Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / March 2008

Awhile back I posted about my rat, Fin, who started showing signs of
hind leg paralysis. While there was  a lot of concern; he seemed to
have no problem moving around, eating, etc. His quality of life was
still fully intact. There was no reason to put him down when he was,
for the lack of better words, really happy. For awhile he went from
dragging his feet to limping to walking with no impairment. That's
part of the past. Even when he stopped using his hind legs, he still
got up to the cage. He still managed to bother his two brothers. When
I went downstairs, he was still the first one running to the cage.
When I went to give them food, he was the first one at the food bowl.
He will lifted himself up to drink water from the bottle. (We have two
sources of water---a bowl, and a bottle.)

Now? He's slowing down. He stays on one floor. He struggles to eat by
laying down, holding the food in his two front paws/claws. There's red
discharge---Porphyrin. The once overweight rat is thin. He struggles---
he is stubborn, and forces himself to do stuff. I hate it. Every day
there's something new. I guess it's time.

In a way, I'm confused. Is it cruel to put an animal to sleep, even if
the spark of life still remains? But...that spark is fading.

He's over two.

I know that there's a "painful method" and a "painless method" to
putting a rat to sleep. What are they called? Of course, I want the
painless one. (It kills me to see anyone in pain.)