[emiliewasmyeve]

Our rat, Mango, is almost 3 years old. His brother died of cancer (after having a tumor removed) 8 months ago.

3 months ago, he started losing use of his back legs. I know this is normal and we gave him supplements to try and slow it, but he can't use them at all now. So, we moved him to a smaller cage.

We always said that, as long as he eats and seems happy, we'd let him be. He's a BIG eater and, for the past couple months, he's been getting homemade dinners every night. Even without the use of his back legs, he can still pull up on the bars of the cage, and he begs for a treat each time we're in the kitchen.

We've noticed him slowly going downhill. His breathing is labored, he moves around a little less, but he still eats and begs for a treat. Today, his movement is worse than it has been. He just doesn't seem to have as much energy. He doesn't really respond to our voices, but he still ate a whole bowl of sweet potatoes.

Here's the problem: we leave town on Saturday for a week, and we are torn. Do we leave him with the petsitter and hope that he makes it through? Do we jump the gun and take him to be put to sleep tomorrow or Friday? If we weren't leaving town, we wouldn't be ready to make that decision yet.

Another thing: he HATES being in his small carrying cage and going to the vet worse than ANYTHING. I hate to think of him being so stressed and going potty all over himself in the last couple hours of his life. So, I don't really know what to do. Any advice??

As long as he eats, should we just keep an eye on him?

 

[lilspaz68]

Our rat, Mango, is almost 3 years old. His brother died of cancer (after having a tumor removed) 8 months ago.

3 months ago, he started losing use of his back legs. I know this is normal and we gave him supplements to try and slow it, but he can't use them at all now. So, we moved him to a smaller cage.

We always said that, as long as he eats and seems happy, we'd let him be. He's a BIG eater and, for the past couple months, he's been getting homemade dinners every night. Even without the use of his back legs, he can still pull up on the bars of the cage, and he begs for a treat each time we're in the kitchen.

We've noticed him slowly going downhill. His breathing is labored, he moves around a little less, but he still eats and begs for a treat. Today, his movement is worse than it has been. He just doesn't seem to have as much energy. He doesn't really respond to our voices, but he still ate a whole bowl of sweet potatoes.

Here's the problem: we leave town on Saturday for a week, and we are torn. Do we leave him with the petsitter and hope that he makes it through? Do we jump the gun and take him to be put to sleep tomorrow or Friday? If we weren't leaving town, we wouldn't be ready to make that decision yet.

Another thing: he HATES being in his small carrying cage and going to the vet worse than ANYTHING. I hate to think of him being so stressed and going potty all over himself in the last couple hours of his life. So, I don't really know what to do. Any advice??

As long as he eats, should we just keep an eye on him?

If his breathing is bad its possible he's starting a URI, and at his age they are often fatal. If he seems duller, still loving his food yes, but what is he acting like when you aren't there feeding him?

If he's just enduring til his next meal, I would take him in to be humanely pts. So hard to tell with rats that love life.

 

[Britt822]

I'm so sorry you have to make this decision my thoughts go out to you and your baby boy

 

[Vladina]

I understand your dilemma. My boys hated being put in their carrier worse than anything and having to endure a vet trip. It is such a hard decision to make when trying to figure out what is best for your baby boy. I know you do not want him to suffer and it is a difficult decision to make when trying to establish how well or poorly his quality of life is sometimes, since rats are so good at hiding their aches and pains. I only wish they could talk to us to tell us what is best for them. Unfortunately, it is just a decision you have to make that feels right to you. My husband and I spent about 1500 dollars at the local animal hospital trying desperately to keep our two boys alive and to get them better when they had URIs and in the end we knew that it was a losing battle and they were miserable. So we had to make the decision to let them go, as painful as it was for us. I wish you well with your sweet boy and I feel for you. Let us know what happens.