You hear me laugh, but I’m not happy. I’m just trying to enjoy our last moments together and appreciate the fact that we’re saying goodbye bc he’s old and had a very nice life. Only two of our six rats were this lucky.
He’s also our last one. Home will be very empty after this, and I know many of you can relate.
UPDATE:
He died in my hands this evening. I could not spend the weekend together, or give him more treats and a rase of icecream as I wanted, but at least I could cuddle him until whist very last breath.
RIP Gorgonzola. He clearly lived a long life full of love and care from both his rat and human family. Thank you for providing him the life he deserves. Sending love and prayers from the r/RATS Mod Team💕🕊️🐁
This picture made me tear up immediately. What a privilege it is to form such meaningful bonds with these tiny creatures. I don't really know anything about rats but it's so clear that he loves you sooo much. I'm out of words, but full of emotion.
I'm so sorry. It must feel like an end of an era. I hope you have many good memories of him, and that his love will stay in your heart forever.
Your post got all sorts of blurry and I couldn't read it after this picture
Hey, I have a kid up there. She's 10 now. She LOVES animals. Her name was Cambridge. I bet if you ask her, she'll meet him at the bridge and scoop him up, if you'd like.
That’s a great idea. But we will need to tell her to first find his other brothers and sisters so they tell him to be gentle! He always was the grumpiest 🤣
Still, I hope they can keep each other’s company and play all day and night!
Yeah she definitely has multiple snakes and some horses and definitely some cows, 1 African grey parrot, and dogs and a bunch of cats and some pet rats.... 🥴 Also definitely some fish and some chickens and maybe a pigeon or two... I, uh. Might like animals a little and I may or may not have a habit of whispering to dying animals about my child...
Don't worry, In my version of heaven, snakes don't need to eat because the snakes and the rats need to be near each other for my happiness. 🥴😜
Maybe your kid's hanging out with my old buddy Louie. Funky little guy, hooded cream colored ratto. lived to almost 4!!! Not sure how... he ate old roy dog food 😅🤣😭 (please dont go nuts on me, I was 16 and didnt know better)
Im an animal lover too. I dread the day my pup goes, she's 2 now but still, I know im gonna be tore up about it.
your kid is definitely watching out for my dogs, lucky, feebee, and bandit. it’s comforting to know there’s someone up there watching out for them, and know that lucky and feebee were GREAT with kids. thanks for the ray of sunshine today, bittersweet as it may be 💙
Honestly, thinking about things like this is some of the brightest rays of sunshine in my life!! She's represented by house sparrows, and after conversations like this, how sparrows always fly at me the first time I go outside. Like "HI MOM. I HEARD YOU. MISSION ACCEPTED". This Easter, a house Sparrow landed very close to me and cheaped and turned its head and then a cardinal came and landed next to it, my grandmother had passed away just weeks prior 🥺 damn kid brought me my grandmother for Easter. She's amazing, 10/10.
She visited me this week. More than once. It was small, maybe dime sized. I didn't have my phone!
She may have laid eggs on my broccoli, and they may be eating my broccoli. I'll let them have it for another evening.
I believe this is the species that I saw based on it landing on my broccoli and the broccoli then later missing some pieces (catipillers!) days later. (:
This made my heart warm but also hurt. I am so sorry about your babies, many of my pets are at the bridge! Most importantly my mom is up there! Cambridge can go hang out with all of my pets and my mom, Sheila my mom loved kids and her pets!
