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Well, I have just adopted a beautiful elderly female rat who has recently had a stroke. (Big shout out to my wonderful Mum for letting me keep this gorgeous girl - I love you Mum!) She is such an enormous sweetie, I love her to bits and she evidently loves me too... but this is not just a topic for me to rave about how cute she is (although I might start one just for that, lol  :ohyeah:). Oh and by the way, her name is Cherimoya!

Now, as a consequence of her stroke she is kind of on a permanent lean (Mum has nicknamed her 'Sideways,' while Dad calls her 'Spaz,' but in a completely non-derogatory way), and her coordination is pretty poor. I can't have her up off the ground unless I've got a firm hold on her, otherwise she will definitely fall, she can't sit on my shoulder or climb at all - for those uninitiated in rats, they are normally extremely good at these things. A few times when I have put her back in her cage, she has slipped somehow and wound up on her back (she can right herself though).
All this may make her sound like her life is pretty unhappy but she really actually seems very playful and in love with life, which is great, but I'd like her physical state to reflect her mental one a bit better, so I'm putting her on a green smoothie challenge to see if it helps her at all. I always feed my rats green smoothie every day anyway, simply because they love it and, of course, it is very good for them, but I can't wait to see if this has an effect on her.

I'll keep you updated!  :yahh:

what do you normally feed them besides the green smoothie once a day?

will you be putting your other rats on the gs life, too?

what do mainstream society usually feed their rats?

Oh wow Freedom.  Another baby for you?  Congratulations :ohyeah:

I do hope Cherimoya loves her gs as much as Kiva and Willow do.  And hope even more that it brings her to rights.  How exciting - loving rat experimentation!!!  Give her a little rub behind the ear for me won't you?

Heaps of love
May

Hi Jen-M,
Well, normally I give the ratties green smoothies in the morning and then at night (since they're predominantly nocturnal) I pretty much just feed them whatever I'm having. Their faves include: banana, avocado (you're in good company, lol) almonds, sunflower seeds, mangoes, corn (chewing on the cobs is great for their teeth), carrots... anything really.

I'm not planning on putting her on purely gs, I'm still going to be giving her some other things as well, though she doesn't eat much compared to my big fat boys, lol! So they won't be getting anything different to normal.

I'm kinda scared by what most people feed their ratties. The generally accepted diet is 'dry pellets/seed with a small amount of fresh fruit and veg as treats' but obviously I go completely the opposite to that. Last year I adopted a little girl when her owner moved interstate - the food that they gave me for her was awful, it honestly looked like little wads of newspaper that had been wet, then balled up and dried out again. She went nuts the first time I handed her a piece of fresh fruit!

Hope this answers all your questions!  :ohyeah:

Hehe, I suppose it is a form of animal experimentation isn't it May? I'll give all of them a little rub for you!

Hi Freedom,

My boys loved their green smoothie so much this morning they licked the bowl spotless and then turned it over to check if there was any hidden underneath.  So funny!  They also love mixed peas and corn - there's a race between them to see who can pick out the most corn first then they're left to eat the peas at their leisure.

I've decided to name them Natty (the brown one) and Pippin.   I love having rats again - I don't know why I waited so long!


xo
Michaela

Hey Freedom...Your rats sound really cute. i'm sure the diet you have them on is 100% better than the conventional ones.

I wish you were around when we had our little errr rat problem earlier this year.

My oldest daughter came home for christmas with a pet rat but unfortunately on the first night he escaped out on the balcony. i felt so sorry for the poor little thing being alone out in the wild.

A couple of times i heard nooring sounds in the middle of the night and once Daniel said he saw the rat in my bedroom but there was no sign of him when we looked. Then about a month later my daughter saw him and tried to pick him up but he bit her savagely to the bone. It took me all day to catch him jeez he'd turned wild.

We were very kind to him but unfortunately 4 weeks in the wilds of my bedroom fending for himself must have done permanent psychological damage. The kids renamed him Hanable Lecter and were so scared of him we ended up taking him into our local pet shop. I hope he went to a nice home.

Do you think Freedom he would have settled down after a while?

