Mon 10/03/03 - We noticed that Sammy was having problems holding his food. This is a worrying sign as it could mean that he is showing signs of a neurological problem. This can rapidly develop until the rat can only eat directly from a dish and even then may have difficulty in gnawing his food. It could be kinder to have him put sleep than be hungry and unable to eat.

Thu 13/03/03 - Took Sammy and Sooty to the vet for supply of antibiotics as a routine measure. Began to feed Sammy with digestive biscuit crushed into melted ice cream and honey, he can`t cope with hard food at all. Hoping this will keep his strength up.

Fri 14/03/03 - Picked up two handsome young fellows from our local R.S.P.C.A. Nero & Claudius, they are nervous but should be O.K. in a few weeks. Sammy managed to eat some boiled pasta today, I suspect he may have suffered a small stroke which means there is some chance of an improvement if we keep on hand feeding him.

Mon 17/03/03 - Sammy is still having problems using his hands but is managing to eat enough to keep him going with a little help, he looks very old and frail compared to his brothers. The new arrivals are very different in temperament, Nero is very timid but Claudius is much bolder and has even managed to climb all over me and nip me a couple of times.

Thu 18/03/03 - Nero and Claudius have now been re-named Stan and Ollie as their original names seemed a little out of character. Ollie (Claudius) has now advanced his technique to the stage of biting me through the bars of the cage. The really good news is that Sammy is now able to hold his food properly so it would seem that the extra care which he has received is paying off.

Tue 25/03/03 - Sammy is still eating well and we are giving him multi-vitamins every other day to compensate for any deficiencies in his diet. Stan has now gained enough confidence to start biting me as well, so we now have two fully grown aggressive rats to cope with.

Mon 31/03/03 - Sammy is still O.K. apart from a few thin places in his coat so we are just making sure that he gets enough of the right things to eat. We are doing our best to socialise Stan and Ollie. Ollie is very aggressive when anything approaches his cage and I suspect that he has been prodded and teased at some time, which would account for the biting of fingers which touch the cage bars. We will just have to continue with a lot of patience and a strong pair of gardening gloves.

Fri 04/04/03 - Sammy is doing quite well apart from being a little bit wobbly. Stan and Ollie are now quite happy to climb all over me if I keep their cage near to my chair. They seem to be getting used to the normal day to day sounds and will take food from us quite gently. The next stage is get them used to being handled, but this will probably take two or three weeks.

Sat 12/04/03 - Stan and Ollie are just getting used to being picked up, they aren`t too happy about this at the moment but they are improving day by day, neither of them has tried to bite us for a week or so. Ollie is very agile for a big rat and has taken a liking to exploring the floor and climbing over the cages of the other rats, he really is a bit of a handful. Sammy is still managing to eat and get around fairly well but I don`t think he`s going to be around for much longer.

Sun 27/04/03 - Stan and Ollie are doing quite well, I can coax them into doing all the normal things like getting in and out of their cages and I can just manage to pick them up and move them about. Ollie is the more adventurous of the pair. Poor old Sammy is getting unsteady on his feet and needs to have his hands and face washed every now and then.

Thu 08/05/03 - We had poor old Sammy put to sleep today, he was having problems eating and grooming himself and would have just starved if we had not done anything. He was always a nice friendly little chap and we are going to miss him. At least we gave him some extra time by taking care of him.

Fri 15/05/03 - Stan seems to have settled in quite nicely now and likes his cage so much that he has to be coaxed outside. Ollie seems quite happy but he is still a little bit wild and will bite every now and then. If he doesn`t mend his ways soon he might need to visit our vet for "the operation".

Sat 16/05/03 - I have just re-introduced Sooty and Smokey in the hope that they will share a cage. Sooty, Smokey and Sammy (who are brothers) were rescued from open ground when they were very young, along with two elderly and sick females. They had obviously been turned loose by a thoughtless owner. An adult male was seen but could not be caught. The three boys lived together for a year but Smokey began to bully the other two and was separated. He is now much quieter and now that Sammy has gone would probably be good company for Sooty who is now on his own.

Sun 17/05/03 - Smokey and Sooty are getting on really well and spend most of their time sleeping together and grooming each other. So now we have two happy rats and a spare cage which we really need.

Mon 02/06/03 - Stan is now getting to be quite friendly and will let me pick him up and move him around quite easily. He really enjoys being out of his cage and is much more relaxed. Ollie is still inclined to bite but he will climb on my shoulder and have a run round the room, then climb into the the "play-pen" for a while, so hopefully he will quieten down eventually.

Tues 24/06/03 - All the ratties seem to be O.K. at the moment, Stan and Ollie are very slowly becoming more relaxed but they still need to be handled carefully. They do seem to be generally much happier than when they first arrived.

Thur 03/07/03 - Noticed that Alfie has a little lump on the edge of his right ear, I will let the vet check him out as rats are very susceptible to tumours of various kinds. Ollie has been scratching his neck a lot so I will have him checked out at the same time.

