When I had my four boys, when Rocky died, the other ones wondered around the cage for weeks I left them alone for a couple days and played soft classical music for them. I fed them and watered them of course.

I’ve accepted eric’s death though it was the worse grief I’ve been through for any of my pets. hector has also accepted his brothers death, for a while he was really depressed; I played with him and stay with him for most of the day but I am not a rat and cannot be with him 24/7.

Which leads to another problem, a new rat. I don’t mind having another one but my dad isn’t so keen. Truthly I never told my dad about the rats. I went to get a hamster and came back with a half chewed box with two long black faces poking out.
My dad doesn’t want one, and thus is trying to make excuses, like telling me see how Hector goes and I should just play with him more.

I’ve done this for five days and despite Hector seeming perkier soon as he goes back in his cage he lies on top of his bed staring at the wall. I’ve been mature about this and told my Dad that if Hector’s still like this on thusday then I’m calling it and getting another one. Hector’s only a year old, I’m not having him live in misery for the rest of his life; which in this state would be horribly short.

To those of you out there going through the bereavement and grieving process after losing one of your rats: losing a beloved pet can definitely be one of the hardest things in life to deal with.

One of my rats (Momo) passed away two days ago during surgery to remove an infected uterus. In the past I have always been with my rats when they passed, letting them lie in a towel in my hands and trying to comfort them until they went. (Obviously if your rat is very ill and suffering, it is a good idea to either have her euthenised or use some other vet-recommended means to make her as comfortable as possible until she passes - e.g. analgesics, a mildly warm hot water bottle). It is sad to see them go, but to know that you were there for them until the end is very comforting. It is important to keep in mind that there may be some distressing behaviour right near the end (gasping, contortion, defecation), although I have never experienced any of these with my rats, who have just quietly stopped breathing while I was stroking them. Compared to having Momo die in surgery (even though it was the only way to try and save her), the other deaths were much easier to process. I feel guilty now for not being there for Momo during the surgery, to calm her during anaesthetisation, and possibly to have made a difference to the outcome.

I would recommend that you try to spend as much time with them as possible towards the end, and make them as comfortable as possible (or consider euthenasia if this is no longer possible).

Also, a gentle reminder that not everyone has the same views on topics like euthenasia, and not everyone is optimally prepared for rat ownership. Loving your rats is one of the major requirements, but I would strongly recommend also doing some research on how best to keep and care for pet rats so that they can have the best lives possible and are not deprived of anything they need.

Whenever we lose someone we love, there will be a bereavement and grieving process. You may feel listless, unmotivated, angry, questioning, sad, depressed, have no appetite, etc. It is also common for the sadness to come in waves, with bouts of crying, usually triggered by a thought about or reminder of the lost pet. Take comfort in the fact that you gave your rat the best life possible, that you had so much fun together, and that rat life spans really are only 2-3 years. It may take a couple of days, but the pain recedes, and you are left with only happy memories.

I find that the ritual of a little ratty funeral and burial helps, where you can properly tell your pet everything you want to say and also say goodbye. Where you can commit them to your memory as you commit them to the earth to complete the inevitable cycle of life. Don’t forget to give the remaining cage-mates lots of love and attention (especially the ones that seem unusually quiet and repressed after the death).

It gets easier, I promise. Once you have come to terms with exactly what happened, try not to blame yourself or feel to guilty (so easy to do when we think about how dependent on and trusting of us our little rats are), and try to learn from the experience anything there is to learn so that the next pet will have an even better passing, and the experience will also be easier on you.

I hope this helps those of you in pain, and that you have many more years of ratty fun with remaining and new pet rats