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RIP Missy Moodle, 2001-2004
Apr. 3rd, 2004 12:51 amWhen we left for the ICFA, we placed most of our rats in the care of our neighbor Joe, who is happy to come by and feed and water them. (We first met Joe years ago when he played an important role in helping find Courageous after she had gone missing. He was a good kid then, and is a good adult now.) However, we knew that Missy was in somewhat precarious health, so, rather than face the risk of Joe having to deal with her getting very sick or even dying in his custody, we took her to our vet's for boarding while we were gone.
On our return, we realized that our fears were well-founded. She was visibly ill; her left eye was scratched and bulging from its socket. An exam by the vet on Tuesday was inconclusive, but it was clear that she was having trouble eating and drinking and moving her hind legs. The most likely diagnosis was a brain tumor, similar to what killed her son, Rufus, last year. However, we put her on oral antibiotics on the off-chance that what ailed her was an inner-ear infection and hoped for the best.
Her condition on Thursday was somewhat better; she had bursts of passionate energy, and otherwise seemed to be resting comfortably. The vet pointed out that she was using her hind legs more, which inclined her towards a diagnosis of a stroke from which she might recover. This was a big improvement over the brain tumor diagnosis. I never thought that the sentence "I think she's had a stroke" would be good news....
Unfortunately, the news wasn't good enough. Today her condition was much worse. She entirely stopped grooming herself, eating, drinking; could no longer use her hind legs at all; and, though she had bursts of activity, it was clear her race was run. We put Connie (her daughter) into the cage with her to keep her company in her last minutes; it's hard to tell if it made any difference, but rats are such social creatures that we thought it might. And then the three of us--me, Missy, and Connie--went to the vet and somewhat later Connie and I came home.
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nellorat wrote a superb profile of Missy for her "Rat of the Day" series, and you will probably recall Missy's starring role as Ms. Claus in A Christmas Tail.
I love all of our rats, but Missy was definitely my favorite. She was sweet-tempered even by rat standards, always happy to see us, always playful, gleeful with treats and a superb mother. She was a rat's ratessa.
She had a good life.
On our return, we realized that our fears were well-founded. She was visibly ill; her left eye was scratched and bulging from its socket. An exam by the vet on Tuesday was inconclusive, but it was clear that she was having trouble eating and drinking and moving her hind legs. The most likely diagnosis was a brain tumor, similar to what killed her son, Rufus, last year. However, we put her on oral antibiotics on the off-chance that what ailed her was an inner-ear infection and hoped for the best.
Her condition on Thursday was somewhat better; she had bursts of passionate energy, and otherwise seemed to be resting comfortably. The vet pointed out that she was using her hind legs more, which inclined her towards a diagnosis of a stroke from which she might recover. This was a big improvement over the brain tumor diagnosis. I never thought that the sentence "I think she's had a stroke" would be good news....
Unfortunately, the news wasn't good enough. Today her condition was much worse. She entirely stopped grooming herself, eating, drinking; could no longer use her hind legs at all; and, though she had bursts of activity, it was clear her race was run. We put Connie (her daughter) into the cage with her to keep her company in her last minutes; it's hard to tell if it made any difference, but rats are such social creatures that we thought it might. And then the three of us--me, Missy, and Connie--went to the vet and somewhat later Connie and I came home.
nellorat wrote a superb profile of Missy for her "Rat of the Day" series, and you will probably recall Missy's starring role as Ms. Claus in A Christmas Tail. I love all of our rats, but Missy was definitely my favorite. She was sweet-tempered even by rat standards, always happy to see us, always playful, gleeful with treats and a superb mother. She was a rat's ratessa.
She had a good life.
