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Our oldest boy Loki passed away at home with us last week. Old age had hit him quite hard; he'd had limited use of his back legs for months but up until very recently he still had lots of life in him, moving around was somewhat difficult but he soldiered on, still doing his usual routine in the cage we altered for him to make getting around easier, still eating anything he could get his paws on, and he grew to love sitting with us for cuddles more than he ever had before. Last week and the week before he seemed a bit more subdued, more tired than ever, and we figured his time was coming. He'd battled with chronic respiritory problems all his life, but he was sounding worse than usual and his eyes were becoming very wet with porphyrin which had never happened before, and his nose became wet with mucus. The fight seemed to have gone out of him and it felt like he'd lost weight super fast, so we made the final appointment which was going to be 2 days after we called, but Loki took a rapid downturn in those 2 days and became listless and weak and wouldn't eat. We comforted him best we could, cleaned his face for him, stroked him and told him he was awesome. He had a very small seizure-type thing at one point from lack of air which was really hard to see, and I told him he could let go if he wanted to, and that being here with us was better than going out in the cold to the vet. Moments later, he couldn't breathe at all, and it was heartbreaking to see his eyes glaze over and his body curl up as he lost his grip on life; he became very pale very quickly, and even his pink eyes seemed to have gone pale. Watching him die was horrible, but he was no longer happy, no longer comfortable, and to be honest, I'm quite glad he went at home rather than at the vet office, because his appointment was still 10 hours away and that's a long time to wait when you're in pain and struggling to breathe.
Loki was a great character from the get-go, a rescue rat who had been bought and returned unwanted shortly after to Pets At Home, where he was sitting alone and frightened-looking in the adoption centre. We handled him for a moment and he immediately seemed more relaxed, no snapping or anything which I'd half expected since he had been given back, and his little face said that he trusted us right away. He picked us really. He became immediate friends with our laid-back old boys Kain and Raziel, and the difference in him going into a spacious cage with friends to wrestle with was amazing, he became a confident, bright rat who loved to play. He outlived Kain and Raziel and sadly never accepted any other rats since then, so he's been a lone rat for quite a long time, but he was happy and enjoyed our company. He loved pasta, having his cheeks rubbed, and his poop stunk but he did so love to gift your lap with a few of them sometimes, and he shed hair like a snowstorm so I keep seeing stray hairs on our clothes, which makes me sad. We miss him loads, he was my fiancé's heart rat, and the house isn't quite the same without him. Here are some of my favourite pics of him, including one of him where he liked to be best, snuggled beside his daddy.
![Rat Gerbil Black Muridae Mouse]()
![Rat Mammal Mouse Muridae Whiskers]()
![Arm Mouth Muscle Neck Cool]()
![Rat Mammal Muridae Mouse Whiskers]()
![Rat Vertebrate Mammal Mouse Muridae]()
Loki was a great character from the get-go, a rescue rat who had been bought and returned unwanted shortly after to Pets At Home, where he was sitting alone and frightened-looking in the adoption centre. We handled him for a moment and he immediately seemed more relaxed, no snapping or anything which I'd half expected since he had been given back, and his little face said that he trusted us right away. He picked us really. He became immediate friends with our laid-back old boys Kain and Raziel, and the difference in him going into a spacious cage with friends to wrestle with was amazing, he became a confident, bright rat who loved to play. He outlived Kain and Raziel and sadly never accepted any other rats since then, so he's been a lone rat for quite a long time, but he was happy and enjoyed our company. He loved pasta, having his cheeks rubbed, and his poop stunk but he did so love to gift your lap with a few of them sometimes, and he shed hair like a snowstorm so I keep seeing stray hairs on our clothes, which makes me sad. We miss him loads, he was my fiancé's heart rat, and the house isn't quite the same without him. Here are some of my favourite pics of him, including one of him where he liked to be best, snuggled beside his daddy.
I'll shut up
