It's hard to believe I've had the girls almost a year. When I got them last August, the people at the Humane Society estimated that they were probably 12 to 18 months old, so I figured I'd have them for about a year. I joked then about being an old rats' home, or a rat hospice, but now that isn't a joke...both Riz and Krycek have been through a tumor removal each, with the attendant stitches and Baytril and, in Rizzy's case, and panicked return to the vet when she pulled all the stitches out and bled all over her cage...
But of course, I am so much more attached to them than I was in August. Instead of shy, Rizzo is playful now, and Krycek went from downright skittish and defensive (she taught me in no uncertain terms that she wasn't comfortable with my reaching down over her head with a few quick bites to my hand) to quite friendly. They both come out to greet me when I get home from work...with big yawns and stretches...and lick my fingers even if I don't have treats. (I'm not unrealistic enough to think that they love me for me as opposed to the treats, of course, but at least they like seeing me coming.)
That's why it really is paining me to become the rat hospice I joked about. Right after Krycek's tumor removal in May (before the stitches were even out) she started developing another lump in her abdomen. I talked to the vet, he warned me that in unspayed females the tumors were likely to keep coming, and I had to admit that I couldn't afford surgery every few weeks. I made the difficult decision to let her go without further treatment, knowing that I may have to put her to sleep if the lump (or lumps, if more show up) start interfering with her "quality of life."
Rizzo has a lump in her stomach now too, and she's on the same medical orders. I have seen pictures of rats with tumors bigger than their original bodies, and I can't imagine how they get around...but so far these girls have been oblivious to their lumps. They aren't jumping from the cage floor to the shelf as much, and when they come out of the cages thay are much less active, but they are also getting older as well as lumpier. They are eating as well as ever, which I take as a good sign, and I just hope we can keep going like this as long as possible.
Here are some recent pictures...you can see their lumps. They look like more rolls of fat...well, they are a little chubby, too. Hey, they've earned the right to eat a few cookies by now, I think. When I'm the equivalant of their age, I better be able to eat whatever I like, too.

Rizzo coming out for some fun. They've slowed down, but they aren't stopped yet.

And once Riz is out, she decides to harass Krycek. What are sisters for?

Krycek's had enough of that...

...so Rizzo goes home. She's getting a bit more tentative with the big jumps, but she can still make this one.

With Rizzo chased off, Krycek can enjoy her dinner in peace...

...then hop back on the shelf for a nap. They take a lot more naps now, but then, so do I.

Rizzo fuels up for her next escapade. As I said, nothing wrong with their appetites.

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