The Rainbow Bridge

Harry was euthanized today. I had hoped, when I went into the vets, that maybe his stool was hard because of the decrease in meds and that's why he was having difficulties passing. But the stool was soft. Harry's colon was no longer functioning at all. The vet gave me two options: wait while he continued to bloat, until he stopped eating, then euthanize him, or euthanize him today. While every fibre of my being wanted to keep him with me, I knew it wasn't fair to put him through that.

RIP Harry. I can't believe you're gone.  I love you.

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....  

http://www.goosemoose.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,118/forum,rat/topic,4081241.0 
 Harry's Memorial Post on goosemoose.

Back to the Vet

I noticed Monday night that Harry had stopped having successful bowel movements. I've upped his cisapride to 0.12 and will be leaving in just a couple of minutes for the vets.

I'm not sure if he'll be coming home with me.

I have spent the last hour or so, playing with my boys in the bathroom. He hides it well, but Harry is in pain. I'm just not sure that keeping him alive is in his best interest. Maybe I'm just being selfish. We'll see.

Home at Last :)

Finally, we're home. Brought the boys back on Friday, during the day, and I spent the night in my own bed. I am so happy that Harry gets to be back in his ferret nation :) They were super excited to have all that space again. The weird thing is, while I've been house sitting, Harry has been really good about taking his meds. I mean, he doesn't lick them up like they're candy or anything, but he barely struggled and swallowed his meds pretty quick after I squirted them in. Now, he struggles like mad and holds his meds in his mouth for a minute or two. It's like he thinks he doesn't have to take his medicine now that he's back home.

I have discovered that my boys aren't huge fans of boiled carrots. I need to cook a yam for them tomorrow, they absolutely love yams. They are big fans of turkey and vegetable baby food, not so big on any of the fruit baby foods though, surprisingly.

Today, I had to help Harry poop a little bit. He had a "plug," which is just what I call it and think of it as. It was a rather short but thick piece of poop. I'm pretty sure he could pass it if he wanted to, but it hurts. I have some infants tylenol for that ouchie though, luckily. And he doesn't need it often, which is good, because tylenol isn't good for him "long term." I'm not sure how long a long time is, exactly.

Shingo now has pretty severe HED. He gets around alright, but I have to clip his back nails and I check his penis daily (I'm not really sure how, but he seems to be cleaning it... I also don't know how he's getting from level to level, but he seems to be doing alright). I want to try putting vet wrap around his one ladder (he manages to get to this third level, even though there's no ramp!) and I want to find a water bottle with a longer spout, so he doesn't have to reach up so high. Or maybe build/buy a ramp for under the water bottle? I have an extra one, because I took it out of Harry and James' half of the FN. I admit, my cage has gotten pretty high maintenance on me. Did I mention that Shingo HATES being held?

First week is over

First week is over and today I decreased the dosage of Harry's meds. He was on 0.1ml of lactulose syrup twice a day, and that's now down to 0.1 ml once a day. He's also on cisapride, 0.12ml twice a day, now down to 0.08 once a day. From what I've read, this is really the best medication for him. I know in Woody's diet, it mentions mineral oil twice a week, but mineral oil will actually prevent the absorption of some nutrients when it's used long term (orally). Considering how hard it is for MC rats to get nutrients in the first place, I think it would be a bad idea for me to just guesstimate how much to give him. I am thinking of adding olive oil to his diet, but I'm not sure he really needs it. He's still pooping on his own, though they are larger than normal.

I have to admit, I'm super nervous about decreasing his meds. I was terrified when he was really constipated and his stool was dry and hard. It was so difficult for him to pass it and painful. I thought about euthanizing him EVERY day, especially at night. Now everything is going good and I'm scared to mess with it.

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Added a couple of days later (I forgot to hit publish post when I finished above. So, two posts, combined. Wonderful):

So, Harry seems to be doing fine on the decreased meds. phew! I gave him some parsley today. He LOVED it. He didn't get very much, but I think I'll let him have it as a treat every now and then. Unless he wakes up tomorrow TOTALLY constipated. Then I'll be blaming the parlsey.

I have discovered that my rats don't know what to do with canned pumpkin, haha. With baby food, they lick it up, but they get confused with pumpkin and try to pick it up with their paws. I always see these little paw prints in their pumpkin, where they've swiped up a tiny little bit. Super cute.

Woody

I feel like I should put in a note about Woody, since he and his owner have helped me so much by sharing their story. Woody's story is strictly scientific, so to say. They didn't add any notes  about his funny quirks or anything, it's just simply saying what they did in regards to his megacolon. It has been extremely helpful. Through trial and error, they discovered the best diet for him and for megacolon. At the time of Woody's diagnosis, it seems that a high fibre diet was thought to be best for megacolon rats. Through their perseverance, they discovered that this is not so and developed and shared a new, better diet for megacolon rats. I am so grateful to them, as this diet has really improved Harry's quality of life. Follow the link above to find Woody's Megacolon Diet.

