Day Sixty-Five - August 25, 2000
Tbone Gets Fixed
Poor little Tbone. He’s never seen anything outside the hallway that he was born in. He spent the majority of his life in the big black cage, and the last couple weeks in the white rabbit/rat cage. He’s never seen my room or the living room or anywhere else. Just the hallway and the bathroom (he loves the bathroom). The only rats he’s known are his sisters, who are gone, his mother, who he hasn’t seen in a couple weeks, the rats on the other side of the barrier that he hears, smells and tries to get to, and his brothers.
So, when it came time for him to get his neutering, I knew he’d be scared. First thing I had to do, was get him out of the cage without pissing off the other six guys (“why are we not coming out when Tbone is?”). I set up a plate of veggies, opened the gate and of course, they rushed to it. My plan was to grab Tbone and pull him out while the others devoured their snack. Of course, Tbone was right there trying to get to his portion of the veggies. He’d grab one and run into the ferret tube, out of my reach. I had to move the plate right by the cage entrance and grab when when he came for more.
I got him and put him on my shoulder so he could be on a comfortable place while I prepared him to leave his home for the first time. He seemed fine on the shoulder, although going to the living room was a new experience and I’m sure the sights and smells were all new and baffling. But that was nothing.
I put him in the travel cage and left.
Outside in the bright sun, with the smell of the lady downstare’s flowers and bushes and cars, Tbone was blown away. He wasn’t sure what to do; go in the hammock, hide in the box, sit in the middle, hang on the cage? I got to the car and put the cage in the passanger seat. He was definitely perplexed. Why was he out of his home, by himself, and in this strange place? What the hell was going on.
I made sure I talked to him as I drove to the vet, letting him hear the only voice that he is comfortable with. I opened the door to the cage and pet him as we went along. He didn’t seem to mind too much, finally cleaning his face as he sat in the hammock.
We got to the doctor’s office and he totally sensed something was up. There were a few other people in the waiting area, the sounds of dogs and cats and people coming to the cage wondering what kind of animal he was (“Is that a hamster?”) was uncomfortable. He pretty much froze in the hammock. I could see he really wanted to hide his face deeper in the hammock and I felt bad for the little guy. I know he was scared, but what could I do? I filled out the papers as I pet him in the cage. He was totally still (actually enjoying my scratching, but still nervous). Finally, I left. The nurse took his cage to the back and I could see him sitting in the hammock in total horror (“nooooooooooo”). He didn’t know what was up. All he knew is that he was in his home and now he’s in some strange place with strange humans and noises. Poor little guy.
I went back to the doctor’s at 7:30 to pick him up, which was usually the time in previous visits I was able to pick up rats. I tried to call to make sure he was ready but the phone was busy for a long time. Of course when I got there, he wasn’t ready; they were swamped.
They called around 10:00 pm and I went and picked him up.
The poor guy, he was still drugged and not happy at all. He had spent the entire day in the little cage, by himself, no food or water, had a needle stuck in him and now he was sore in the behind and he didn’t understand why. He lied in the hammock and didn’t move to much.
I pet him in the cage the whole way home. When we got home, I gave him some water, which he didn’t touch, and something to eat, which he devoured. He was doing that “stretch” thing rats do after they’ve been neutered. He wasn’t comfortable at all.
I looked at his backside. You could barely tell he had any surgery. They had done laser surgery. In fact, if you didn’t know he had just came back from the doctor, you probably couldn’t tell he was fixed.
I put him back in his regular cage with his brothers and I could tell it was the first thing of the day that made him happy. He kind of walked around the cage, inspecting everything, and right away, seemed a little at ease.
On Thursday, I checked the boys in the morning. I got a cracker to give them and they all scampered to the bars to get a piece, including Tbone, who was first as usual. He was definitely feeling a little better.
Later in the day, I let the boys out for their usual daily running around. Tbone led the charge, devouring his veggies with a vengance. He seemed totally normal. Throughout the day as I walked through their area, Tbone chased my feet with the rest of the boys, just like always. I’m sure he was still sore, but I think he may have forgotten most of his bad day and I’m sure he wasn’t mad at me anymore (I think he was before, if a rat can actually be “mad”). He was playing with his brothers just like normal. I checked out his backside and there was hardly a mark. You really can’t tell.
Today the boys were all doing fine. Tbone is doing great. He was
his complete usual, fur magnet, carpet destroying, rat wrestling self.
This weekend he’ll join the clan in the room. Tonight he spends his
last night with Rorschach and Cisco who will be going to their new owner
tomorrow.