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14 years ago
Lost two of my rats last night.
I came home to find my girl, Manhattan, dead. It wasn't a shock, she had a lump which couldn't be removed due to her lungs being shot, so I knew her time was limited. She'd had real problems with her lungs recently. I wasn't too surprised to find she'd passed.
But then, in the same cage, not far from her, I found my boy Hoffman dead.
This was totally NOT expected.
Hoffman was a rat I took on early last year. He came from a horrendous place where he was shut in a cage with 35 other rats, and a small cage at that. The owner would literally just open the door and throw a handful of food in. He had to fight for everything he had.
He was 9 months old when he came here, but he looked about 2 years +. He was skin and bone, had no muscle in his hind legs, his coat was scruffy and dull and awful, and he had severe behavioural problems.
This is Hoffman going for me on his first week:
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/mandy10.jpg
He had spent so long crammed in with other rats that he had gone a bit mad. He was convinced he had to fight for everything he had, which included space, so he would routinely go for me because he was so territorial.
He despised other rats, and if he were even in the same room as one, he would literally thrash about in his cage doing threat displays. Rats have scent glands on their flank, which they scratch at a bit to make them ooze, them rub them over things.
Hoffman had scratched at his so much that he'd made them bleed and they'd abscessed. He could not relax; his whole day was spent scent marking, hissing, screaming and throwing himself around his cage.
Some pics of his usual behaviour:
scent marking
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/hoffmanfa3.jpg
His general shit condition, complete with greasy patches
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/hoffmanfa4.jpg
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/hoffmanfa2.jpg
Hoffman's terrified face; this is how rats look when they cry: ears pinned back, whiskers forward, eyes wide. Then they make a horrible, high pitched whine.
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/mandy9.jpg
It were as if now he finally had space to himself, he was terrified it was going to go away again.
In the end, I managed to get him to stop biting me, and trust me, but he was still impossible with other rats.
So I had him castrated once he was stronger.
Over time, this turned him into a different rat. He gained more weight, his coat condition came back, his muscle came back, and he was moved in with the girls. He settled right in, and was never, ever a problem again. I could pick him up, kiss his belly, do what I wanted to him, and he would just lay back and take it.
In his old age, he got fat. He was very fat. To be honest, while I don't give any of my rats too many 'naughty' treats, I made no effort to slim him down. In my mind, he fucking deserved to be able to eat what he wanted, he'd been denied food for long enough.
These are the last few pics of Hoffman.
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/hoffmanfa5.jpg
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/hoffmanfa1.jpg
Hoff giving kisses to Jon, showing how wonderful and gentle he became:
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/rio11.jpg
He turned into a lovely, shiny, plump, docile rat. He even went on to live harmoniously with another castrated male. I adored Hoffman.
He was well over 2 when he died. But his death was a shock as he had NO prior health problems, and the night before, he was the picture of health.
He seems to have died in his sleep.
But know this......he was super attached to Manhattan. She was one of the first rats he really bonded with, and they were always together.
The state of rigor in their bodies showed that Manhattan died before Hoffman.
Hoffman had no reason to die, health-wise, and I wonder if Manhattan's death was something to do with it. Rats do bond very strongly, particularly rats like Hoff who had so many issues from the start.
I will miss them both.
I came home to find my girl, Manhattan, dead. It wasn't a shock, she had a lump which couldn't be removed due to her lungs being shot, so I knew her time was limited. She'd had real problems with her lungs recently. I wasn't too surprised to find she'd passed.
But then, in the same cage, not far from her, I found my boy Hoffman dead.
This was totally NOT expected.
Hoffman was a rat I took on early last year. He came from a horrendous place where he was shut in a cage with 35 other rats, and a small cage at that. The owner would literally just open the door and throw a handful of food in. He had to fight for everything he had.
He was 9 months old when he came here, but he looked about 2 years +. He was skin and bone, had no muscle in his hind legs, his coat was scruffy and dull and awful, and he had severe behavioural problems.
This is Hoffman going for me on his first week:
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/mandy10.jpg
He had spent so long crammed in with other rats that he had gone a bit mad. He was convinced he had to fight for everything he had, which included space, so he would routinely go for me because he was so territorial.
He despised other rats, and if he were even in the same room as one, he would literally thrash about in his cage doing threat displays. Rats have scent glands on their flank, which they scratch at a bit to make them ooze, them rub them over things.
Hoffman had scratched at his so much that he'd made them bleed and they'd abscessed. He could not relax; his whole day was spent scent marking, hissing, screaming and throwing himself around his cage.
