us with scarring on his lungs from a chronic respiratory infection that was left untreated and bald patches from mites. We fed him up and showed him what it was like to be loved, even gave him a name as he didn't even come with something as simple as that. He got a liking for yogurt as we gave it to him to fatten him up and he turned into quite a chubby lad. 

Sadly his breathing never improved and I think that it, along with old age, took him to the rainbow bridge. We found him cuddled up to his brother this morning, poor squeek was beside himself when we took the body away. He is now buried in the garden wrapped in his blanket. 

Run free little Pip, you can breath easy now and enjoy as much yogurt as you please but stay close as I fear your brother will follow you soon. Squeek misses you as do I. You were special and charming in the way only a simple brown rat can be. I love you pip xxxx


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

I'm sorry for Pip. they are such great little guys


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## Kris10 (Aug 26, 2010)

RIP Pip.


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## Jelpy (Nov 8, 2009)

Condolences on the loss of Pip. Ratties make wonderful companions, and too few people are willing to give them a chance and find out. Bless you for giving him a loving home. 

Jelpy and the Mesquite Mafia


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

I'm so sorry for your loss. Rats make neat, intelligent pets and I can understand why you're so upset over losing him. My condolences to you and all who loved Pip!!!


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## catz (Dec 10, 2010)

Thanks guys he was a wonderful little man. The rest of my group have tried to cuddle with Squeek but he's having none of it, just wants to be along in a igloo. Hes taking it hard and I'm worried it'll effect his health as he is an old man himself. Hes suffering from mild hind leg degeneration as well. I wish they had a longer life span then 2 year.


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## CLARKE-DUNCAN (Apr 8, 2011)

Awwww poor Pip.. I wasn't keen on rats for a long time, Then my cousin Kerry got three of the devils, She made me change my mind about them. But I don't think well I know I will never own one. I think people are creeped out by their tails, they are a little freaky. R.I.P pip kins..


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## catz (Dec 10, 2010)

Yes they are not for everyone. My entire family hate them, my mum wont even go into the Rat Room, she just stands in the hall going Ewww when she visits lol. We are always asked lots questions too like 
"Do they not go for your throat??" (I have rats hanging off my jugular the whole time lol) 
"Are they not covered in diseases?" (domestic rats don't have Weil's)
"Do you do experiments on them?" 
"What.. they have names?????"
Other then those silly question I love talking about my boys with curious people


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## DharmasMom (Jul 4, 2010)

Awww. So sorry for your loss. RIP Pip. And poor Squeek. I have a friend that used to keep rats. They are funny little creatures.


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## Jelpy (Nov 8, 2009)

CLARKE-DUNCAN said:


> Aw. I think people are creeped out by their tails, they are a little freaky. R.I.P pip kins..


 

Just shows how little they know. The rats tail is hairless for survival reasons. They have blood vessels running thru the tail and when it's cold they restrict the vessels to conserve heat and when it's warm the vessels expand to release heat. The one thing that bugs people the most about rats is really just a sign of their perfect engineering. Besides, rats are cute. 

Jelpy and the Mesquite Mafia


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## catz (Dec 10, 2010)

Its true about the tails, I hate seeing people pick rats up by their tails! Not only does it cause pain but you can actually de-glove the tail where the skin comes off leading to infections  I rescued a rat with a de-gloved tail and it died from the infection soon after.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

I'm really sorry about your rattie. I've had several pet rats before and they are great pets and VERY smart. I've been thinking I would like to get another pair sometimes soon. One of my rats had chronic pneumonia and I know how tough that can be on them. My vet tried several different antibiotics over a long time and treatments but we just couldn't get rid of it, sometimes she would improve but then go downhill again while still on antibiotics. I even bought a nebulizer and we tried nebulizing the meds but eventually it was just too much for her.


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## catz (Dec 10, 2010)

Sorry to hear about your poor girl. Once the get sick they really do go downhill insanely fast. Pip was on every treatment we could think of from the vets, even steaming his face a little with a hot cup of tea to help him breath easier. Its crazy what you will try but its worth it to just have a few more weeks with them. We always seem to rescue rats with tumour's, cysts, infections, missing limbs. People just get rid of them once they need the attention of a vets. Our house is like the island of lumpy rats lol..


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

catz, though I am think rats are cute pets, an island of lumpy rats just does not appeal. 

Before I got my pet rabbit, I wanted a pair of rats. But my roommates were all freaked out by the tail.


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## Kris10 (Aug 26, 2010)

catz said:


> Sorry to hear about your poor girl. Once the get sick they really do go downhill insanely fast. Pip was on every treatment we could think of from the vets, even steaming his face a little with a hot cup of tea to help him breath easier. Its crazy what you will try but its worth it to just have a few more weeks with them. We always seem to rescue rats with tumour's, cysts, infections, missing limbs. People just get rid of them once they need the attention of a vets. Our house is like the island of lumpy rats lol..


Both of my rats went quickly with no warning. ( I did not have them at the same time) Fine at bedtime and gone in the morning...


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## catz (Dec 10, 2010)

I have 2 groups in the rat room, 8 boys together in a Furet Tower and 2 Girls in their own cage. Sadly 4 boys are the same age (about a year), then 3 boys are a month younger then them and are brothers. 2 are brother and sister (a year and 5 months) and Squeek who is 2. So I know I'm going to go through a lot of heart break when we lose them all at around the same time  That's the trouble with owning siblings. I hope to get my first reputable breeder rats when they all pass. A breeder over here breeds Russian Blue and Buff rats and Id love a pare but don't feel its the right time with the amount of vet bills we have for our oldies.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

Kris10 said:


> Both of my rats went quickly with no warning. ( I did not have them at the same time) Fine at bedtime and gone in the morning...