Thur - 10/07/03 - Our vet was not too concerned about the small lump on Alfie`s ear but he suspected that Ollie was suffering from mites. Stan has also been scratching his neck, so I have aquired a course of Ivermectin for each of them. Their cages will also need to be sterilised.

Thur - 17/07/03 - The lump on Alfie`s ear is slowly disappearing and the Ivermectin seems to be working well on Stan & Ollie. They seem to be much happier now and will let me pick them up if I talk to them nicely.

Mon - 04/08/03 - We have a new little girl called Poppy, she is about 3 months old and was presented to us by our local pet store ! Apparently, she was biting everyone in sight, human and rodent alike. Our two little girls, Molly and Meg have taken a liking to her and we are all getting on very well at the moment.

Thur - 28/08/03 - Ollie has been quite poorly for a few days, just lying in his bed and eating very little. He has been dosed with Bisolvon and is now on a course of antibiotics. His appetite seems to be returning and he appears to be getting back to normal.

Sat - 13/09/03 - Ollie spent quite long time on the chair with me last night instead of doing his usual exploration of the room, this is a sign that we are making slow but steady progress with his socialisation.

Wed - 01/10/03 - Poor old Smokey died today, he had been restless for a few days and had chronic breathing problems, his temperature was slowly falling which is usually a sign that the end isn't very far away. Sooty is beginning to show the same symptoms so I don't think he will be around for very long.

Sat - 04/10/03 - Sooty died today, we were at home all day and looked after the little chap right to the end. he was a sweet, gentle little guy and we'll miss him a lot.

Tues - 28/10/03 - Collected two little girls from a young chap in St.Annes who had moved into a flat where pets were not allowed. We have called them Tilly and Annie, they need a little bit of socialisation but are otherwise quite healthy and happy.

Wed - 17/12/03 - The little girls are quite happy but Annie is still a little bit shy of being handled. Stan and Ollie are really relaxed now and we can handle them easily enough if we are patient and gentle with them.

Tues - 30/12/03 - Stan has been out of sorts for a few days, just quiet and not very keen to come out of his house, but not showing symptoms of any disease or injury. He is now back to normal, running and climbing all over the place as usual!

Sat - 10/01/04 - Kenny is getting some extra attention at the moment, his legs seem to be very weak and he seems to be moving round even less than usual. We are keeping him on a low carbohydrate diet to control his weight, which is now around 700 grams.

Tues - 20/01/04 - Alfie has been out of sorts for a few days but seems to be feeling better now. His appetite is O.K. and he doesn`t seem to have any respiratory problems so hopefully he will be alright in a day or so.

Sat - 24/01/04 - Alfie appeared to be O.K. on Wednesday but on Thursday morning he was in a state of near collapse. My vet gave him a combined Antibiotic/Steroid injection but warned me not to expect too much. However, by tea-time he was showing some improvement and by Friday evening was almost back to normal. He had a second shot this morning and seems to be O.K. now.

Sat - 31/01/04 - Alfie isn`t very well at the moment, he is off his food and is having some problems in using his hands.

Sun - 01/02/04 - Poor Alfie died on Sunday evening, he just slipped away after spending a couple of hours with me on the chair. He was the friendliest little ratty I have ever known, a real treasure.

Wed - 18/02/04 - Took Ollie and Ken to the vet this morning, they have both been snuffly and were due for a course of antibiotics. Ollie is really very well behaved now.

Sat - 21/02/04 - We bought a new ratty today, a six week old agouti dumbo. His name is Bilbo, he`s a really handsome little chap.

Mon - 08/03/04 - Ollie and Ken are much better after taking their medication and little Bilbo is doing fine.

Wed - 17/03/04 - We lost Kenny this morning, he had not taken any food for 3 days and was just lying quietly in his house. He was a very special little chap and we are going to miss him a lot.

Tues - 23/03/04 - Ollie has had bad diarrhoea for a week or so. We have treated him with diluted Immodium and he seems to be much better now.

Thur - 25/03/04 - Ollie`s diarrhoea returned and I thought that a visit to the vet was called for. He has recently completed a course of Marbocyl and apparently this has killed off the normal organisms in his intestine. My vet recommended the addition of "Yakult" to his diet to correct this.

Wed - 31/03/04 - Ollie is now almost back to normal although he is a bit bony.

Mon - 19/04/04 - All the ratties are O.K. at the moment, Stan is completely tame and runs all over the place, Ollie is rather thin and chesty but seems to be generally quite happy.

Sun - 02/05/04 - Poor old Ollie died today, he just went off his food for about 24 hours and slipped quietly away. It`s been good to see him have a little bit of quality time after what must have been a poor start in life.

Fri - 12/06/04 - Another little rattie joined the family today, his name is Spike and he is about four months old. His owner is suffering from some allergy problems and can`t handle him at the moment so we will take care of the little guy for as long as it takes. He is very friendly and has obviously been well looked after.