Some pics of his usual behaviour:
scent marking
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/hoffmanfa3.jpg
His general shit condition, complete with greasy patches
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/hoffmanfa4.jpg
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/hoffmanfa2.jpg
Hoffman's terrified face; this is how rats look when they cry: ears pinned back, whiskers forward, eyes wide. Then they make a horrible, high pitched whine.
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/mandy9.jpg
It were as if now he finally had space to himself, he was terrified it was going to go away again.
In the end, I managed to get him to stop biting me, and trust me, but he was still impossible with other rats.
So I had him castrated once he was stronger.
Over time, this turned him into a different rat. He gained more weight, his coat condition came back, his muscle came back, and he was moved in with the girls. He settled right in, and was never, ever a problem again. I could pick him up, kiss his belly, do what I wanted to him, and he would just lay back and take it.
In his old age, he got fat. He was very fat. To be honest, while I don't give any of my rats too many 'naughty' treats, I made no effort to slim him down. In my mind, he fucking deserved to be able to eat what he wanted, he'd been denied food for long enough.
These are the last few pics of Hoffman.
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/hoffmanfa5.jpg
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/hoffmanfa1.jpg
Hoff giving kisses to Jon, showing how wonderful and gentle he became:
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/rio11.jpg
He turned into a lovely, shiny, plump, docile rat. He even went on to live harmoniously with another castrated male. I adored Hoffman.
He was well over 2 when he died. But his death was a shock as he had NO prior health problems, and the night before, he was the picture of health.
He seems to have died in his sleep.
But know this......he was super attached to Manhattan. She was one of the first rats he really bonded with, and they were always together.
The state of rigor in their bodies showed that Manhattan died before Hoffman.
Hoffman had no reason to die, health-wise, and I wonder if Manhattan's death was something to do with it. Rats do bond very strongly, particularly rats like Hoff who had so many issues from the start.
I will miss them both.
That said, even though it's a sad time, I still come away from this journal feeling rather positive, because it's always so clear that you take the very best care of your little rats, and that makes me smile in a genuinely appreciative way.
do you pan on getting an autopsy of hoffman? it is quite whimsical to imagine an animal dying of a broken heart, but animals living in the same cage are obviously exposed to the same conditions. i can't recall exactly what the cause was, but i had a pal that once lost a couple of her hamster cage mates (very well cared for, in very sanitary conditions) due to being exposed to the same illness. i just wonder if it's worth investigating further for the sake of the rest of your brood.
sorry for your loss.
I think it was just a coincidence. Manhattan really was on borrowed time anyway so it wasn't any kind of shock with her. And Hoffman was old, so I probably should have been aware that it was going to happen soon-ish, but I usually expect rats to show some kind of illness beforehand (though I have had rats just die suddenly before with absolutely no signs of illness, usually older rats. But I did once have a 6 month old boy, from a stellar breeder no less, just die randomly at 6 months)
Plus Hoffman had such a crap start in life, Im really surprised he made it this far. When he first came in, we expected him to not really make a year.
I do know people who have done 'DIY' autopsys on their rats, and have been advised to at least try it with some of mine to get an idea of what Im looking at, because I've been told it can be extremely educational and you can learn what is normal etc but I dunno.....Im not squeamish but theres something about it being your own pet that makes it a little more personal :/ I think I could cut open a deceased rat that I'd had no prior relationship with, though, cold as that may sound.
But, your story of turning him in a complete 360 is really uplifting. He was one very lucky rat and I'm sure he was so thankful when he realized he had a forever home, even if it took him some time.
My condolences. Wishing you all the best. <3
*big hugs*
But yeah, like Tox said, it's lovely knowing how well you cared for him.
I had gotten a rat that I named Gambit maybe two or three years ago..I LOVED that rat. I still miss him, anyway a few weeks after I got him I got another boy I named Shaggz. They were constantly together. Lived together the entire time I got them. Did not like to be apart. Well a few months back Gambit passed away from old age. I noticed a serious change in the way Shaggz acted. He didn't eat as much, lost alot of weight, just seemed depressed no matter how much attention me or any of my other rats gave him. A couple of weeks after Gambit passed away I found Shaggz had gone to join him.
It means nothing but I am very sorry to hear that...and seriously, that's one story I could hardly forget! If Manhattan died before Hoffman and both had a strong bond, I think it would be very possible that Hoff died because of her. He did not want to live without her, that is so cute...but so fucking sad at the same, dammit.
Take care, they will remember what you did for them!
I'm sorry to hear of your loss. It's clear you cared deeply for both of them, no living being can live forever but I'm sure you gave them a wonderful life while they were here.