Argh

[greenstorm]

Not doing well. Very stressed.

Sweetie is doing well, but she has an incision that's like, an inch and a half long. She's about four inches long. Argh. Argh. It's glued up rather than stitched, because rats chew their stitches out in a second. They chew glue wounds too, which is what I'm worried about. She could popentially open up basically her entire side if she overgrooms. And she's doing so well right now. Argh. It looks terrible.

So it's officially breast cancer, luckily chemotherapy is cheap for rats. I love my baby girl.

Argh. Hair standing on end. It'll be a relief that tomorrow is so busy.

Comments

[medousa.livejournal.com]

Glad she seems to be doing okay. Don't let the size of the incision spook you. They heal up fairly quickly; just look ugly for a bit. And when the fur is growing back, those are the softest bellies to kiss.

Did you choose to go with the spay as well? I've never looked into chemo...

[medousa.livejournal.com]

Also, with 3 neuters and 2 spays in my experience, I've had no problems with overgrooming. So long as she isn't a self-barberer (like one girl of mine was) she should be fine.

[greenstorm.livejournal.com]

Thank gods.

[greenstorm.livejournal.com]

Chemo's in the rat health guide!

I chose to, but the doctor said the tumour operation was going long, so he ended up deciding not to risk it at the same time.

The scar goes right up behind her leg almost to her shoulder!

[medousa.livejournal.com]

Oh, do you mean Tamoxifen? I was considering that for Metis when she had mammary tumours... just for some reason I didn't relate that with chemo. I can't remember why we didn't but it probably had something to do with her respiratory issues & inability to operate on her. That was about a year and a half ago.

I hope your lady's okay soon. It's rough on an old body. You may actually want to be aware of how she seems psychologically before introducing her to the infants. Sometimes their energy can be stressful, depending on the rat's personality. My Polina... I mentioned yesterday... she seemed okay when we did the lump removal & spay but Metis had died just a little while before and she seemed to get depressed and the respiratory issues hit. We got Wombat when Polina still seemed fine. Maybe it didn't make any difference, but Polina is the one rat I wish I'd been more cautious with. We all thought the tough little punk would live forever. I'm sure it's different with every rat. Polina could be a bit of a grump. But I wouldn't want to not mention, and then with I had...

[greenstorm.livejournal.com]

For various reasons (bar-spacing, roommate allergies), the babies will be living in a different cage for a bit anyhow.

[khamura.livejournal.com]

Yeah, rats are not the best pets to grow attached to. :( I remember the whole ordeal that my brother's rat, Whiskey, went through, even though I wasn't around for her final months.

[greenstorm.livejournal.com]

*total defensive response*

Sweetie is the best pet to grow attached to! ;)

[medousa.livejournal.com]

Susan refers to rats as "the heartbreak pet"
But after 20 years...she's certainly not giving them up anytime soon.