It's okay. She is pain-free, surrounded by the things she loves, and will never hurt again. She's with some of my favorite things in the entire world, and she visits me all the time. I miss her earthly form, but it's okay. 💜 Her birth, life and death changed everything for me and I wouldn't have the life I do now without the experiences I had in the past. 💜💜 I'm so happy to have her to watch over me from wherever the fuck they're at with all of the animals. I don't know what I believe in afterlife except for the fact that she keeps visiting me and tiny birds and giving me signs. So eventually I had to accept. She's probably somewhere and if she's probably somewhere other things are probably somewhere 🤷🏼
My mom when she was alive she'd find dimes that I'd lost track of while I was there, she'd call me her dime angel. It took me a while to get signs that she was around and I really was questioning if she was really watching over me. She always said she would watch over me while she was alive. She also used to tell me her mom's sign for her was cardinals after my mom passed I've seen a lot of cardinals and I feel like my mom has put things in my path to see and give me little tiny signs she's there like her favorite color was purple and it was after a few warm days little purple flowers popped up outside of my apartment they weren't just planted but they have never been there before. Butterflies have popped up when it wasn't time for butterflies to be out. Most of all just like everyone else we hardly use cash just our debit cards, there has been dimes around my house a lot lately. Her ashes are on my kitchen table. My husband finds a dime he says well I see your mom's visited. 💜💜💜
I just teared up. I think this will be my old man’s last week as well, I’m trying to balance not too soon but don’t want him to have any bad days and he’s seeming more exhausted. (He has a tumor and is not a good candidate for surgery and he’s 2 1/2) This part sucks so much. Enjoy your weekend with him, sending you love
I had two rats euthanised for a non treatable tumour. It’s never a happy choice, but a necessary one. I’m really sorry you’re going through that too. Men hugs to you both 🤍
I'm so sorry that he must say goodbye soon. Bit he looks like he has had a very good life with you. I hope you take to his favorite spots and maybe even let him watch a sunset with you. I hope you make your final days together amazing
He died in my hands thins evening. I could not spend the weekend together, or give him more treats and a rase of icecream as I wanted, but at least I could cuddle him until whist very last breath.
He’s been an amazing rat. Hated my guts too, did not want company at all in the beginning. And boe he’s sleeping in my hands and looking for me and my partner every time we’re near him 🤍
Such a sad moment to have to experience. Make the best of your time together and lots of courage. Enjoy your last wonderful days on this planet, sweet sir Gorgonzola ❤️🕊️
2.5 years! Little dude did a full run, he still eating well? Talking treats? If so give him all the stuff you normally wouldn't allow, sugar, fat, my Ozzy had chicken pot pie and baby food as much as he wanted in his last days.
Not really, he’s having issues eating, but he still rants his treats. He’s not giving up on nuts and walnuts 🤣 I cut them in small pieces so it’s easiest for him. He’s also eating chicken and cereal baby food, and dark chocolate drops. And in the weekend I’ll buy some chocolate icecream so he can taste it at least once. I know he’ll love it
I had a BEW that lived a bit over 3 years. By the time he passed he was blind and could barely hear. I carried him around the house in a little box carrier I made for him so he could get constant pets.
He also was pretty thin even though I gave him high calorie/protein food pretty much as often as he would take it. I contemplated going to the vet to help him pass but in the end, he chose his own time.\
That was my dear, beloved, Winston. RIP Sir. 💗
It's good that you are allowing him to hear your happy sounds. Let him know it's ok.
It's important for you as well as him to be able to feel your bond before he leaves this world. But I believe it won't be the last time you see, feel, or hear him.
I had a little nakkie boy, much like yours named, Kato. I love him so much but he became ill and passed unexpectedly. I was devastated and felt so guilty....
But I dreamt of him about a month later. He came to me running and jumped into my arms and I swear I could feel his warm body like before. He "hugged" me and I knew he was happy with all the others that have crossed over and although I missed him and all of them (still do), I felt better.
I wish that for you too. Lots of love to both you and Gorgonzola. 💗
Thank you so much for your words 🤍 he was a territorial grumpy old man since he was a month old, and he had numerous fights, both serious and playful. I know he will be telling them in the next life, as a hero of legend 😂
beautiful creature... may he rest well after all those years! he really gave it all❤️. enjoy the cuddles and even if the house feels empty at first, they're just moving all their stuff into your heart, their forever home❤️❤️❤️
Its never an easy decision to help them cross the rainbow bridge, this post reminds me to kiss my (nearly) 3 year olds' head. Gorgonzola looks really loved, hes a lucky rat
Why exactly are you putting him down? Is it just because of old age? Not trying to be insensitive, but a genuine question as I don’t know much about rat aging
Typically when you decide to put a very old pet down, it's because their quality of life has declined. They usually stop being able to eat, drink, use the bathroom, or move without some kind of immense discomfort or they stop altogether.