One thing I wonder about that diet is the lettuce. I have always had rabbits in my home. Our first one died tragically after ingesting chicken wire, the second one was given to my mom for her birthday but I took care of her (I think we gave Barbie to my mom too soon after Puddles' death. I don't think mom was ready for another rabbit. Anywho.) and lived to be around 13 years old despite my poor care. Our third rabbit is when my mom became interested in rabbits again. She was the cutest little thing, a harlequin holland lop. We got her from a breeder, because we didn't want to support a mill or BYB that supplies pet stores. My mom read everything about rabbits and she's become quite the expert on diet. You can point out any vegetable in a store and my mom can tell you if the rabbit can have it or not and, if not, why it's bad for them. One thing rabbits can't have is gassy vegetables. Now, our current bunny, a white and orange holland lop, is not allowed to have lettuce, because it's gassy. The way I understand it is you want to avoid gassy vegetables for megacolon rats too. Suki, our rabbit, gets parsley almost every night (sometimes substituted for other, rabbit friendly vegetables) and I'm wondering if that would be alright for the rats. I know they like it, as I used to give it to them quite a bit. I don't think I have any readers yet, but if you are reading this, any ideas? I'm thinking of calling my vet, but when she told me to switch his diet, she said she would need a couple of days to research what would be good for them. Which is fair enough, megacolon rats aren't exactly common. So I have a feeling that if I call out of the blue, she won't be able to give me an answer.

I'll just add a little update on Harry here, rather than writing a whole new blog post. Harry's poops have softened up and he is pooping 100% on his own right now :) This makes me feel really happy and hopeful, even though I know that megacolon rats will go back and forth between being constipated from having hard, dry poops and having diarrhea. Although, though his stool (do you like my new word? So much more dignified than poop) is softer than normal, I don't know if I would call it diarrhea yet. Or maybe I'm just being hopeful. I can't stop myself from thinking that this past week was just one bad bout of constipation. I know it's not. But I'm an optimist.

The first week

Megacolon is a whirlwind. One day, you have a perfectly healthy rat. Then some minor complications and the next thing you know, you're at the vet dishing out $200 and buying baby food and yams and other easily digestible food.

For me, it started on a Saturday. I took the boys out and noticed that Harry seemed a little constipated. I made a mental note to keep an eye on him, but when I did a last goodnight cuddle, I saw a couple of big, fat poops in his cage. I thought that was the end of it. But the next night, it was obvious he hadn't gone since and I was starting to get concerned. I went to bed with plans to call the vet the next day. When I woke up, Harry's colon was large and curving out of it's natural path so I could feel and see it sticking out his side. I phoned the vet and took the first available appointment at 3:40pm. I spent the next hour or so reading through different articles, finding out all I could about late onset megacolon (just in case) and what things I could do to help him while I waited for the vet. I also went to goosemoose.com. My regular vet left the practice recently, so I didn't know the vet I was going to be seeing or how much experience he or she had with rats. When this happens, I like to go to goosemoose first and get an idea of what I should expect. That way, if I go in and my vet gives me wrong information, I know then and don't have to make a new appointment or whatever. It's just better to know beforehand. They confirmed my worst suspicion: Harry had late onset megacolon.

We headed off to the vet, and I was expecting to euthanize my dear boy. But I got there and the vet didn't even bring up euthanasia. She gave him two enemas (and let him run around the examination room in between), prescribed us some medicine and advised me to switch his diet. The plan is to see how he does on that, and go from there. Harry felt absolutely awful after he got the enemas. She did warn me he would feel cruddy, but I didn't realize how badly he would feel. I went to bed that night with low thoughts. I'm pretty sure I cried myself to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up and went to see my poor boy. And he popcorned out of his little sleeping bin and was as bright eyed and happy as ever. In his cage was a nice big poop :) I was overjoyed. The night before I had called in sick to work (though, to be honest, I didn't think I was going to get back in time for work. I was in the vet office for over an hour!), and cooked up a nice yam for Harry's dinner. Tuesday, I went to school, and cooked him some carrots when I got home. Microwaved some frozen peas, and voila! A wonderful, megacolon friendly meal. School was cancelled the next day for snow, so I dragged my mom out to do some grocery shopping. I purchased five jars of baby food (a couple of meals and some fruit ones. It was hard getting meals, because I didn't want to buy 2 of one flavour, in case they didn't like it, and so many of them had onion powder! I know rats can't have onions, so I assume that carries over to onion powder too. I bought some more carrots and yams, as well. I have read that soy milk and soy baby formula are good for making things like mashed potatoes (which should be very soft and buttery (margariney), so it's easily digestible) or powdered baby food. However, I didn't by any, as the store I was at only sold large containers of it and I hated the idea of buying it and my boys hating it. Everything is soy because dairy is harder to digest and everything needs to be nice and easy. I'm following Woody's megacolon diet, for those who are wondering. My dad also bought me a can of pumpkin and I just added that in today (Friday). They like it and it's supposed to help with the digestion.