My first pair did not. My rat Cara was sick for nearly a year (off and on) with her chronic pneumonia, and her cagemate Kei had we think a heart condition. Kei had also had a mammary tumor removed. Cara finally was not able to fight the infection off any longer, she died when she was 2 years old and at that point Kei I think just became depressed when Cara died and stopped fighting because I lost her right after Cara.




marshies said:


> Before I got my pet rabbit, I wanted a pair of rats. But my roommates were all freaked out by the tail.


Aww I love their little tails! I think they are cute. The tails feel really nice and soft when you pet them too, like velvet. I never understand why people think they are gross. The tails are like a rudder, they move them around to enable them to balance and climb. The only time the tails are not cute is when the rat is climbing on your shoulder, needs to correct her balance quickly and slaps you in the face with her tail. :crazy:


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

I'm so sorry  I miss having rats as pets, they have such huge personalities and are so smart. I always say they're like tiny dogs. Their life span is much too short though, and worsened by the propensity for respiratory issues. Especially combined with people not taking proper care of them like the previous owners.


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## catz (Dec 10, 2010)

I think they are like little dogs too! They all know their names and when their older and not so pingy they become big squishy cuddle bugs 
I spend days cleaning their tails with shampoo and a soft bristle tooth brush, there is so many to get through lol... Oh its also not fun when they climb down your shoulder and plop their tails into your drink haha.. Its happened so many times!! Or they insist on inspecting inside your mouth while your talking, mine will try pry your lips open with their little paws to have a look inside  
I love having them on my shoulders when people call to the door to try sell something.. the conversation ends fairly quickly


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I'm so sorry about Pip I would love to have a couple of rats, but I think my cats (4) would terrorize them to death I don't think the hubby would be to fond of them either

It sounds like you are really dedicated to them and are a great owner.


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## catz (Dec 10, 2010)

Thank you. what a lovely compliment  It makes it all worth it.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

JakodaCD OA said:


> I would love to have a couple of rats, but I think my cats (4) would terrorize them to death


My rats terrorized the cats...


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

Lin said:


> My rats terrorized the cats...


Mine did too... One of my cats, as a kitten/teenager, got her tongue bitten by one of my rats! At the time I had a pair of rescued rats and I think the people who had them before fed them through the bars because one would bite anything that came near the bars HARD. My kitten Harley liked to lick weird things, unfortunately one of those things was the bars of the rat cage. I stopped her whenever I saw it but then one day I heard horrible yowling, Harley was next to the cage and the rat had grabbed her tongue and wouldn't let go! I finally got her loose and she had two large cuts on the underside of her tongue. They wouldn't stop bleeding so I brought her in to the vet, they gave her a painkiller and antibiotics.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

Wow! I was mostly joking about my rats terrorizing the cats. But they did occasionally chase the cats, rather than anything the other way around. 

A foster kitten of mine Noki jumped into the rat cage one day while I was feeding, and Gretchen (same rat in the pic I posted) immediately ran up to say hi. Noki TOOK OFF in terror, it was hilarious. 

This is Noki in the bottom half of the rat cage right when I finished building it, and before I set it up and brought the rats in.


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## catz (Dec 10, 2010)

Wow that looks like a cool cage, do you have any pics of it finished? 
Our rats nip at Rio's nose so she learned to give the cage a wide birth lol.. There are loads of video's on youtube of rats chasing cats, they are brilliant


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

Yes I do! I really loved that cage. It was left behind during a move, my dad was moving for me and he left some of the big heavy items. It only cost around $100 to build though so I plan on building another when I'm ready for rats again. 

I based it off the Dapper rat Grotto: Build your own Grotto-style cage

Entire cage empty:










Bottom half:










Top half:


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## Jelpy (Nov 8, 2009)

Lin said:


> Yes I do! I really loved that cage. It was left behind during a move, my dad was moving for me and he left some of the big heavy items. It only cost around $100 to build though so I plan on building another when I'm ready for rats again.
> 
> I based it off the Dapper rat Grotto: Build your own Grotto-style cage


Another fine Dap/Fudge Engineering product I see. Is Robin still raising ratties?

Also, when listing virtues, you forgot to mention the males frito chip smell.

Jelpy and the Mesquite Mafia


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## catz (Dec 10, 2010)

Wow that's really impressive!! I love the Dapper Grotto's they are amazing but I've never been brave enough to attempt one. Did it take long? 
The rats in the photo's are so beautiful. Did you find using fleece a pain or would you recommend it? My lads are not litter trained so I'd probably be washing fleece the whole time lol..


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

I'm not sure who Robbin is? I used to post on Goosemoose though if any of you guys have been over there. I haven't had any ratties since early 09. 

I really like the fleece. I didn't find it a pain at all, especially once you get them litterbox trained. Carefresh in the litterboxes doesn't work very well though lol, the rats tend to dig it all out when they're redecorating. It can be hard to keep the fleece flat, since they like to move it around. So its best to attach the corners down someway. I used fleece doubled over and sewn at the edges, and the rats also loved to make holes and stash food etc inbetween layers lol.


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## catz (Dec 10, 2010)

Nice lol.. we use Carefresh in trays to but they tend to just sleep in it 
We use Finacard on the base but it ends up all over the floor, we tried digging boxes but nope, they like to toss the substrate around. I must try make a decent cage, the store bought ones are a pain to find and costly. I have my eye on an explorer cage, need something with large doors as our Furet tower has terrible access for cleaning and textured bases which gets ingrained with stuff .


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