Two months after the last update...I'm glad to say that Rizzo and Krycek are both still with me, but I'm distressed to see how their tumors are growing before my eyes. In Rizzo's case, it is still just one really big tumor that doesn't seem to bother her that much, except for her reluctance to jump. Krycek, though, has several...four in the abdomen and one in the center of her chest. The abdominal ones are really affecting her movement...when she walks, she kind of waddles, and sometimes she just pulls herself along by the front legs instead of using the back ones at all. I was afraid her hind legs were actually paralyzed, but she is still using them to push against me when I hold her. For awhile she had a ladder in her cage so she could still use the balcony, but I've had to take that off because she still managed to fall. Now she's a single-story rat.

Krycek's tumors aren't as dramatic-looking as Rizzo's, but you can kind of see a lump here. You can also see that she's still fastidiously grooming, which I think is a good "quality of life" sign.

With this very undignified pose, I was trying to document all the various tumors, but they don't show up very well. Mostly she just looks fat (which I can't deny she is), but under the skin you can feel the distinct lumps.

She was not too happy about this photo shoot, either. You can see the lump over her left hind leg, which is the one that seems to bother her mobility the most.

This is what I mean by daily growth...this picture was the day after the one above, and the same lump is more obvious.

This is Classic Krycek. Tumors or no...I open the cage door, she unburies herself from the newspaper nest and sticks her head out (with her paw resting casually on the cage) to see if I have food or if I'm just there to annoy her with the camera.

Rizzo is definitely more active that Krycek at this point. Here she's tp'ing her own house. If she could have jumped to Krycek's cage, I'm sure she would have done hers instead.

Rizzo in her freshly-cleaned house. It didn't look like that long. She's also pretty portly, as well as hauling around that one big tumor.

A few days later and that lump is bigger. All she cares about is whether she can eat my shoe.

Okay, this might make you wonder about the supposed intelligence of rats.

Another couple of days and the lump keeps growing. At least they don't seem to be in pain, and both are eating well. I am not looking forward to the end, but I have enjoyed their company longer than I expected...when the tumors grew again right after the April/May surgeries I expected just a few weeks. And the circle of rat life in my life will continue: I've met a woman not too far from me who has some babies that will be weaned next month...I have already got some deluxe cages and have started thinking of names...

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