Peta

Oh Freedom, your new rattie sounds awesome!!! I love the nicknames too. One of my friends had an Mexican Walking Fish that only had three legs when she got it and so she called it tripod!!! LOL. Made me larf.

I hope she does well on her challenge.

xoxoxo

Hey Michaela, those names are gorgeous especially Pippin. Let me guess... Natty is the brown one and Pippin the cream? I don't know why, that's just the first thought I had. Yes, my babies all lick their gs bowls clean too, they just adore it - it's nice to see them enjoying something that's so good for them.

Hi Peta, I'm really very sorry to hear about your little rattie that must have been so sad to think you'd lost him but even worse to be attacked by him afterwards. I honestly don't know whether he would have calmed down with time... it's certainly possible. For example, my beautiful kitty cat Ruhsa was a stray, living the hard life on the streets for the first 8 months or so of her life and when I got her she was very shy and nervous but now she is just the most playful, loving and beautiful cat.
I hope Mr Lecter did find a nice new home!

Oh Jennie that's hilarious... Tripod! Love it!

Well, a little update on my lovely Cherimoya... just days after starting on her GS challenge, late on Thursday night, I was putting some food in her cage and picked her up for a cuddle only to find myself with blood all over my hands. She was bleeding copiously from her reproductive tract, which is definitely NOT normal in rats, so I was obviously extremely worried and upset. First thing Friday morning I managed to get in at the specialised rodent vet (only one in Perth!) and my suspicion was confirmed that she probably had ovarian cancer. She received a cortisone injection, to stop the bleeding, because it is impossible to operate while an animal is loosing blood like that. She came home yesterday and I was feeding her watered down green smoothie through a syringe, and I continued getting up throughout the night to keep her fluids up.

Amazingly, she made it through the night and I got her back into the vet this morning to have a hysterectomy. I watched the surgery (yes, it is horrible - their breathing is so slow, after every breath you're just waiting for the next one, hoping it comes) and I got to see the awful thing inside her. There was a growth the length of one of her legs (about 3 cm) and the width of my little finger just hanging off the side of one of her ovaries! It was just a big, black/blue blood clot basically, so thankfully not a malignant cancer (phew!) It took her a long time to wake up from the anaesthesia, which was made worse by her stroke, and in fact she is still a bit wobbly but amazingly she seems very well! The big challenge now is, can she re-generate all the blood she lost?

I am still regularly giving her very watery green smoothie through a syringe (which she loves!  :laugh:) and I honestly believe that it is this incredibly mineral dense food I've been giving her that has enabled her to survive this far.

I will keep you posted!!  :yahh:

Oh Freedom!!!

You poor thing, what an awful experience and a terrible fright!!!

I guess it was good to be there for the op, to be with her, and for experience too.  Poor little mite.

Prayers and love for you both
May

Oh Freedom I hope your Cherimoya will be OK. She definately has a much better chance now that she has you to take care of her.

I wonder if our mice would like green smoothies. They are not really big on much fruit although I have always given it to them. They eat mouse seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, lettuce mix, baby spinach, broccoli, corn cobs, dandelion flowers and leaves.

Unfortunately my son has kinda lost interest in them and doesn't clean out their cages as often as he should. Thankfully we have stopped them breeding and have had no baby mice for a while.

Much love to you and your ratties
Tracey

Much love to Chermoya and you FreedonB. I hope your little girl makes it through and I suspect she has a good chance with someone like you loving and caring for her.

What a wonderful person you are!

I'll check back soon to see how shes doing!

Love Peta xoxoxo

I totally agree with Peta, she's in the best possible hands(my thoughts and prayers are with you and your 'baby')!

Freedom, I really admire your selfless love and dedication for all life / beings. :heart:

Wow Freedom, if I was a rat, I would definately want to be your rat. What a love for have for your babies. :)

All the best to Cherimoya for a good recovery? She may even be better than before.

Love, Michele.

Best wishes for Cherimoya Freedom. The poor girl. I'm sure she will do well. My heart aches for you both.

