What to do if my rat is passing away

[lexiluu]

About a month ago, I rescued a female rat named Cady from a situation where she had lost her cage mate and needed a new home. When I got her, I took her to the vet because I have five other girls and she ended up having lice. She had to be isolated so the other ones wouldn't get it too. I got her and all the others treated and cleaned her cage every other day.

She's been to the vet twice now and she hates it, so I want to avoid taking her so much so it doesn't add more stress on her.

She was doing great for a few weeks and became very comfortable with me (liked to cuddle and take lots of treats). However, two days ago, I noticed that she looked super bloated, so I did some research and came to the conclusion that she was constipated. I tried giving her veggies and fruit, but she didn't seem interested. Then, the next morning I looked at her and she was TINY. I could see her hips, ribs and spine. I noticed that she started dragging her back legs every once in a while and is becoming extremely weak. Is my Cady in the process of dying? This came out of nowhere and I don't know what to do.

I have a horrible feeling that she is passing away because her eyes look like she's defeated and she is always tired. I just snuggled with her in a bunch of blankets and she seemed content, but I would love some advice for helping her stay comfortable.

 

[SQ]

Is it possible that she was pregnant and something went wrong?
She is ill and needs to see a good vet with the knowledge and experience to treat rats Immediately!!


If she has lost that much weight, she is not getting the food she needs.
Check her front teeth to make sure they are not overgrown, have not grown into the side of her mouth etc.

How is her breathing? If she has a resp. infection it can be hard to breath and eat at the same time.
If she is working hard to breath, open mouth breathing, holding her head up or down to breath easier etc, then she needs to see a vet immediately and requires a combo of antibiotics, etc (such as baytril + azithromycin (10 mg/Ib) orally, twice a day for 6 weeks if it is helping, if antibiotics do not start to help after a hew days, then different antibiotics need to be tried)
Hold her up to your ear and listen to both sides of her chest to see what her lungs sound like

She may be finding it difficult to eat hard foods
In addition to her regular food, feed her the rat blocks soaked in cool water to make mush, and feed her a shallow dish of organic soy infant formula thickened with baby cereal (if not available in the infant section of your grocery store and pharmacy, then the organic soy infant formula can be ordered online from Walmart) - can also be licked off your finger, and fed by syringe - one tiny drop at a time into the side of her mouth so that it does not go into her lungs

Feed her foods that contain fluid such as rat block mush, and organic soy infant formula - both provide needed nutrition and will help to keep her well hydrated.
You can also give her treats like cooked sweet potato, cooked squash, cooked real oatmeal, cooked quinoa, baby food, and ensure (not very healthy)

She may be dehydrated …. gently pull up the skin on the back of her neck and let go - if it quickly snaps back into place she probably is not dehydrated. Dehydration kills so it is dangerous.
Pedialyte from the pharmacy may help, you can make a hydration formula recipe found below.
A vet can give her sub-Q fluids , teach you how and sell you the supplies needed

Older rats sometimes use the use of their back legs - it happens gradually (if it happened fast it could be an injury), and rats may need a modified environment, help with grooming, may need soft foods that are easier to eat, and need a water dish that can not be upset, in addition to their low hanging water bottle.

But she needs to see a good vet immediately !


(Here is a formula for a rehydration formula
Lilspaz68 wrote in another thread "Homemade rehydrating formula: 10 oz warm water, 1 tsp sugar, 1/3 tsp salt. Mix well, refrigerate extra, warm up to feed. ")

 

[SQ]

How old is she?

Is there andy blood or discharge from her vagina?

Does she have any white markings?

Please put her in a hospital cage or carrier on white paper towels so you can see what her poop and what her pee looks like.

Please post this info asap

 

[lexiluu]

It is not possible for her to be pregnant. She has been separated from my other female rats for about a month now and lived alone for about a month and a half before I got her, so there's no way she could be pregnant. (I hate keeping her alone).

Her teeth are not overgrown, they actually look a little short. I don't know if that is an issue?

She is not wheezing or bobbing her head, but it seems like she is not breathing normal. It's uneven.

She is about a year old. I moved her food down on the lower level because she can't get to the top level anymore and she ate a few pieces of food, but I will definitely try the soft foods.

I will check to see if she is dehydrated as soon as I get out of class today.

