What would you do?

[Notyetamummy]

I have two gorgeous female ratties - Pippin & Spot. They are both just over 2 years old.

Last month, my baby Tinkerbell (their older adopted (not from the same litter) sister) died from cancer. We decided not to get Tinkerbell's tumours operated on as she was 3.5years old and we didn't want to put her through surgery when she was old. The vet also said that she'd only have a 50/50 chance of surviving the op. The vet said to keep her at home while she was moving around as normal and not in obvious pain & if she looked to be struggling or in pain we could get her put down.

Last month, she jumped up for cuddles as normal but later in the day DH heard her collapse, we rushed her to the out of hours vets (it was 11pm) but she died on the way . It was awful.

Anyway, now Pip has a tumour on her chest - it is a lymphoma, she has also lost weight. The vet says that he can remove the tumour but that he can't guarantee that it won't come back. If she was older then I would definitely not want to risk surgery, but she is only just two. However, she may live with the tumours for a long time - there's no way of knowing.

I'm not sure what to do?

I wouldnt operate...keep an eye on the tumors?

Thank you katerum it makes me feel slightly less guilty not getting the op done knowing that someone else would do the same thing.

At the moment she is snuggled up in her hammock with her sister. We'll just enjoy what time she has left.

If she has lost weight, that to me is a sign she could be feeling ill. On that basis, I would either operate or have her put to sleep.

Horrible though it is, as pet owners, it is our job to make the difficult decisions our pets cannot for their benefit.

Were the rats from a pet shop? If they were from a breeder I suspect they would like to know what has happened for their records.

Thanks Midori

We got Spot & Pippin from a lady I know who bought two rats from a pet shop, thinking that they were both females only they weren't and she ended up with an unexpected litter.

Tinkerbell and her sister Midget who we had before were from pets at home. Midget died from tumours (we had her put to sleep) when she was 1 year old and so we got Pippin and Spot as company for Tink.

I have taken her to the vets to get checked over and know some things to look out for.
Although she has lost weight she otherwise appears well and as soon as she starts acting unwell I will make the difficult decision.