On a Totally Different Note...

Pausing on the usual rat posts for a moment because we have a new horse and his cuteness must be recognized.

That said, presenting Rockport Missile (aka Rocky), a 2008 16.2 hand thoroughbred gelding. Rocky raced 6 times and then ended up with CANTER. He had surgery to remove a bone chip from his right knee in October and is believed sound for everything except jumping. He and I are embarking on a new dressage adventure, and I can't wait to start him under saddle.

Rocky today

Rocky in 2009 as a yearling

Awwww.

Together Again

Sleeping and sleepy.

Sushi was strong enough to rejoin her sister this weekend, after 6 days apart. They quickly nestled together and took a nap.

Sushi is much better in terms of appetite and activity. Her breathing is still rough and we'll call the vet today to see if there is something else we should be doing. She sounds pretty good most of the time, but whenever she is excited, or when she is eating, she sounds pretty terrible. Our guess is that most of the time she is breathing through her mouth, hence she might sound better, but that when she is forced to breathe through her nose she starts to have problems. I'm also not sure of the long term effects of her being on the antibiotic and prednisone, so we'll see that the doctor has to say.

Content.

Still Improving

Sushi surprised us by climbing into the pipe suspended from the ceiling of the cage yesterday. Several separate times I saw her up there, which is a good sign. Her strength is obviously coming back. She's eating pretty good, although her skin is still pale. This makes me a bit nervous and we're still watching her very closely. Her breathing also sounds a bit rougher, but this might be because of her increased activity level; all of that mucus might just be finally loosening up.

We're going to keep her separated from Saké for another day, as much as I (and they) hate it. We just need to make sure that Sushi is eating and drinking regularly before they are back together.

In lieu of new Sushi picture, here's an adorable Friday picture of Saké:

Saké

Turning the Corner

Sushi

Sushi really is a strong little rat. Today she is walking better - still dragging her stomach a little but her speed is back and she is far steadier than a day ago. She is eating her liquid food like a champ, as well as starting to eat more of her regular food. We are still injecting fluids twice a day, but I hope we can stop that today or tomorrow morning.

Eating her liquid food

I'm also hopeful that in a day or so she will be strong enough to rejoin her sister. 

Saké

Update

Sushi demonstrates how one uses a towel to keep a rat upright.

Sushi is slowly bouncing back, although very slowly. Being sick for so long is obviously taking its toll, yet the little girl is a trooper. She's taking her medicine without a struggle, tolerating the horrible fluid injections with hardly a fight, and still manages to look happy to see us. She is eating her regular food now (in addition to liquid food we hand feed three times a day) and is walking around more, although she's definitely not as light on her feet as is normal. She is still a bit unstable when cleaning herself, but at  least she is feeling well enough to groom. She isn't out of the woods but she is doing well enough that I'm not terrified I'll find her dead every time I look in the cage.

The girls are separated again, because Sushi is too weak to navigate the ramp or stop her sister from pushing her around. Saké isn't pleased with the state of things.

Saké nests in the litter tray.

Hopefully Sushi continues to improve and they can be back together soon.

Sushi

Sushi hangs out in my lap while I work.

I worked from home this afternoon because our tiniest rat is really sick. Sushi took another downturn yesterday and returned to the vet first thing this morning.

She seemed almost back to normal after last week's scare, but on Sunday morning we noticed she seemed lethargic. We kept an eye on her and realized that she was not eating or drinking at all. By early evening her breathing had worsened and it was clear that her upper respiratory issues were back in full.

The news from the vet wasn't great this morning. Sushi's prognosis isn't good but she is a trooper and we're going to give her every chance. She is back on fluids twice a day, along with the antibiotic and anti-inflammatory. The vet gave her an injection of cortisone this morning to help with the inflammation, and her breathing has significantly improved since then. 

We can't do a lot to help her besides the meds and fluids, but she does seem to breathe better when she's laying more up right. She doesn't have the strength to hold herself up, so we are doing a lot of holding her in this position while she sleeps. I stayed home this afternoon and have been holding her for several hours. She is wrapped up in a towel and that, combined with the heat of my body, seems to be keeping her warm. She hasn't had any interest in food yet, but I'm hopeful she will eat some liquid food later today still.

This poor girl really has had too tough of a life. She's far too young for this.

A Change of Pace

Saké has really taken a backseat the last couple of weeks to updates about Sushi. I guess that is what she gets for being such a robust and healthy fat rat.

She's a good way to start off the week though, so here she is: