Oreo was suspiciously eager to come out and play and be picked up this morning. A quick check of the weather report showed -4c temperatures (In Fahrenheit thats about "Learn Metric"). Even though the thermometer showed 15c, I think she just wanted me to hold her so she could warm her feet...
As per usual, Trudy was her usual friendly self, stretching out for some tooth purring and pets, until Oreo climbed under her.
Does this sound familiar to you?
Me: OK I'll hold you here...
Oreo: The hell you will! *FLAIL*
ME: Holds still!
Oreo: [rotating 108 degrees inside her own skin]
Me: It's for your own good!
Oreo: [Attempts to climb out of her own arsehole]
Me: It won't hurt!
Oreo: [Blinking madly]
Me: I think some possibly went in
Oreo: [Climbs into her nest and glares]
Me: Have a treat?
Trudy: leans in from out of shot, grabs the treat and runs off.
Me: …
Oreo: Even if you had another, there’s no way I’m getting out of this nest ever again.
The vet looked at Oreo. Oreo looked back. Quietly I whistled the intro from “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”.
“It’s conjunctivitis.” said the vet at maximum volume. I think she thought I was deaf. Then she proceeded to polish Oreo’s eyeballs with a water soaked piece of cotton wool.
Oreo was not amused. But she didn’t bite, claw or hiss at anyone.
She gets eye-drops every 12 hours, if I can ever persuade her to come out of her new nest and stop sulking. Trudy also wants to know why I am now so interested at peering at her eyes all the time.
Oreo also met a lot of random people, many of who said something along the lines of “Ugh!! Rats! Oh I hate rats! Oh isn’t she sweet!”
Oreo deigned to emit Kyootrinos* until we got back home. SHe may never forgive me**, especially when I start pinning her down and dripping eyedrops into her eyes.
* Kyootrinos along with Kyuons and the theoretical Fuzzy-Snuggon are jsut a few of the sub atomic particles of Cute. The long term exposure to a Kyootrino generator can result in buying MLP, or plush kitten dolls, and mis-use of the colour pink.
** Rats will remember an insult for hours, or until you make with the yummies and back rubs.
I got home with new rat food, rat litter and rat nesting type items. I looked into the carry case o’ isolation and…
Oreo had kicked all her bedding into the water bowl, crapped three times her own body weight onto the floor of the carrier and pee’d on anything she couldn’t fit into the water bowl. She was stood in the corner with her nose jammed into a vent possibly to get away from the smell.
I picked her out and she glares at me with mad shiny black eyes. Flawless mad shiny black eyes.
Yup. Not a blemish on them. I got slightly mauled trying to hold her to check.
Now I’m thinking that either whatever it was on her eyes has cleared up, or it was never a problem anyway – eye goo or a little gnawed up cardboard and Oreo just walked around with it on her eye for a day, then when I left her in the carry case, she washed it off or whatever.
I showed Trudy the new food. She picked out a slice of bean and then spent the next few minutes running around, nosing the new nest box while carrying it.
Rats: Lose 1d6 sanity points every turn.
Looks like Oreo has something wrong with her eyes. SInce a day or so ago, she’s developed large pale blemishes on both eyes. She’s now in isolation in the carry case so she doesn’t spread it around. You can assume she’s thrilled. I’m going to get her in at the Vet ASAP.
I accidentally left the cage door open. 12 hours later, Oreo was still perched int he ipen door, staring wildly around, and Trudy had escaped to freedom.
Where “Escaped” means Oreo pushed Trudy off the edge of the cage or something, because I don’t think Trudy would have jumped on her own.
Trudy found the bag of treats, inhaled half, left a truly epic pile of turds, located a pile of dirty laundry, climbed in, chewed up a shirt and went to sleep.
Fortunatley it was an old shirt. I’m sure she’s probably nibbled her way through some other prized possessions, wires, priceless antiques, etc.
So I de-laundried her, turned her upside down and let Oreo* maul her for a bit.
*Where “Mauled” is equal to “Sniffed then stepped on in order to run up to one shoulder”.
Well the girls a re a lot bigger now. They’re still weirdos though.
They refuse any bedding that’s not a paper towel or sheet of brown paper, they won’t use the hammock they’ve been bought and the playpen? No. Not happening. Especially now they’ve worked out they can just jump out of it.
Oreo is becoming less sociable. She’s better at being picked up but has started peeing on everything and crapping while shoulder surfing.
Trudy on the other hand continues to be a model rat. She snuggles, she comes out to play, she’s nice about being picked up – she doesn’t lunge and grab for food, pee on clothes or drop rat turds outside the litterbox.
however if I have both girls out, Oreo spends all ehr time following Trudy, nosing under her, pushing her, stepping on her, making her squeak. I had wondered why apropos of nothing Trudy has suddenly taken up shirt diving – turns out she just wants to get away from Oreo.
I have Trudy out on her own now. So far she’s cuddled up for petting two or three times, sat and groomed, had a run around and even curled up and napped without leaving any wet spots. If Oreo had been out, she’d have run over and pushed Trudy around the moment she settled.
So I’m not going to let Oreo shoulder surf any more. That and the dozens o scratches on my hands and arms where Oreo has casually sunk her claws in while scrabbling around, the nibbled holes in my hooded top and the way she likes to hold onto my pony tail and swing around or lunge and grab for treats in a manner that’s nearly resulted in perforated fingers suggests she’s not into being friendly.
That said I did get the pleasure of watching her fall into her water bowl the other day. That and the way she stuffed a food pellet into her mouth and then got all frantic because she wouldn’t put it down, but also couldn’t then pick up another piece of food…
I know they are. They tell me so.
Trudy: You forgot to feed us.
Oreo: We haven’t eaten in days!
Trudy: We’re wasting away!
Oreo: See, our food bowl is empty… You’re so cruel to us *snif*
Cupro: I can see your food bowl is empty…
Trudy: [With mouth full] We affen ad any food fer agef.
Oreo: [Lies in bed and quivers feebly] So… hungry…
Cupro: [looking at huge pile of stashed food with a small piece of bedding draped over the top]
I see… And what happened to all that food I gave you half an hour ago, which I hand fed you, for lo, you are a pair of lazy rats who won’t play in the playpen I made you, and consequently are turning into fat little so-and-sos?[Trudy & Oreo contrive to look innocent]
They lie though their pointy teeth. Teeth I might add, which they wear down on the gnaw toys they have, in between gorging themselves on the food they claim they don’t have and the treats they demand.
In fact, Trudy’s put on a sudden growth spurt and is larger than Oreo. She#s well on her way to being a squishy tubby ratty. Oreo may spend all day in bed, but I suspect that just gives Trudy time to eat Oreo’s dinner.
Posts
All Comments
