oyceter. Momo

Momo's health had been declining over the past few months as the hind leg paralysis got worse, and he was noticeably worse after Haru died... he wasn't eating anything unless I fed it to him, and then he started to have a harder time breathing. I took him to the vet yesterday and was scared they'd tell me to just let him go, and he got some medicine in case it was pneumonia or heart failure. But he was still having trouble breathing after we got home, and after weighing the options, I took him to the emergency vet, who got some of the air he'd swallowed out of his stomach and then gave him some oxygen. After we took him home, he didn't sound that much better, and I feel kind of awful for going to sleep at that point, but I thought he needed more time in oxygen, and the emergency vet wouldn't keep him that long. Took him in to regular vet this morning, where he got some oxygen and more antibiotics, but when I decided to try and lightly anesthetize him to check out his teeth and a bump on his face, the vet found that it was something that had eaten into his upper right jaw, which is probably one reason why he hadn't been eating. It was really infected, and his breathing hadn't gotten better, and in the end, I let him go. CB was there for that, which was nice, and I told Momo he was a good rat, and thanked him for hanging on for so long. I don't know how conscious he was, but at least he had both of us there, and we miss him a lot.

Momo was a little ratling who was so scared when I got him that he hid in my shirts in the back of my neck all the time. Haru and Momo were my first shoulder rats, and I loved walking around with them there, even though they would try to climb up my face and left scratches all around my neck. As a ratling, Momo tried to shove himself up my nose and into my ear, and when they escaped, he was even harder to catch than Haru. He was the top rat of the cage until his legs started getting worse, and by the end, Haru was helping to groom him in the spots he couldn't reach. Momo chewed up my iPhone cable and my laptop charger when CB and I were having a hard time due to depression and moving, and I showed CB the picture of the cables after a fight and he laughed. When I gave him an ethernet cord to chew on later, he refused to touch it, probably because it wasn't forbidden. He was terrified of CB's tile floors.

I think losing Haru hit him hard, and he probably had had the tumor or infection in his jaw already. He tried to fight it up until the end, CB says because he was trying to hang on for me. I'm glad he's not in pain anymore, and I hope he and Haru are hanging around again, and that Momo can now reassert his status as top rat since he is not sick anymore.

I'm not really sure what to do for myself. I haven't not had rats since I got Fitz-rat and Fool-rat back in 2004, and disassembling just the travel cage was awful. As previously mentioned, we're probably going to look into getting a cat, but right now, life feels very empty without my ratses around, and I miss them a lot.

Flat. Top-Level Comments Only

Posted by

sanguinity

I'm so sorry about Haru and Momo.

jinian

What a fine rat. I love that he wouldn't eat a cable legally. *hugs*

Posted by (Anonymous)

It feels so strange when pets aren't there anymore. I'm very sorry about Momo.

grrlpup

sorry, that was me, not logged on for some reason.

mme_hardy

Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry. It's hard to love an animal and have your heart broken so terribly soon. Love to you.

colorblue

I'm so sorry.

laurashapiro

Oh, honey, I'm so sorry!

metaphortunate

Oh, I am so sorry. Poor little ratling.

elsane

I'm so sorry for your loss.

februaryfour

*hugs*

torachan

Aww, poor Momo. :( Why are pets so short-lived? :(((

ursamajor

I'm sorry to hear about Momo. I will imagine him and Haru eating peaches and cords in Ratling Heaven, wherever that may be. *hugs*

littlebutfierce

I'm so sorry. There is always such a disproportionately large absence when pets go.

starlady

Oh, Momo. I'm glad you and CB were there with him in the end. <3

saraht

Oh, I'm sorry.

jesuswasbatman

I'm sorry you had to deal with this again so fast.

vass

I'm so sorry. D:

merisunshine36

I am so, so sorry about your loss--they were great members of your family, and you're such a great rat-mom to them all <3

heavenscalyx

I'm so, so sorry. It's hard enough to lose one, but the one-two punch must be awful. I hope you can find some ways to take care of yourself.

I'm so, so sorry. <3

dhobikikutti

I'm so so sorry. I think getting a cat is a good idea, but right now you just need to wallow in the grief because you loved them and they're both gone. :(
::giant hug::

heresluck

I'm so sorry -- about Haru and Momo, and about finding yourself suddenly ratless. *hugs*

runpunkrun

Oh no, I'm so sorry.

rachelmanija

I'm so sorry. This must be such a blow, so soon after Haru.

laughingrat

Aw no, poor Momo. It's really sad when they wind up with multiple things wrong like that. I wish their health gave them an easier time. :(

EDIT: I'm sorry for you, too, losing him. You can cat with rats, if you feel like getting a cat too? Although the rats' wanderings do have to be pretty curtailed.

Edited Sun, May. 19th, 2013 08:35 pm (UTC)