Update on Buddy

I won Buddy’s trust with ice cream after the last time I posted.  I used about 1 tablespoon of ice cream divided into 10 dabs.  When he smelled the ice cream he came out quickly.  After serving him nine of those little dabs, one at a time over a period of about three sessions, he accepted my picking him up.  I called and, no ice cream with me, he sat in front of me and waited.  He wiggled a little bit after I picked him up but there was no squeaking.  We watched ½ hour of TV together then I gave him the last               of the ice cream after I put him back, to reinforce our new relationship!

I realized his trust was firmly established when the following days he came out when called.  Occasionally he changes his position to be picked up by turning his back to me, but he only sits right in front of me very still until I pick him up.

One night I tried to take a shortcut for introducing him to a friend.  I had Weinstein on the sofa, scattered a lot of treats around and put Buddy there too, watching them carefully.  Weinstein stayed behind the blanket eating his treats.  Buddy ran back and forth up and down the sofa looking for Weinstein.  When he found him behind the blanket he gave him a phantom bite (which is a sign of annoyance).  I immediately put Weinstein back deciding that I will have to take the long slow way of introductions by starting with their cages side by side.  His owner will be over to help me with that on Saturday.

After I removed Weinstein, Buddy crawled in and out of my lap allowing himself to be petted and eating some treats.  It was very easy to pick him up and put him back.  He seems to look forward to his timeout with me and even knows when it’s his turn.

I was eventually able to take the caliper and measure his tumor.  My measurement was not perfect but it looks like around 50 mm in height.  The width is even longer.  The next day I was able to get my fingers around the tumor and it feels to me like it is attached.  Buddy’s body is about one 6th tumor.

Once I realized it was attached I added Carcinosin to his treatment.  This is a homeopathic treatment for cancer.  I have also considered prednisone, but with his weight would be concerned about his blood sugar.  Thank God for homeopathy.  I don’t know whether the spiritual intention of Buddy’s being here is for hospice care or for healing.  Either way I am very grateful to be a part of him getting to experience plenty of touch.  Increasingly everyday he seems to enjoy his head being rubbed more and more and occasionally allows me to stroke his back.  His climbing on my lap and putting his hands on my arms let me know he is enjoying the affection.  I’m blessed to be a part of his life.

Thursday with Buddy

Turned on Pandora for the rats today.  I think Buddy really likes the music.  He stuck his head out more and appeared to be engaged. I visited his cage about every 30 minutes during the morning.  During the last visit of the morning he started chattering at me. Before I leave the house I always say goodbye to the rats.  When I came back today I went straight to Buddy's cage after saying, "I'm back." He again had his head out and appeared interested.  Definitely a social guy.

Early this evening I needed to clean out his cage.  His cage sits on the top of the table.  I started with a session of trust-training.  I used applesauce putting a dab on the end of a spoon.  With each bite he came out a little further, but once his body was about one 3rd out of the igloo he stopped advancing. I maneuvered the cage with him in it so that it was half off the table. Then I lifted his igloo and tried to encourage him to climb out of the cage.  He was too afraid.  I had arranged an area about a foot away from the cage on the table so that he would have another hiding spot.  I picked him up and put him in the new spot. He was obviously nervous about being picked up, but then I was nervous about picking him up, so that was totally expected.

Once I finish cleaning the cage he did not go back into it on his own.  I am not sure if he just was too scared to come out of his hiding space or he was unable to climb up to the door of his cage.

Everyone gets 30 minutes out of the cage areas to watch TV with me.  When Buddy's turn came, I covered him up with a blanket to pick him up.  He was still afraid, but I held him very close to me and he did not try to get away once I picked him up. I lightly ran my hands over his sides because he appeared to have a tumor.  I did discover a large tumor on his left flank.

We stayed on the sofa for about 20 minutes.  He explored the sofa, picking up on everyone else's smells, but would not eat his treat.  He finally settled in a corner and I rubbed his head.  He closed his eyes for a couple of minutes.  When I started to rub his ear he squeaked. It was such a little squeak I could hardly tell that was coming from him.  I quit rubbing his head and laid on the sofa row where I was facing him, close but not touching.  I just gazed into his eyes and talked to him. Eventually he approached me, sniffing my face and climbing under my arm.  This time when I rubbed his ear he did not squeak, but he only tolerated being touched for a few more minutes before he began to squeak again. His squeaks seem to be coming from fear not pain.

To put him back in his cage I convinced him to climb into a soft carrier for transport.  He still did not like being carried but I believe the firm surface underneath him made it less threatening.

He received a dose of tumor suppressor along with his dinner tonight.  We have a 90% cure rate with the tumor suppressor but we usually catch them earlier.  If it doesn't shrink the tumor, it should at least stop it from growing.  Because of his difficulty with being touched I could not tell if the tumor was attached or not.

To potentially save his life I'm going to practice what I see the vets do and handle him as much as possible even though he doesn't like it.  Normally I would take things a lot more slowly, but between his weight and his tumor I don't think we can afford to do that with Buddy.

Buddy

The Creative Power Of God is individualized in every soul.

Please pray for Buddy and E, his generous owner. She has left Buddy with me until she finds a home that she can bring him to. Buddy is a huge rat, over 2 pounds. E rescued him from a Zamzow's feeder tank where his plight was a obviously going to be dinner for a snake. E has been afraid to hold him because he has bitten a few people, but she has faithfully cleaned his cage kept him fed and kept him housed in places where she is able to get him back when she's ready. Buddy has already come out of his cage for me and allowed me to pet him but runs like the wind I try to pick him up! He is too large to fit in the opening of even our largest rat wheel. So our prayer requests are as follows: that Buddy makes use of all the ramps and exercise areas we have installed for him, that he overcomes his shyness and allows himself to be held and played with and that E is comfortable reaching into his cage and picking him up.

For the past several weeks, we've tried the new (to us) King Bio products on our rats: Aqua Flora Hi Potency 9, Pro biotic Restorer, Constitutional Enhancer and Lung and Bronchial Relief. There has been a gradual reduction in wheezing, except in our 3 year old Zoe. The only thing I hear now is a nasal sound like a stuffy nose and excessive sneezing in a few of the 1-year-old boys. I'm going to take them off of the Lung and Bronchial Relief and put them on something else from King Bio, for nasal or cold symptoms. We give them their supplements in their water when we change it each week. The Rat Retreat, Inc.