Awww.... lumpy.

[Jenna]

Well, I have a pet rat that I kind of inherited from my sister, who got him from my dad. *laughs* Yeah, he is the family rat. My dad caught him in a men's room when someone turned him loose as a bad prank. Anywho, I'm sad. I was petting and brushing Henry (rat), and I found a lump on his belly, near his hip. It's a kind of big lump too. *sigh*

I talked to my husband about taking him to the vet, but he said that it just didn't seem worth it. I guess he looks at it more like the money issue vs. the cost of the animal. I guess I see his point, especially being that we've had such goodwill toward this little stray rodent for so long. It's been about 3 years since our family adopted him. It's just sad to think that he might have cancer. I keep hoping that it's benign. My poor Henry.

 

[Ave Maria]

Hey Jenna. Try not to worry too much. It might just be an infection. I know cats are a lot different than rats and stuff but my Mom's Siamese, Simba, had a lump on his belly once and it turned out to be nothing more than an infection. They gave him anti-biotics (broke half of a anti-biotic pill up into his food) for a couple of days and the lump disappeared. I hope your pet will turn out ok!

 

[Jenna]

I guess I just worry because I hear that it is so normal for rats to die of tumors. I've never had a pet rat before, so I didn't know how nice they could be. Henry even likes to groom one of our cats, and he follows me around like a puppy when I take him to the park. He's just a great little guy. It's so adorable how he closes his eyes and gets all dreamy when I pet his head and ears. It's sad to think that he really is kind of old for a rat. I never looked into their life expectancies before. I just never really thought about it.