Older girl not moving much, cool to the touch...

[sands]

Good morning.

Mishka made it through the night. I had moved the hammock to the cage floor and she was cuddled in there staying warm.

Managed to find before school care for the kids and made to down to Dr. Munn on time in rush hour traffic.

She has a tumor on her torso that is likely not operable that is probably causing her symptoms. Breathing seemed okay. Lice have returned, which I had noticed last night, due to the stress of the illness.

I decided on palliative care for her as surgery will likely not be successful. Dr. Munn prescribed Doxycycline to prevent any respiratory illnesses secondary to the tumor side effects and Metacam for pain management, and of course Revolution (but just for her to start and not her two cagemates). We will see how she responds and how much quality time she has left with us. Hope the oral meds are easy to give.

I picked up some Ensure and baby rice cereal.

Awww little fattykins Where was the tumour exactly? Was it internal or just under her skin? I gave her a small feel over but not a great one.

I have a video showing you how I syringe meds into rats if you need to see it

Tumour is internal I think, mid torso on one side, likely over some internal organs such as the kidneys.

Video would be helpful! The first doses I gave were not administered very gracefully.

She has not wanted to eat yet today. I will give her some time to settle in after the morning outing and try again.

 

[Spork]

[BBvideo 425,350:264psqg5]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-_bFMkutKk[/BBvideo:264psqg5]

 

[sands]

Thank you for the video Spork. Very helpful. I watched and practiced with one of the boys' small stuffed animals.

 

[lilspaz68]

Thank you for the video Spork. Very helpful. I watched and practiced with one of the boys' small stuffed animals.

practice with one of your squirmy girls, but make sure the stuff in the syringe is yummy

 

[jennifervb]

Good morning.

Mishka made it through the night. I had moved the hammock to the cage floor and she was cuddled in there staying warm.

Managed to find before school care for the kids and made to down to Dr. Munn on time in rush hour traffic.

She has a tumor on her torso that is likely not operable that is probably causing her symptoms. Breathing seemed okay. Lice have returned, which I had noticed last night, due to the stress of the illness.

I decided on palliative care for her as surgery will likely not be successful. Dr. Munn prescribed Doxycycline to prevent any respiratory illnesses secondary to the tumor side effects and Metacam for pain management, and of course Revolution (but just for her to start and not her two cagemates). We will see how she responds and how much quality time she has left with us. Hope the oral meds are easy to give.

I picked up some Ensure and baby rice cereal.

Awww little fattykins Where was the tumour exactly? Was it internal or just under her skin? I gave her a small feel over but not a great one.

I have a video showing you how I syringe meds into rats if you need to see it

Little fattykins? :giggle:

 

[lilspaz68]

Little fattykins? :giggle:

She has the sweetest, softest chubby belly, which I kissed a few times when I met her. :heart:

 

[jennifervb]

Little fattykins? :giggle:

She has the sweetest, softest chubby belly, which I kissed a few times when I met her. :heart:

:love6: :thud: :love6:

 

[sands]

Yes, Mishka is a voluptuous rat weighing in at over 500g despite getting the same diet as her cage mates and being the one who would run endlessly on the wheel!

She moved around the room a little while I cleaned the cage, even coming back for some rat blocks to hide, but not eat. Plus she managed to get herself onto the couch to find a comfy place to rest.

I lowered everything to the bottom of the cage for her, but she is on the second level in a tissue box and "The Nuts" are on the cage floor in the hammock.

She ate only a little ensure and baby cereal and only from my finger or the syringe.

 

[lilspaz68]

Yes, Mishka is a voluptuous rat weighing in at over 500g despite getting the same diet as her cage mates and being the one who would run endlessly on the wheel!

She moved around the room a little while I cleaned the cage, even coming back for some rat blocks to hide, but not eat. Plus she managed to get herself onto the couch to find a comfy place to rest.

I lowered everything to the bottom of the cage for her, but she is on the second level in a tissue box and "The Nuts" are on the cage floor in the hammock.