Sun - 27/06/04 - Our little Meg died today, she was a sweet quiet little girl and was barely two years old. Her breathing had been laboured for quite a while but she eventually drifted off quite peacefully.

Wed - 28/07/04 - Meg`s sister Molly has been having some breathing problems recently and we noticed that she was being bullied by one of the other girls. We have moved her to the bottom floor of the play-pen and she now seems generally much happier. Stanley is now really relaxed and seems to be perfectly happy, he strained his right back leg a couple of weeks ago but it`s O.K. now.

Thur - 05/08/04 - We lost three of our ratties today. Poppy has had trouble moving around for a few days and was unable eat or drink. Molly had a very bad chest and was losing the use of her hands. Poor Stanley suddenly lost the use of his back legs and was understandably very upset. Our vet agreed that they should all be put to sleep as there was no way forward.

Sat - 07/08/04 - Three new boys, Scooby, Hagar and Rory arrived today. They are around a year old, quite tame and and in good condition, they had to be re-homed for family reasons along with four girls who now have good homes with friends of ours.

Thur - 18/11/04 - We lost Hagar today, he had been putting on a lot of weight and we were just altering his diet to help control it. He had seemed to be O.K. apart from this but he died during the night. He was a nice little chap and we were just getting to be really good friends.

Tues - 07/12/04 - We picked up two little girls from Longview today. We have introduced them to each other and they seem to be getting on O.K. They are called Mel and Kim. 

Fri - 10/12/04 - We introduced Mel and Kim to Annie today, she has been on her own since we lost her sister, Tilly. They are quite happy together so we will leave them in the same cage to get to know each other.

Sun - 06/03/05 - Bilbo wanted to come out of his house this morning and we noticed that his breathing is a little bit laboured. I`ve moved him into the play-pen which is much more open and set up some gentle heat. He has eaten some baby food and seems to be quite happy for now. We shall be going to see our vet tomorrow.

Fri - 11/03/05 - We lost Bilbo today, he was just going downhill in spite of a course of antibiotics. The little guy was a perfect pet throughout his short life, always friendly and gentle. I`m sure he enjoyed the time we had together.

Wed - 23/03/05 -  Brought 3 black & white hooded boys back from Longview Rescue today, Murphy, Milton & Mac. Apparently they were in a filthy state when they were brought in, but they seem quite friendly and don`t mind being handled, so they must have been well looked after at some time.

Tue - 03/05/05 - We had Annie put to sleep today, she had been unable to eat due to a swelling in her mouth and throat. The vet confirmed that this was a tumour and there wasn`t any viable option for treatment.

Sat - 28/05/05 - Little Mel has had a really bad respiratory infection for the last two weeks. She had to have a direct antibiotic injection as she was unable to eat or drink, this took effect after about 3 days and and she is now eating soft food and taking "Yakult" to control diarrhoea. She has a slight balance problem but is improving slowly.

Fri - 16/06/05 - We lost our Mel today, she had almost got back to normal but began to have serious balance problems and stopped eating. She was a wild little thing when we first brought her home but settled down really well and became a real pet.

Tue - 19/07/05 - Rocky has had a lump on his back which luckily turned out to be a sebaceous cyst which our vet squeezed and cleared without any problems. Poor old Scooby is losing control of his back legs and is going to need some extra care. He`s such an old sweetie now, he just likes to be nursed and have his neck rubbed.

Mon - 25/07/05 - We bought a little girl today to keep Kim company, her name is Buffy.

Tue - 02/08/05 - Scooby died today, he just went slowly downhill but didn`t seem to be distressed. His brother Rocky is showing similar symptoms and is going to need the same kind of care. He`s one of the friendliest little ratties we have ever known.

Sun - 18/09/05 - Rocky`s back legs are quite weak but he seems to be coping really well, we have made his house easier to get around in without any need for climbing and he is being medicated with anti-inflammatory medicine. He also has regular outings with Kim and Buffy and still wanders around the floor.

Tue - 27/09/05 - Picked up three baby Husky boys from a friend of ours today, Scat, Solo and Snoopy. They were born on the 24th. of August and are really healthy and friendly. Rocky is doing very well in spite of the slight problem with his legs. Murphy, Mac and Milton have had really bad diarrhoea for about ten days after eating dandelion leaves but are now O.K.

Thur - 03/11/05 - We lost Rocky today, he has had a good life and went peacefully. We are going to miss him very much, he was so gentle and loveable. 

Mon - 07/11/05 - We had to have little Mack put to sleep today, he was having real difficulty in breathing and just wasn`t enjoying life any more. He was a really nice little guy and we spent a lot of time together during the last few weeks of his life.

Fri - 09/12/05 - Picked up a dumbo rattie called Rolo from Longview, he had been taken in at the end of August. We are just getting to know each other and he seems quite happy at the moment. Poor old Kim is very confused, I don`t think she has very much time left.