Much love

xoxoxo

Oh wow thankyou SO much everyone, it makes me so happy to know that Cherimoya and I are in all your thoughts. Not quite as happy, however, as it makes me to be able to say she is doing well today!  :yahh:  :yahh:  :yahh:

I was getting up throughout the night to feed her and also give her pain medication and it is SO stressful geting up, creeping to the cage, hoping that she's still breathing...  then the HUGE sigh of relief when she is! She will have one heck of a scar on her belly but I'm hoping that apart from that she will eventually get back to at least how she was before, if not even better.

Thankyou again everyone, it really means a lot to me!  :heart:

oh cute little freedom, don't worry just know that everything is going to be okay, and that both of you are doing your best and that's alls you can do and the best you can do.

I agree though, if I were a domesticated rat, I would definitely want to live with you.

It sucks really bad when helpless little animals are all sick and helpless.  In a way it's a beautiful thing though because you totally bond with it.  you teach each other trust and compassion, and it gives you opportunity to learn from each other. 

When I was little and I got sick my mom helped me out a lot and it taught me to trust and love her, and how to love.  without down there would never be an up.

good luck<3  =)

Hi Freedom,

The boys and I will keep our fingers crossed for Cherimoya ... I hope she's back to her normal self again soon.  She's lucky to have you!


xoxo
Michaela

Freedom, is Cherimoya very mobile at the moment, or is she resting a lot after her operation? 

I just keep thinking that perhaps little gentle massages in places other than her tender spots, might be nice.  A bit like a little "rubby" cuddle, or even I suppose a form of "rat reiki".  -_-

Hands on touch is a very powerful healer.  Forgive me if this sounds like nonsense to an (almost) vet - the result of having hippy tendencies, I guess.

I hope she grows stronger and stronger by the day.

Oh Miss G I love it - rat reiki!  :laugh: How adorable! Is there anywhere specific I should target, in order to work on the reproductive organs (and obviously the skin and muscle, since there was a big hole sliced in that!)? I'm a total reiki novice but really anything that might help ease her pain is fine by me! It can't be pleasant having an enormous gash up your belly, especially when no one can fully explain to you why. To answer your question, her mobility has picked up today but I think she's still getting over the anaesthesia from yesterday.

She's making little sniffy noises, which I'm going to take as a thankyou to you and everyone else for your kindness!

Hi Michaela, I can just picture Natty and Pippin with their little tiny ratty fingers crossed. Give them both a tickle from me, and thankyou for your concern!

Jen-M, I love what you said about trust, love and bonding - I think with animals, especially those who are confined to a cage for any amount of time, this comes about naturally because they are essentially completely dependent on you for survival. Now Cherimoya just needs me even more! I think it's a good thing everyone here isn't a rat, because I don't think my Mum would want you all in my bedroom, lol!

I'm a compete novice too Freedom. 

I have been very fortunate to be on the receiving end of some amazing hands on healing work, but I know very little about what areas to target specifically.

What I do believe, is that an understanding of meridians etc. is only part of the equation, and that intent and heart directed focus are just as (if not more) important.

Personally, I believe that any gentle and loving massage on her body, believing that you are helping her to heal would work. 

It's not unlike being a human recovering in a bed after an operation or illness - something as simple as a foot massage can make you feel amazing and nurtured, even if the pain or discomfort is in other areas of the body.

Don't you go painting her toenails after you've given her a four-feet massage!  :laugh:

man, you are going to make the best vet.  Sometimes when I see a loved one in pain I put myself in their position (to the best of my abilities), and I do what I feel like would bring me the most comfort if I were in their shoes (or paws).  I also do that when I have a crush on someone, and I want their attention  ^ _ ^  Not everyone is the same, but how else to grow with stability then to build upon what you already know?  That's what I think anyway.  =)

I'd believe it. I've met many a dog trainer who has said that you can always tell a dog that comes from a pound. They are either so so keen to please or a rebel for awhile... like unloved and neglected children.

