Lumi

Lumi - October 2011 to February 3, 2014 :'(

Lumi was love at first sight. She was MY perfect rat. She was PEW (or close to), old, neglected, unwell and needing me in her short time left of her life. I gave her comfort, food, clean living space and her daughters/cagemates. She had never known love before and fought to stay and even seemed to be recovering for a few days, but really she was just getting those last happy moments of her life. She left me yesterday after declining over night. I had woken up too late to get her to the vet so I loaded her up with metacam for any discomfort and left her with a heavy heart. She slipped away while I was agonizing over her at work...I was happy and sad she was gone and her ordeal in this lifetime was finally over. She was an amazing girl, an old soul if you like, tough as nails to survive her former life of breeding over and over and having her babies taken away from her everytime, not even getting to raise her little family until weaning time. :( She was starved and kept in filthy surroundings and came to me lice-ridden, starved and completely dehydrated with a tumour in her belly.

I knew our time was going to be short but I tried my hardest to show her what life should be like, and how she was loved. I think I succeeded. I hope that our week together helped wash away some of her past...I know I will never ever forget her.

Poor tired Lumi, when she arrived she just sat there, didn't move, eyes half-closed, hunched body, fur puffed out.





She did get a bit excited when she arrived and toddled around for a minute, but it was exhausting to her. She was pale, her heart beat was slow and her lice infestation was terrible. I am pretty sure she was anemic.

All the younger rats went into an eating and drinking marathon, she joined in but was it enough? They all seemed to be bouncing back quickly except for Lumi...was she too old and compromised?

She seemed brighter but not a lot and I started to worry she might not be able to eat solids anymore, and offered her soft foods, which mostly she turned her nose away at.

I realized that Lumi was not able or not willing to groom herself to get clean and get rid of the those dead lice so I broke my rule and gave her a bath, which she hated but in the end seemed to make her feel a lot better about things. I found a lovely smudge on her face under the grey filth from before :)



The 2nd night I had her I brought her to bed with me...she cuddled on my belly or curled into my neck and bruxxed and boggled for me. She was a very good boggler :D She then became my alternate overnighter, she loooved it. Mostly sleeping near or one me...warm once again, and her heartbeat became normal and rat-fast again :D I even would get kisses...she knew how to make me melt quite quickly.

She brightened and became more active. A wonderful day came where she started taking cheerios from me and running off to eat them...I was THRILLED!





Resting on the modem when her nice warm human wasn't around.



Time for bed yet??



Lovely lovely Lumi...never to be forgotten. She was grace under adversity.