So now I know where the emergency clinic is....

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Tiger Spot - 26 Nov 2003 02:57 GMT

Last night while the rats were out running around, shortly before we
were planning to go to bed, Astraea jumped Maia and bit her quite
badly. So we were at the emergency veterinary clinic from 3:00 to
5:30. Not fun.

Maia's okay (the bite didn't tear the abdominal lining, just the
skin), but she needed stitches. The vet put a collar on her to keep
her from getting at the stitches, and she hates it. Hate, hate, hate.
She also hates the antibiotics.

Part of the reason she hates the collar is because she can't reach her
face with her paws, so she can't hold anything to eat it. So far
today she's had some oats and cereal, which she can eat in one bite,
and some yogurt and orange juice, which she can lick off of a spoon,
and some grapes, which the nice humans held still for her. I think
she can reach the water bottle where we hung it, but we haven't seen
her drink out of it, so we're not quite sure.

So what else can we feed her? I thought of making broccoli smoothies
so she can get some vegetables -- should we blend it with yogurt or
just water? Is there another way we can give her water that might be
easier for her than the water bottle?

--Theresa
http://tiger_spot.mapache.org

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J&S Bouchard - 26 Nov 2003 03:36 GMT

> Last night while the rats were out running around, shortly before we
> were planning to go to bed, Astraea jumped Maia and bit her quite
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
> --Theresa
> http://tiger_spot.mapache.org

Hi Theresa, your poor baby!! At least you have an emergency clinic...
But one thing concerns me, were they rat savvy vets? I have read in several
places that you shouldn't put a vet collar on a rat because this will
prevent the rat from grooming and also make it very hard for the rat to eat,
drink and walk.
I'm surprised the vet stitched her up for a skin bite. Sometimes it's best
left open so it can drain and avoid abscesses. The antibiotics should help
with preventing abscesses, make sure she has her full dose.
You could try removing the collar and see if she goes directly for the
stitches... give her a big of break without the collar, so she can eat and
drink. I'm afraid I'm not much help... I'll send healing vibes!

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Joanne
Mom to 14 rats
http://community.webshots.com/user/joanneb70
j-s.b@nospamsympatico.ca
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Tiger Spot - 26 Nov 2003 04:14 GMT

>> Last night while the rats were out running around, shortly before we
>> were planning to go to bed, Astraea jumped Maia and bit her quite
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>> her from getting at the stitches, and she hates it. Hate, hate, hate.
>> She also hates the antibiotics.

>Hi Theresa, your poor baby!! At least you have an emergency clinic...
>But one thing concerns me, were they rat savvy vets? I have read in several
>places that you shouldn't put a vet collar on a rat because this will
>prevent the rat from grooming and also make it very hard for the rat to eat,
>drink and walk.

She seemed reasonably knowledgeable.

>I'm surprised the vet stitched her up for a skin bite.

It's a pretty nasty bite -- all the layers of skin were torn, so there
were visible intestines-or-something. I'm pretty sure it needed
stiches.

> Sometimes it's best
>left open so it can drain and avoid abscesses. The antibiotics should help
>with preventing abscesses, make sure she has her full dose.
>You could try removing the collar and see if she goes directly for the
>stitches... give her a big of break without the collar, so she can eat and
>drink. I'm afraid I'm not much help... I'll send healing vibes!

I don't think I'd be able to get it back on, and if she does go for
the stitches she could hurt herself *really* badly.

Thanks for the healing vibes!

--Theresa
http://tiger_spot.mapache.org

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J&S Bouchard - 26 Nov 2003 04:23 GMT

> >> Last night while the rats were out running around, shortly before we
> >> were planning to go to bed, Astraea jumped Maia and bit her quite
[quoted text clipped - 34 lines]
> --Theresa
> http://tiger_spot.mapache.org

Oh, I thought it was only a skin cut... if you could see the inside, that's
different.
And don't touch the collar if you can't get it back on. Poor little sweetie.
How long do you have to keep the collar on?

