Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / October 2003

I used to breed white rats for roughly 6 'generations'. I used to give
them baths every now and then and once they got over the initial shock
of suddenly being in water, they quite enjoyed themselves.  All except
one.  One of my rats, Stashy, absolutely hated baths.  She was so
terrified she shook for hours after we gave her one.  I never gave her
another one after that.  My mum and dad were always very keen on my
rats and it was my dad who actually trained them to be very loving
pets.  When I was out one day, I phoned my mum to come and pick me up.
When we pulled into the street she stopped me half way up the path
and told me she had some bad news.  Stashy was very old and weak and
was clearly nearing the end of her lifespan but was still energetic
and loving and a brilliant pet.  My mum decided to give her a bath
while I was out.  She was so frightened that she had a heart attack
and died.  I couldn't speak to my mum for a week after that.  She had
killed my favourite rat and best friend at the time.  I was
devastated.  All my other females noticed that Stashy was gone and
that there was something wrong with me.  They spent the next week by
my side all the time I was in the house and cheered me up.  I've never
forgiven my mum for killing Stashy, but there's isn't much I can do
about it now.