#4 Jhoira, Sweetest of Rats

April 17th, 2003.

My cat died. His name was Chip and he was just three years old. He was a skittish thing, but he was my best friend. He slept with me. He purred in my ear, helping me get through middle school - a time of deep depression and very few friends.

I don't know what killed him. I noticed something was off and begged my step-dad to bring him to the vet. It took a few days before my step-dad noticed that Chip was lethargic and thought, just maybe, I was right. The vet couldn't tell much from his x-rays, but kept him overnight in an oxygen tank and gave me a few different medications to give him.

Twice a day I crushed the medication, mixed it with milk, and squirted it into his mouth with a syringe. He started to improve. About a week after he stopped taking his medication, I had an anxiety attack at school. I said I needed to call home and check on my cat. My friends took my phone away and said I was being paranoid, to just relax.

I got home and my cat was dead. April 17th. I had never experienced a pet's death before. I'd never cried over death at all. That date was burned into my memory. I marked the date year after year, baking cookies and other sweet things in Chip's memory. My sweet little boy.

April 17th, 2015.

I didn't bake anything this year. It didn't cross my mind. My rat, Jhoira wasn't responding to her medication. Michael's grandmother had recently passed. It was a rough month. We went to FNM (Friday Night Magic), but even that didn't take our minds away from death. I was distracted all night. Michael was moody.

Jhoira died that night. While we were at FNM.

What is it about that date?

Jhoira - Sweetest of Rats

She was my little rat ambassador, charming the pants off of anyone she met. Mothers would squeal in fright while children asked if they could pet her. It never took long for Jhoira's sweet personality to win over the fearful. She loved everyone. People were fascinated. They never knew that rats could be so affectionate, or so smart.

Jhoira was potty trained. She knew her name. She came when I called, and jumped on my shoulder when I told her, "Up!" She gave kisses when I asked for them. She was curious and playful and feared nothing.

She was two when she died. About average for a rat, but I'd hoped to have her longer. I'm greedy that way. She died from the most common rat killer - mycoplasma. It's so common in rats that it is safe to assume that ALL non-lab rats are born with it. It's just a matter of when they start showing symptoms. There is no cure. There are treatment plans that will sometimes work for years, but they also may not work at all.

It didn't work for Jhoira. She'd already battled pneumonia, a secondary infection that wormed its way in once the mycoplasma started getting out of control.

Still, she was a sweetheart to the very end. She groomed Sidisi (the vet told me not to bother separating them - it would only stress them out and like I mentioned before, it's safe to assume Sidisi also has mycoplasma bacteria in her system), she gave kisses, and she snuggled and snuggled and snuggled.

Those two years were absolutely worth it. When I got her, I didn't realize how close of a bond we would form. I've learned so many amazing things about these creatures. Despite their short life span, I highly recommend them as pets. They are cleaner, smarter, and friendlier than other small rodents.

We decided to feed Jhoira to Asuna, my best friend's snake. It seemed like the best option. We could bury her, but she'd be a meal for something else one way or another. I like Asuna, and it makes me feel good knowing that Jhoira's death nurtured life.

April 17th, 2016.

I will have two amazing pets to celebrate.

#pets #rats #death #animals