For a few days, this diet and the meds didn't seem to be helping much. Twice a day, I would have to help Harry poop. He is able to get everything down to his anus, but then it's too big for him to do it on his own. It's also really dry and hard, which is painful for him to pass. I have infants Tylenol, but that's not good for him for long time use. I was going to call the vet today and ask for something else, but his poop was really soft and I was able to massage it out of him really easily! I'm so happy, I can't even describe it. It's still really big, but the fact that it's so soft and moist (like, more so then a normal rats poop) makes me really happy. I cried myself to sleep again last night, because I thought I was going to have to take him in again. But now I'm really filled with hope. I know he won't ever have a normal life and I know his life won't be long. But at least he's alive today, right?

Introduction

Hello, my name is Caitlyn and I'm not very inventive with names and titles. I own 3 rats, Harry, James and Shingo, as well as a rabbit, Suki, and a cat, Dawn aka Kitty. The rabbit and cat are family pets, but the three rats are all mine and I am responsible for them.

I decided to start this blog because my boy, Harry, recently presented with symptoms of late onset megacolon. I have searched all over the Internet, gone through countless forums and read everything I could. And yet, despite everything I read, I still felt so alone. Like no one else was out there dealing with this condition. Not just the bother of giving meds and going to the vet and a special diet. But the heart break. Knowing that, no matter what you do, how much money you spend, how many hours you spend cooking the healthy dinner for them (while you eat canned soup or some other quick meal), how much love you give them, it won't make a difference. Knowing that someday soon, you're going to have to say goodbye. Knowing that this beautiful little boy or girl will never have the chance to grow old with their cagemates.

Reading people's questions or reading about the special diets that people put their sick ratties on tells me that I am not alone. But I still feel alone. Because no one really shares the whole story with the world. When they have a question, they ask it, but give nothing more. So, I am writing here so that I have an account of what I go through, but also so that the next person who googles "megacolon" will, hopefully, feel a little less alone. I'm hoping that people will feel free to ask questions on here or to give me advice, if you've ever gone through the same thing. I want this blog to become a kind of community for those who have seen megacolon first hand. I just figured a forum was a little to big for such a rare problem.

Now, let me give you a thorough introduction to my boys. James and Harry were born to EVR Amelia, sired by JM Pippin. Amelia did not have an easy time birthing. Some of her babies ended up scattered, some even ending up outside the cage. One baby lost his leg and half his tail when Amelia tried to pull him back inside. Harry lost a toe and the very tip of his tail. It seems kind of unfair that his life, which started with pain, will end with it as well. I was looking for a pair of youngsters because I had two old man rats, both over 2 years. One was doing quite well, but the other, my heart rat Jinto, had chronic respiratory problems and had recently begun growing a tumour on his neck. Knowing that, with surgery not being an option, he would not be with me much longer, I decided to find a couple of young companions for Shingo. I first checked rescues, but didn't find quite what I was looking for. When I found this litter listed on Evergreen Rattery's website, I immediately put myself on the waiting list. James is a Russian Silver, while Harry is a Russian Blue with a lightning blaze. Originally, I was going to receive two Russian Silvers, because someone higher on the waiting list had already claimed Harry. When I went to visit them, just a few days after their eyes opened, their breeder informed me that the person who had reserved Harry was interested in one of the silvers and would trade me if I was open to it. I was thrilled. I've always had a thing for unique head markings, which is probably why I've had 2 rats with megacolon. I readily accepted and began brain storming names. Originally, I was planning on Russian names. I was going to name James, Yuri and Harry, Ilya. Those names came from two of my favourite characters in one of my favourite books and actually would have fit my rats quite nicely. I still hadn't decided on those names, simply because of their difficult pronunciation, when I brought them home. It wasn't until I wrote a topic on goosemoose.com to introduce my boys that I noticed their birthday. July 31st. Harry Potter's birthday. AND Harry had a lightning blaze on his face. It was fate, pure fate. It was a little weird at first, because my father's name is James, but it was too perfect to pass up. Now, without further ado, I will introduce you to Harry and James.

Harry, checking out Shingo's half of the cage.

James, too busy eating to pose.

Oh, hi! Aren't we cute?