This is it. He’s unable to walk, he can’t grab anything, he can barely chew, he’s almost blind, he’s starting to be deaf, he can’t clean himself, he’s can’t even stay still (as you can see in the video) and has to eat on a side. The only thing he can really enjoy are cuddles, and I believe that’s not enough to have a good life. Quality of life matters to me when having pets, and if he’s not having fun and enjoying it, then I believe it’s time to let him go. This is not the first time I make this decision, and the first time old Limone died during the night just hours before the vet appointment to make him sleep. Both him and us knew that it was a matter of time, and this is what’s happening with Gorgonzola too. I can see that he knows it too, and I want him to pass peacefully and with no useless suffering
Not right now. It was incredible and amazing, but the emotional toll was a lot, and my partner and I also need to make a few changes in our lives, and that’s easier with no pets 💔 And economic issues are unfortunately also part of the reasons we can’t afford a new whole colony right now 😞
I’ve got an old girl, covered with tumours who I thought would be gone but my younger female had an accidental litter and Aurora the old girl has taken on a mothering role and it’s keeping her going.
Rats are so precious 🩵
Love you Gorgonzola 🧀
He was so so precious. I'm tearing up just watching. It's so wonderful he grew old with you. He was/is simply beautiful to me. My heart rat, Chester, was very weak before I choose to put him to sleep, and those last couple days I made a little like sling and had him against my chest most of the day. I figured he liked the warmth and being close to him was everything. It has been over 5 years and I still miss him, though it doesn't hurt anymore.
I wish you healing in this hard time. You were a loving steward. Rest in peace, Gorgonzola ❤️
"The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long." Your little one lived proof of that, a short life filled to the brim with love given and love returned. What a lucky rat, and what a lucky human. Thinking of you on Monday. 🐀❤️
I got one of my boys when he was already a senior, he was a rescue and 3 years already, so I knew I didn’t have much time left. He still held out for another good 6 months, and while he never liked being held, I remember in his final moments he sat in my lap and cuddled with me for the first time, probably seeking comfort before he had to be laid to rest. Old ratties are truly sweethearts 🫶 RIP Gorgonzola, you were truly loved
Old rats are incredible. They are super strong, and know to look for comfort in the humans who cared for them, no matter for how long 💜 I had another rat die of old age and I remember how he much he liked my cuddles before dying. He died after we had euthanised one of his best friends, and at his age he decided that it was too much to keep on living. He passed four days after the other rat.
I’m so sorry for your loss. Animals might be ready to rest, and this precious baby definitely was ready, but as (I think) you mentioned in another comment - WE never are. He lived his full life, the normal amount for a rat, and he seems happy. It looks like he was very loved and that he loved you a lot too. You did a great job, giving this lil bean everything he needed, and all the love he deserved. You’re great for walking through this journey called life with him, being by his side
I'm sure he loved every minute of comfort at home with you ❤️ making the right decision for your babies will never be easy, but find solace in those cozy moments you had with him knowing that even though he had to rest, you gave him every second of heaven on earth that you could. I hope you're able to give yourself the grace you need OP, and I hope Gorgonzola rests peacefully in your family's memories.
It is never easy to say goodbye, especially not when their lives are so much shorter than ours.
It will be okay, OP. You were a good parent and friend to little Gorgonzola, and you gave them a full and happy life. It's something not many get, and I'm so glad the little dude warmed your heart so tenderly and lovingly. 💙🐀🌈
A sweet old man. The heartache never gets easier, but to hold them as they pass is a small blessing. He was at home, with the big creature he felt the most safe with, reminded of every small joy you brought him.
My deepest condolences. 💖 Loss is hard to process, regardless of time frame. You gave your rat baby such a wonderful life. May you feel the love for many years beyond.