Signature

Joanne
Mom to 14 rats
http://community.webshots.com/user/joanneb70
j-s.b@nospamsympatico.ca
remove "no spam"

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Jade - 26 Nov 2003 05:28 GMT

Good plan - if you can't get it back on, don't try removing it. She's not
the first little ratty to have a collar on and eventually, it will come off
and she will be a happy girl!

Erika
Lord help me to be the person my rats think I am. <:3_)~

> > >> Last night while the rats were out running around, shortly before we
> > >> were planning to go to bed, Astraea jumped Maia and bit her quite
[quoted text clipped - 43 lines]
> And don't touch the collar if you can't get it back on. Poor little sweetie.
> How long do you have to keep the collar on?

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Jade - 26 Nov 2003 05:00 GMT

A friend of mine had a rat with stitches that had to wear an e-collar. It
did just fine with reaching the water bottle because the stem was long
enough for her to reach it. Another thing you can do is keep the water
bottle away from the corners of the cage and any other obstructions so she
has clear access to the bottle. The collar shouldn't exceed past the tip of
her nose. Her food dish should be of size to allow her to eat from it and
filled high enough for her to easily grab food off of the top of the pile
without having to dig through it too much. As far as grooming, if the
collar is easily removed and can be easily put back on (easily done with
paper bandage tape), then you can remove it a couple of times a day so that
she can groom herself. They love it when they can do that and will usually
go straight to it when it is off. Just be sure to do this outside of her
cage and where no other rats will disturb her stitches. Also, and most
importantly, watch her to make sure that she doesn't disturb the stitches
either. She may lick or groom around the stitches, but make sure she
doesn't bite at them or try pulling them. During this time, you can also
trim the collar down if it is too far past her nose. Just be sure to
replace the paper tape (if the vet put any on) along the edges to keep them
smooth.

Erika

Signature

Lord help me to be the person my rats think I am. <:3_)~

> > Last night while the rats were out running around, shortly before we
> > were planning to go to bed, Astraea jumped Maia and bit her quite
[quoted text clipped - 33 lines]
> stitches... give her a big of break without the collar, so she can eat and
> drink. I'm afraid I'm not much help... I'll send healing vibes!

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Tracey - 26 Nov 2003 10:08 GMT

Poor little mite, I do feel sorry for her. I went through the collar-thing
with one of my first rats after he had undergone an op, and he looked so
pitiful. He truely hated the collar and struggled like mad to get it off -
as you say, they can't hold their food in their paws to eat properly and
can't groom, he couldn't even sleep very comfortably. What I did was take
him out of his cage, removed the collar (this one was stuck together with
tape so I knew I could put some fresh tape on to stick it back up) and let
him roam free in a small area whilst I watched him like a hawk and stopped
him whenever he went to bite his stitches. After a good while of
free-roaming he got sleepy and fell asleep snuggled up in my sleeve. This
gave him a good break from the collar. This is how we got through the
collar-phase - by having supervised breaks outside the cage collar-free.

Regards food, what about vegetable soup or baby food. Maybe cook her
favourite veg and give em a quick whizz in the blender to break them up into
bite-size pieces, so if you do peas you would end up with a nice dish of
mushy peas for her! And mashed potatoes and swede are always a hit! I've
found soya yoghurts are a particular favourite of rats that are under the
weather. Of course you could always feed her when she's out of the cage if
you take her out for some collar-free time, then she could use her paws and
eat what she normally eats, but remember to keep an eye on her at all times
to prevent the old stitch-biting.

The last rat I had operated on wasn't given a collar and he never bothered
with his stitches, but I think this is a rarity rather than the norm (not
biting at the stitches, I mean).

Good luck and cuddles to the wee lassie, hope she makes a speedy recovery.

Tracey

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Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / November 2003

So now I know where the emergency clinic is....