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julietRowan died this morning. Pete found her on the floor of the cage unable to move & barely breathing; we phoned the vet & were on our way down there, but she died in my hands as we were heading out of the door. She's been ill for a while, so it wasn't totally unexpected. She was pottering around the sofa happily, coming to sit in Pete's & my laps, last night, so we know she was happy up to very close to the end. She was getting on for 2 1/2 years old.
She was I think one of the friendliest, brightest rats we've had, with an enormously cute baby face even when she grew up. In her youth she had a genius for escapology - initially because she was so much littler than the others that she could squeeze through the cage bars, later because she industriously chewed a hole in the bottom of the cage. We left her to it as she didn't seem to do any damage or wander off anywhere, until Hazel started following her example & being more of a nuisance when we finally blocked the hole up.
She was always more interested in saying hello than in going for the foodstuffs (unlike Poppy!), and was very polite and delicate when she did decide that she was after the treats. Lately we've had to help her a bit with eating as she was losing her balance, and she was still very careful with her eating. She absolutely loved the top of her head being scritched, with impressively boggly bruxing results. She liked *people*, and exploring, and interesting things.
Only Poppy left now. We're not at present intending to get any more rats - it's too emotionally draining, given what short lives they have & how many vet visits we need during that time.
RIP Rowan.
(She is the one poking her nose forward at the camera in the photo - when she & Ash were babies, & TINY compared to Bramble.)
She was I think one of the friendliest, brightest rats we've had, with an enormously cute baby face even when she grew up. In her youth she had a genius for escapology - initially because she was so much littler than the others that she could squeeze through the cage bars, later because she industriously chewed a hole in the bottom of the cage. We left her to it as she didn't seem to do any damage or wander off anywhere, until Hazel started following her example & being more of a nuisance when we finally blocked the hole up.
She was always more interested in saying hello than in going for the foodstuffs (unlike Poppy!), and was very polite and delicate when she did decide that she was after the treats. Lately we've had to help her a bit with eating as she was losing her balance, and she was still very careful with her eating. She absolutely loved the top of her head being scritched, with impressively boggly bruxing results. She liked *people*, and exploring, and interesting things.
Only Poppy left now. We're not at present intending to get any more rats - it's too emotionally draining, given what short lives they have & how many vet visits we need during that time.
RIP Rowan.
(She is the one poking her nose forward at the camera in the photo - when she & Ash were babies, & TINY compared to Bramble.)
