Early signs of PT or something else? RIP Mischa :(

[lindsayfawn]

Mischa isn't herself. She hasn't been now for about a week. We thought it was because the girls all have lice (I think they must have gotten it from Griffin 'cause he was on shavings when we got him and had a wood house and we have no idea what kinda of conditions they were in :doh: )

Anyways....she's not acting like her self....her eyes aren't bright...they're dull and she seems confussed and off balance a little. She also has started to bite me. When I put my hand in to get her she'll bite my fingers and she never in her life has ever bitten us not even a test nibble. She's a licker and she doesn't lick any more. We gave her a peice of popcorn (one of her fav treats) and she wouldn't use her hands to hold it at all. She seemed very awkward eating it.

The only experience we have had with PT was with Pearl who was way far gone...but it feels like Mischa is possibly getting the same symptoms? Could it be something else? Just not feeling good because of the lice? *sighs* I so don't want to go through having another rattie suffer through PT.

 

[twitch]

its possible it might be something else. has she fallen and hit her head? does she have any lumps, perhaps in her belly? if she fell. did she twist a leg or foot? is she sore somewhere? if she's in pain it could explain some of those symptoms, the biting especially. but you said its been going on for a week, you would think an injury would have started to heal by now and her symptoms would improve. i'm sorry hon, but i think it might be the early signs of PT. have i'd to deal with it a few times now, and from what you are describing it really does sound like PT to me. i'm so sorry. hopefully it is slow growing and you can stunt its further growth with some steriods. they seem to work so well for shelagh's rats, hopefully they will work just as well for your mischa.

 

[lilspaz68]

The biting is an odd side effect I have noticed. They used to lick, now they kinda bite on...be careful in the later stages, they will actually bite down and hold and continue slowly biting down. I have never had skin broken...yet.

It sounds like very classic PT, but this time there is a real possibility of it responding if you get steroids and abs into her (I prefer baytril as my ab). She could rebound like Calla did and give you a little time together. I am sorry. :sad3:

 

[jorats]

Unfortunately, it does sound like PT... How old is she?

 

[mamarat]

They do bite instead of licking with PT.But they will also bite with any kind of pain.

 

[lindsayfawn]

She's never really been sick a day in her life...minus those foot sprains...I wonder if that could have been an early sign of PT starting because of loss of balance? She has no lumps or bumps and has not fallen to my knowledge. I noticed today that she couldn't even pick up a labblock or barely carry it in her mouth This is the girl that would for an hour carry blocks and shinny pebels from the bottom of the FN to her hiding place none stop.
*sighs* Stupid PT...frig....it's hard on Angie because Mischa is her first rattie. She's the first rattie that we got together as a couple but she's very much Angie's little girl.

We have baytril but what do we need to use for a steroid? I only have a little bit of metacam left. So we'll probably have to make another trip to the vet then.

 

[lj]

:hugs:

 

[twitch]

i don't know if the type of steroid matters, i've never had the luck of being able to try a steroid. but i think the one that shelagh has had success with is dexamethozone. you should ask her though to be sure, and you'll likely need to go to the vet to get it.

 

[henry's_mum]

:hugs:
so sorry guys...

 

[dubchick]

we guestimate mischas birthday as july 15 2007. we got her when she was just a baby. she is the first rat linds and i got together and i think that is one of the reasons i have such a close bond with her. shes my little princess and i dont know what i will do without her. seeing her like this is absolutely breaking my heart,. but linds and i talked about it and feel that we arent going to put her on meds to prolong her pt. we feel that if we do its really more for us than for her.. and dont want her to suffer any longer than she needs to. its a very tough decision... if i could have mischa live forever i would.. shes one of those perfect rats that can be friends with any other rat and you definately dont have to worry about anything. we will keep on loving and spoiling her till the end of her days. and even tho its a really tough decision.. i think its for the best! :sad3:

 

[mamarat]

:hugs:

 

[Godmother]

So sorry to hear about the symptoms. her sprains may well have been an early sign. I missed Corrie's early signs of coordination loss, but they were obvious with hindsight.

Some rats do well with the meds for quite a while, others go downhill very fast. I hope that you have some quality time with her.

 

[lindsayfawn]

Mischa is getting worse, she can barely eat hard food even if we're holding on to it. We have made a vet appointment for wednesday...I think we will be putting her down on that day It's a really hard decision, I would love to be able to just keep feeding her meds to keep her with us but that isn't fair to her. To me she looks at us like she is ready. She is more a shell of a rat now more then anything...Mischa is no longer there It's very sad to watch. She was always the happy girl that loved to give kisses and hide all the food...now she just laying in the cube or the ball all day. *sighs*

I thought I'd share some pictures of our sweet girl. Mischa was the first rat that Ang and I got as a couple. It was a nice day out and she loved being on our shoulder in the nice fresh air and out of the horrible pets unlimited.

This is the first day we got her..we thought we'd spoil her a little and let her have a few licks of ice cream

She and Emily are the best of buddies. They were so tiny when we first got them!

Mischa now looks so sick...breaks our hearts. :sad3:

We still have her with the others. They have been stressed because she's sick but they're taking good care of her keeping her company and warm. She was able to drink some ensure here which was good.

 

[Moon]

I'm sorry she's not well

 

[mamarat]

How sad, I'm so sorry.

 

[Fidget]

I'm so sorry.
If you let her go wednesday that's a fair decision as obviously she can't heal from a PT and you sure don't want her to unecessarily suffer bad days.
But I feel I should mention that from what I've seen personally and heard from others my understanding is that while the effects of the steroids aren't always as good for all kids as for some, they don't prolong the difficulty for any, but they can sometimes let them regain their capability and make some of the earlier days good ones when they might otherwise be bad ones..
But there are always some hard ones in the end. I'm sorry you & Mischa are having bad & sad ones at all :cry3:

 

[Godmother]

It's so hard to see the way they lose their spark with PT. How nice that her cagemates comfort her, though.

The meds may be worth a shot. If she is still alive she probably doesn't have the fast PT (SQ's Lois died within two days of us noticing that she couldn't eat lab blocks), so an anti-inflammatory might limit the tumour's effects for a while.

 

[PiedPiper]

I'm so sorry. What a heartbreak. :sad3:

 

[lindsayfawn]

We had to move her vet appointment to thursday 'cause I have to work early wednesday.

The meds may be worth a shot. If she is still alive she probably doesn't have the fast PT (SQ's Lois died within two days of us noticing that she couldn't eat lab blocks), so an anti-inflammatory might limit the tumour's effects for a while.

Ang really doesn't want to try the meds and I feel the same. I know that maybe they could work and keep her comfortable for a month or two but really it's just prolong the inetivable. It's really hard to say that becuase I would like her to be with us longer...but the both of us just get this feeling she's telling us to let her go. She just whimpers when you hold her and she just looks at you like. I'm done I can't take anymore :sad3: sucks big time.

 

[mamarat]

And you're the only ones who can make that decision. I'm so sorry. :hugs: