[Rose]

Hey all.

Well i know a fair amount about rats, but i just would like to know if any of you have some solutions to my question.

My pet rat had a long life but when he died it was so sudden, it wasn't the normal rat deaths were you will prbably find your rat cold in His/Her cage.

I remeber my rat was just lieing on my lap when he suddenly jerked upright, then went all floppy, but slightly still moving, i was stunned and tried to awaken him but he was so still but breathing slower and slower until his heart stopped... it is a horrble memory but i would really like to know what could have casued this sudden death.

Anyone have any idea??

Thanks

Rose x

 

[lilspaz68]

More details needed before we can even guess at a cause.

How old is old? Some people think 18 months is old. LOL
Had he ever been sick before. Any respiratory symptoms, weight loss, scruffy fur, lumps, porphy eyes/nose?

Its possible it was a stroke. Sometimes they can be reversible with steroids but often they take them very quickly. Just a guess from the few details you gave.

 

[twitch]

based on the details you gave and what will normally kill a human suddenly (most if not all of which can be found in other animals) i would guess a stroke, heart attack or an aneruism near the heart, lungs or brain. other possibilities could be a blockage in the wind pipe or blood clot in the brain or heart (which is basically a pre-exploded aneruism). with more details such as the ones that lilspaz asked would give us a better guess to the right cause though.

 

[OnlyOno]

i'd agree with the possibilities so far, and in that case, there was nothing you could have done except be there for him, so at least you were there. might have been hard for you, but it was the last thing ever for him. maybe with some more random details we could know better. poor thing.

 

[Holly]

I agree with the possibilities that have been suggested, based on the info we have.

I know that must have been a really horrible experience for you. The only positive aspect is that he passed on in your arms and lap, and felt safe with your familiar scent and voice. The passing seemed sudden, and his favorite person was with him when it happened.

I hope we can find out more, and help you to understand this better, and I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[Rose]

Hey all thanks for the information.

Sorry about the little details i gave.

Well he did have a lump on his shoulder wich got allot bigger. He got an operation on it but the vet we sent him to obvously wasn't great as when we got him back they didn't put a proper bandage around his stitches so he scrathed them and it got infected.
So we brought him back down and they took him in and redone his stitches... but a few days later he caught this rat disease (forget the name) witch one of his eyes swelled up
Out of anger i looked up informtaion on it, and this usually happens due to uncleansess in vets, especially after operation as he was vunrable. So i rang a differnt vet to the house and he gave me antbiotics and steroids to clear infection up.
He got better very fast, but i notcied another little lump on his side.. i knew this would get bigger, and i could see he was very prone to sists.

Well he was about 2 years old. As far as i know that's pretty long for a rat's life

I was thinking aswell maby another sist was growing near his hearth

Thanks all for your sympathy. If you have anymore information for me i'd be happy to hear

Thanks x

 

[Poppyseed]

I would think if it were caused by any of those, it wouldn't of been as sudden. Joshu had a mass near his heart/chest and it was a slow thing. Just when we discovered what it was though through x-rays a couple of days later right before his appointment for euthanasia, he died D: The death wasn't sudden, but he did the same things your rat did and he also was in my arms. So, I'm not sure, I don't think it would of been sudden like that though if it were a mass near the heart.

I think it was a stroke, infection could cause odd things to happen in the body which could lead to him being more prone, on top of his age. Body infections do bad things to the system D:

 

[JennieLove]

Im sorry about your loss. I was with my boy Beavis when he passed, it really is a horrible memory to have.