Unfortunately, I have sad news to bring today. Nibblet, our little pet rat has passed away overnight last night. I went to check on her this morning, saw her laying peacefully on her side and knew that she had crossed the Rainbow Bridge.
I knew her time was coming. The last few days her breathing was becoming more and more labored. She wasn't eating much of anything. I was giving her baby food and whatever else I could think of that she would like to eat. She lost a lot of weight too. She just wanted me to hold her and take her out of her cage all the time. Her passing was not a surprise, and I expected it to come soon.
She became ill almost a month ago with an ear infection which caused her to be disoriented as well as a respiratory infection, which are common in rats. I took her to the vet then and have been medicating her since. After about a week, we switched to new medications because the others didn't seem to be doing the trick.
Still, I know she lived a happy life and I am glad to have had the chance to have her in my life, even if for a short while. She was just the sweetest little pet I've probably ever had. Maybe even sweeter than my dog. In her younger years, she was very curious always running around exploring everything. She wasn't much to sit still in my lap for scratches and pets. As she got older, she was happy to sit with me and have me scratch her for as long as I would. If I stopped, she would nibble my fingers gently and nudge my thumb as if to tell me to keep going.
She was good friends with everyone she met and never bit anyone during her lifetime. She enjoyed playing with Shiner, my human baby, and my oldest daughter. Even my father admitted that she was a pretty cool little critter. When I first got Nibblet, he wanted nothing to do with her and kind of freaked out every time he saw her. He eventually got used to her scampering around on the counter tops. In the end, I think he kind of liked her.
I'm sure we will be getting more rat family members at some point when the time is right. Until then, I will never forget my first sweet pet rat. Rest in peace my love! Enjoy all the peas you can eat over at the Rainbow Bridge with all of our other friends over there!