She ate only a little ensure and baby cereal and only from my finger or the syringe.

the symptoms you described could also be attributed to discomfort...were you able to get metacam into her? Btw it tastes nasty so make sure you get that syringe into her mouth deeply LOL and expect faces and drooling and chin rubbing/wiping to get the nasty stuff off LOL

 

[sands]

Yes, Mishka is a voluptuous rat weighing in at over 500g despite getting the same diet as her cage mates and being the one who would run endlessly on the wheel!

She moved around the room a little while I cleaned the cage, even coming back for some rat blocks to hide, but not eat. Plus she managed to get herself onto the couch to find a comfy place to rest.

I lowered everything to the bottom of the cage for her, but she is on the second level in a tissue box and "The Nuts" are on the cage floor in the hammock.

She ate only a little ensure and baby cereal and only from my finger or the syringe.

the symptoms you described could also be attributed to discomfort...were you able to get metacam into her? Btw it tastes nasty so make sure you get that syringe into her mouth deeply LOL and expect faces and drooling and chin rubbing/wiping to get the nasty stuff off LOL

I did get the Metacam into her, but not all of it. Next time I may dip the tip of the syringe into something tasty. I was thinking enough may have gotten in to make her a little more comfortable as she was moving more.

 

[sands]

I am worried about keeping her hydrated and nourished. How much Ensure and baby cereal is enough to keep her healthy and comfortable?

 

[sands]

Here she is, staying cozy while the cage was being cleaned and re-organized for her.

 

[Joanne]

I wonder if the tumour is interfering with food moving through her digestive system?

 

[lilspaz68]

I wonder if the tumour is interfering with food moving through her digestive system?

Ohh smart one Joanne!

Is she pooping normally?

 

[M0onkist]

As much Ensure or apple juice as she'll take, is basically the best way to make sure she's hydrated. You can do the skin pinch test too - gently grasp a pinch of skin between your fingers, pull a bit and then release. If she's hydrated, the skin will almost snap back into place. But if it takes a lot longer to assume normal position, then she's dehydrated.

Is she good with licking Ensure from a bowl? You could mask the metacam and other meds in that, as long as she's going to lick the bowl clean (and obviously keep her on your lap or somewhere the other rats can't get to the meds).

 

[sands]

I wonder if the tumour is interfering with food moving through her digestive system?

Ohh smart one Joanne!

Is she pooping normally?

Poops were normal this afternoon. I was surprised there were no " I'm scared" poops at the vet.

(Clever girl, she found the litter box material I placed in the corner of the bottom of the cage for her, not the usually location, and pooped there.)

 

[sands]

As much Ensure or apple juice as she'll take, is basically the best way to make sure she's hydrated. You can do the skin pinch test too - gently grasp a pinch of skin between your fingers, pull a bit and then release. If she's hydrated, the skin will almost snap back into place. But if it takes a lot longer to assume normal position, then she's dehydrated.

Is she good with licking Ensure from a bowl? You could mask the metacam and other meds in that, as long as she's going to lick the bowl clean (and obviously keep her on your lap or somewhere the other rats can't get to the meds).

She is not licking from a bowl. I have to use a syringe and she only takes a little. I will just keep offering frequently. She did just feed herself some rice puffs, which she was refusing previously.

 

[M0onkist]

Hmm... any chance she might like using a dropper more than a syringe? I know sometimes when Chance had his stroke he wouldn't eat direct from the dropper, but he'd lick any drop off my finger. A dropper also has the advantage of not force-squirting a possibly large amount of liquid into their mouth, which might startle them. Wouldn't be good for medications that you have to measure, obviously, but might work for Ensure.

 

[sands]

Hmm... any chance she might like using a dropper more than a syringe? I know sometimes when Chance had his stroke he wouldn't eat direct from the dropper, but he'd lick any drop off my finger. A dropper also has the advantage of not force-squirting a possibly large amount of liquid into their mouth, which might startle them. Wouldn't be good for medications that you have to measure, obviously, but might work for Ensure.

Dropper might work better. I will try if needed.

She had a little bit of veggies just now.

She looks so much better than last night. Thank you Dr. Munn and metacam.

 

[Godmother]

Hope she continues to feel better. Loved the video; I will practice with my girls now when they are OK, so that they will give me less grief when the time comes.