I've called the vet and they can see her tomorrow, but I'm scared to take her there because I've read that it can stress them out so much more than they already are. I'm going to get his advice over the phone today first.

There is no blood, but she has pee all over her belly (she's not grooming anymore), so I was planning on giving her a warm bath tonight.

Her pee is dark yellow (not normal) and her poop is had the size it should be and looks really hard and discolored. (I have white fleece so I can see what color her pee is)

Her eyes look weak and they are watery.

I can tell she is not eating enough because I can feel and see her spine and hips, but her belly is huge.

Thank you so much for your help! I want to help her so much, but I don't know how or if she is just at the end of her life. </3

I've been constantly snuggling her and wrapping her up in warm fleece and she seems to really like it.

 

[lexiluu]

Oh, and I'm not sure what you mean by white markings. She has a white belly, but that is just her fur color.

 

[SQ]

any white markings on her head?

Any discharge from her vagina?

 

[lexiluu]

She doesn't have any white markings and no discharge.

 

[SQ]

she is very ill and needs to see a vet asap - like today!

I messaged Lilspaz68 as she is very experienced so she will hopefully respond soon

IMO It may be closed pyometra http://ratguide.com/health/reproductive/pyometra.php
or late onset megacolon http://ratguide.com/health/digestive/megacolon.php
both can be treated, and both will kill if not treated.

 

[lexiluu]

Thank you so much!

 

[SQ]

Lilspaz68 will get back soon so please keep checking back

btw if it is late megacolon, she would need to be treated and also fed Woody's diet http://ratguide.com/health/figures/megacolon_figure_5.php

 

[SQ]

Lilspaz68 does not think it is megacolon.

Lilspaz68 wrote, "I'm seeing tumor or closed pyometra (uterine infection).
Test for pain with metacam or ibuprofen. the breathing is probably pain"

So in my opinion, test with pain meds as lilspaz68 suggested and get her in to a vet asap for diagnosis
and hopefully something can be done

If nothing can be done you will want to consider humane euthanasia to prevent further suffering
Most vets do not know how to do it humanely so you will need to make sure it is done right and be present to comfort her if at all possible. The humane way is for the rat to be given the gas/oxygen mix used for surgery, once deeply unconscious the vet needs to test her reflexes - gently pinching toes and checking for an eye reflex. When unconscious to at least a surgical level, the vet will inject her .... and she will be kept unconscious with the gas/oxygen mix until she is dead - the vet should check at least twice, listening for a heart beat with time in between - most vets do not know how to do it properly - a conscious rat must never be given a needle into their heart - this is so cruel that it is illegal in many places

 

[Luna&Ralph]

I agree, definitely try to get her into the vet today. Make sure to tell them it is an emergency. It also sounds to me like it could be pyometra, which is when the uterus fills with pus. Obviously this won't be the case if she's spayed though. Pyometra would require an immediate spay to treat. One of my rats died of what I suspect was pyometra and she died less than an hour after I noticed it, so it could also be megacolon. My girl who I assume had it also had a very large belly area that was wobbly and you could see her bones. I think it was because all of the extra skin went straight to the belly area and you could see how boney she actually was.

If you have any metacam (meloxicam) on hand, try giving her some of that or some children's Motrin (ibuprofen).
I find that when rats are sick they're a lot more likely to eat soft foods than hard foods simply because eating soft food is easier. Giving her soft food is also an easy way to get her to take in some water to keep her hydrated. You can mix some baby cereal or infant formula with Gatorade, Powerade, or Hydralyte (also Pedialyte) to give her extra hydration.

 

[SQ]

Lilspaz68 suggested: "For now soft watery foods, and pain medication"

 

[lexiluu]

Update: Last night, my vet called me and advised me to take her to the emergency room. There, my mom met me and we found out that she had heart disease and was suffering. She said she only had about 1 to 3 days to live, so after a really long and hard conversation and lots of tears, we decided to put Cady down to rest. When I said goodbye, we cuddled and she fell asleep in my arms and was so peaceful, it was like she knew it was time to go.

 

[Luna&Ralph]

I’m very sorry for your loss. As much as it hurts to lose them, letting them die peacefully and with you is always the most gentle way to do it.

 

[SQ]

I am very sorry for your loss