Maggie's Unhappy Surprise.

About 2 months ago I discovered a small lump on maggie's belly/groin area. I was not sure if it was an abcess or tumor and because it was so small I left it be. I am now positive it is a tumor and thankfully has been growing very slowly. It is now the size roughly of a toonie but sits inside her so you have to pull it out to actually see its there. Thankfully I can wrap my fingers completely around it so I believe it is only attached to the fatty tissue. This one I don't believe is bothering her much if at all. Now to another surprise about 4 days ago I found another tumor on her left arm/shoulder about the size of a very large fat almond. Ugh, great. This one now I think may be bothering her, as I know she knows its there. This one I cannot wrap my fingers around, it feels attached. I assume its attached to her muscle or tangled around the bone. From what I have asked and read, these seem to be average benign mammary tumors which is as good news as you're gonna get with tumors. So now my next step is having them removed and possibly having Maggie spayed now that I know she's starting to get them. This is a scary situation for me as I have never had a rat go through surgery. I'm planning on taking her to Ottawa sometime next month and am still researching animal Hospitals that do tumor removals and spays.

April 4th - World Rat Day

As many of you rat lovers probably already new, this past April 4th was World Rat Day. The nineth annual, international rat holiday. It was a day created to celebrate the world of fancy rats and to recognize how wonderful of a pet and companion the rat really is. This day has also been used to spread awareness and information of rats to people that may not "understand them." "Sometime in 2002 on the ratlist, the longest standing mailing list on the internet dedicated to the topic of the pet rat, a discussion was sparked about the possibility of initiating a holiday to honor and promote pet rats as the wonderful companion animals they are. The date of April 4th was selected to be World Rat Day because this is the only certain date associated with the beginning of the ratlist (under the current ownership of James Kittock and Robyn Arthur). Any day of the year could have been selected but April 4th was settled on as a small tribute to the ratlist, a list that has truly been a great boon to all pet rats everywhere." All rat lovers know how amazing and intelligent these little creatures are but we also suffer from a lot of critisism and ignorence, something we are still battling against with World Rat Day and many other small groups promoting rats. Many people go all out for world rat day, setting up small parties and inviting other rat owners sometimes bringing gifts and treats for unsuspecting ratties who attend. World Rat Day sets off organizing large-scale ratfests, contacting various medias for coverage, and even television programs. Whether we celebrate World Rat Day with private parties or public outreach, World Rat Day is a day to fully go into detail if anyone asks, explain to anyone that the pet rat is a wonderful pet with all the qualities necessary to become a part of the family. Rats are intelligent, devoted, clean, gentle, and imminently lovable. World Rat Day will prove all this to be true through the special efforts we make to honor our pet rats. Rat lovers all around the world will continue to spread and and inform the ignorant just how easy it is to love a rat.
So if you did not know about this wonderful holiday dedicated to our fuzzies then you know know! You can give them a belated party or set one up for next year! Hope everyone gave their Rats extra treats, out time and cuddles!