Kelly
by Kelly
(UK)
I got a baby black rat I called Corky just over 2 years ago, he was a bit lonely so I went on the lookout for a friend for him. I found Clay. A Russian blue dumbo who turned out to be the best little friend to me I could ever have wished for. From day one he was a little pig, all he had to do was to hear a rustle, cutlery, or a crunch and he would be racing across the living room ready to start a full blown attack to steal something. He had the best character, would get excited when I come home, I let them run free when I was there and he would never leave me for long. He would go off and explore but always be climbing back on to the sofa to sit on my knee and have a scratch. He loved Corky too, they would always be grooming each other and sleeping together. Clay came to his name, would play fight with me, groom me. I was always excited to go home after work knowing his little face would be there. He smelt like plasticine and chicken crisps. Had fuzzy fur as he was part Rex. And had the beadidest little eyes. He has suffered from bladder problems for a while, had crystals in his wee, but he had been on antibiotics and anti inflammatories for this. His last urine sample had been all clear. One night he was extra cuddly with me, sitting on my chest and demanding a stroke, if i stopped he would push my hand for more. The next morning he was fine, had his morning treat. I got home from work and he was sat squeaking in pain, couldn’t settle. I got him out and cuddled him and it was later I realised he hadn’t had a wee for the entire night. Not like him, mr pee pants. So next morning I took him to the vets and he had an ultrasound which showed his bladder to be extremely full. They tried to catheterise him to empty it but could not, so he had a little anaesthetic has and it was drained via a needle. We went home after he’d had a muscle relaxant to see if he could go, but he didn’t. The next day, his bladder was full again. The vet decided to open him up to remove the suspected blockage. No blockage was found, but still, the catheter couldn’t pass his urethra. He woke up from the operation and typical clay, ate some chocolate. I took him to bed with me that night in his blanket to nurse him. Waking up every hour to drip him some water and offer him some baby food. He seemed quite perky, snuggled up to me and was eating. But still. No wee. The next day i noticed his back legs weren’t working, he wasn’t eating. But he didn’t appear to be hurting, just very sleepy. We spend that evening together, I put him in his bed with Corky after I gave him a kiss and told him how much I loved him. He passed last night. I am beside myself with loss, i miss him so much. The place feels empty without his happy little face. I feel guilty that I put him through an operation, and, letting him wake up from it. but it was the only option second to euthanasia, as he would have gone into renal failure if he couldn’t wee and still i had hope he would recover. I have buried him in my parents garden with some treats and a note i wrote to him. He has a little stone which I am going to etch his name on. He was and always will be my baby. Sleep tight pudding xx