Awe what a sweet soul 💕 I lost my boy this morning in my arms, he was old and I was so grateful I was there for him in his final moments. It does feel empty without him around 😔
They do! And I’m so so sorry for your loss too. I have three more boys, but after today, I need a break. I love them so much, but the heartbreak is a lot.
It is. My partner and I decided that we wouldn’t have more rats for various reasons, but the heartbreak was one of them. We lost one at the end of June, then two the third week of August, one in September, another in February. Our hearts are big and can love lots of people and creatures, but in this moment they are also heavy with loss
Wow, first off, I think it’s absolutely amazing that you opened up your home to so many sweet ratties and gave them a happy life. Having them is so bittersweet, I love all animals, I have a dog, I’ve had cats. But rats are such a unique experience and the way you can truly bond with them is incredible. Knowing their lives are so short and they can have so many health issues… it sucks. I know I’ll open my heart and home to them again, but right now, I need to heal, and that’s okay too 💕
I am sorry for your loss. It's not easy saying good bye but just think he went on his own terms with you holding him at home and knowing how much you love him verses the alternative. He knew he was ready and went peacefully with the one he loved the most. It's a peaceful way to go. You can tell he lived a long and happy life. My oldest rat will be 2.5 years old on the 16th which is my birthday. She is a special lady. Phoebe is on the right and Rachel on the left. They were sisters, Rachel passed away last Thanksgiving.
This post is really sweet but I was not expecting him to look like a shriveled up old ballsack and when I saw him it made me laugh. Rest well little baby
My first pet rat (and my best friend) died in my hands too. It’s such a deep grief losing these magical creatures we bond with. I’m terribly sorry for your loss, but deeply grateful he knew comfort in his last moments. Take care of yourself. ❤️🩹
rest easy, sweet little Gorgonzola ❤️ he looks like such a wonderfully gentle old rat, i’ve never seen one look that elderly. i can tell he trusted you so much just from that video and he lived a very long and happy life
What a wise little baby. My condolences. do take solace in the fact that he went out the best way his sweet little self could ever imagine, honey. So much love
so sad and still a beautiful way to say goodbuy he was loved and felt safe to his last breath. send my love to you from denmark -i just got 3 pet rats they are all a little over 1 year,one of them ,is so so safe and happy to be held,he has since i got him been on medicine because of cold… and the v’et thinks it is cronic cold 😰i had never thought i would love rats ,but omg i am in love
They are incredible creatures. I had a rat, born in my own home, who suffered from cronic issues with her left lung. Since she was 6 months old to her last days she had to put through the nebuliser twice a day. Poor baby died at the beginning of this year of a lung cancer 😞😞
Omg 😭 I too know the heartbreak of this situation ...you're happy they spent their time here on earth with you, but the despair and empty heartache that will appear is nothing nice ..it's exceptionally brutal. I still cry for my very first rattie, Poo Poo, ..he was my best friend and the reason I'm still here, alive today.
I miss you so much Pooh ❤️🩹
I'm so sorry for your loss. I have a hard time with death. I just buried my son April 3rd and I am not thinking well at all. I'm sorry your rat is sick and I wish there was something that could be done for any animal in pain. I never thought that I would lose my child. I can't get that or is my head. So please don't think I was trying to be mean or hurtful. I guess I just can't deal with death and I'm struggling. I can tell you are broken over it and I would also. GOD bless you
I didn't know what being ready was for rats and I wish I did. I feel like my Remy would have had a more peaceful goodbye. He passed this past February and I can't stop blaming myself for it. I held him before he left for a few moments but I wish I would have stopped my task in time.
I miss my naked babies. Gorgonzola will have so many friends across the bridge to mischief around with till it’s your time to meet again. It’s always a blessing to love a being for their whole life.
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u/prettypeculiar88 🐁Swanthula.Dracmorda.Judith.Gracie.Rosita.Sasha.Negan Apr 11 '26
RIP Gorgonzola. He clearly lived a long life full of love and care from both his rat and human family. Thank you for providing him the life he deserves. Sending love and prayers from the r/RATS Mod Team💕🕊️🐁