How is Cherimoya going now?

xoxoxo

Okay, here's today's update (especially for Trace - sorry to hear about the mice! :-(

Cherimoya is still not eating solid foods, or even GS, by herself - I'm feeding it to her through the syringe still. But she is really starting to perk up. Her eyes and ears are still very lacking in colour, due to the blood loss, but they are slowly getting pinker - I keep comparing them to my little boy Willow, who is also white with pink eyes, to see how she's going. She pretty much just spends all her time sound asleep inside her little plastic castle, or curled up in my lap. I guess it is pretty exhausting trying to regenerate that much blood - pity she couldn't have a transfusion, lol!  :laugh: They do them for dogs and cats but not rats. She always gives a little squeak now when I open the cage door and yesterday afternoon she actually got up and came out of the castle by herself  :yahh:
The scar on her belly seems to be healing, I detected a bit of a smell on Monday so I put some antiseptic on it - the last thing she needs is an infection in there! She isn't picking at it or anything though, which is good. All in all, everything seems to be going really well!

Thanks again everyone!
Freedom  :wub:

P.S I'll get a piccie of her later on for you all!

Ooh, I know that feeling, of showing up to work and checking in cages to make sure any patients that were admitted the night before are still with us the next morning :S Poor lil thing, I hope she continues to get better. I think if you want to reiki her, just by holding her and generating postive thoughts towards her, esp. towards her scar would of benefit to her.

And you are studying to become a vet, Freedom? You are going to make a great one! Recently I was told we had a student at my clinic who everyone said to me "is as weird as you" meaning she is vegan, I was amazed! But as I only work Saturdays now (nurse not vet) I didn't get to meet her :(

Thanks Freedom great to hear Cherimoya is doing much better now. How can she not with such a loving 'mummy' to look after her.

Miss G I love that 'rat reiki'. The power of touch and loving healing thoughts would definately help.

I truly hope she shows some real improvement soon.

Love & Hugs
Tracey

(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd56/FreedomB/meandcherimoya.jpg)

Here's a pic I just snapped of me and my little baby girl. She's looking much better today!  :yahh:

Yay!  Way to go Cherimoya ... what a little trouper!   :-*


xoxo
Michaela

Cherimoya looks so content up there in your hands. What a pretty rat! So glad she is doing well.

Love ~ Michele.

Very cute!

Thanks for sharing, Freedom!

Just had to drop in and let you know that Cherimoya ate her first solid food (piece of mango, some cucumber, little bit of banana) last night!  :yahh:

Yay!!!  :ohyeah:

I am just here to let everyone know the sad news, that precious Cherimoya died in my arms this morning. Since I last wrote here, she has had a lot of ups and downs and has certainly never been truly 'well' again. Though I only shared less that two months of my life with her, I don't know if I will ever love any rat (or any creature) as much as I loved her. She was just something too special for words. I feel so truly lucky to have had even that short period with her.

Freedom

Big hugs to you Freedom.

It is such a special calling to be a part of any human or animal's life at the end of their journey on the planet; to be the one holding them within a space of love, during that transit.

I have always believed that our animal friends choose us, as much as we choose them.  I am certain that she felt like she "hit the jackpot" in choosing you.

Much love to you.

Freedom, she chose you specifically to look after her in her last days, you know that.  Cherimoya had so much love surrounding her that her passing had to be so peaceful and beautiful, it could be nothing less.  I know you're sad, and my heart goes out to you, but you have received so many blessings from her, and will continue to in the future.

You have so much love to give, your capacity for love is endless.  Take your time to grieve, as many of us will, and I know that you will love all the creatures that come your way.  That's what will make the difference in your work, that and your beautiful energy.  

My partner is an animal communicator, and he tells owners that animals come into our lives for many reasons, for love,  for companionship, and  often to help us on our spiritual/physical journeys.  Cherimoya has given you a special gift to help you grow.   Cherish that, and her memory, and be the best you can be.  :heart: :heart:

Love Cathy

So sorry to hear this Freedom.  My thoughts are with you.

xo
Michaela

So sorry Freedom, to hear about your beloved Cherimoya. Isn't she so lucky to have had you to show her that humans can be loving, kind and a safe place to be.

Love, Michele.

Hi Freedom,

I'm so sorry to hear of Cherimoya's passing. I"m sure thought that her two months with you were the best of her life.

xoxox

has anyone tried feeding a cat a green smoothie?

I know my kitty needs a small amount of greens too. I'm wondering if I should give her a little gs every day, and see how she likes it... hrrrrrrrrmmmmmm... but how to get her to lap it up?

Let's see if she'll lick the bowl of my remnants of tonight's raw green soup!