Sunday, February 5, 2012

Rosie drinks in bed, recovering from surgery

Rosie had a mammary tumor in December, so she had the tumor removed and got spayed. (Spaying reduces the incidence of mammary tumors from 40-70% to 4% according to my/our research.) She had to tough it out without painkillers after surgery (our vet thinks painkillers can do more harm than good in such small animals), so she was really out of it for a few days.

I moved Rosie to a smaller, single-level cage while she was recovering so she wouldn't tear out her stitches by jumping and climbing. She quickly discovered that her water bottle was within reach of her sleeping pouch, so she would stick her head out to get a drink without getting out of her warm bed.


And in regards to spending money for surgery on a rat (I get teased about it a lot): I made a commitment to take care of her when I bought her, and she depends on me (and me alone) to care for her.

If she's hungry, I'm the only one who is responsible for feeding her. If she's sick, I'm the only one responsible for making her well. It's not humane to let her suffer and stay sick, and she's been happy and healthy since her surgery. If I had to do it over again, I would.