Another ailing rat

[womzilla]

Our senior rat, the superb Amida Lotus Rinpoche, is definitely ailing. She has trouble using most of her limbs and can currently only eat when fed baby food in a syringe. We strongly suspect that she has a tumor (or tumors) causing neurological impairment, but we can't give her steroid anti-inflammatories because she's also fighting off a lung infection and the steroids would supress her immune system. She's hanging in there, and I thought I'd mention her and post a photo while she's still with us instead of my usual habit of failing to mention them until they've died.





Lotus, at the top of her game

Comments

[ratmmjess.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry about Amida. One of ours, Darcy, went through something similar--it turned out to be some kind of inner ear infection, so that at his worst he was nearly paralyzed, and a few days later he was up and moving about. I hope it turns out well for Amida.

[nellorat.livejournal.com]

Alas, as I say in my LJ, we had her euthanized today. In her eulogy, I talk a bit about why inner ear infection doesn't seem to have been involved; probably it was cancer in the brain. We've nursed our rat pack through a lot, but no inner ear infections so far; I've read about that/head-tilt, though, on ratties. Thanks for the suggestion, though, and best to your ratsies.

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

please scritch ms lotus bright eyes for me. she looks like a good rat.