Diary of a Rat Planet Rescued Rat

Still waiting ...

Wed, 21 May 2008 17:54:57 GMT

We still haven't heard from The Tummy Inspector. Does it usually take this long? I'm a bit annoyed at being told I look like a hovercraft, whatever that is. I'm sure it's not nice though. AM I too porky? Maybe a little round ... what do you think?

We've been trying to keep the Paw in The Drawer Club clean and tidy but it's ever so difficult when we're ALL in there! At least Barney and Woody have moved back into the bedroom. That means that Rocky can have the smaller, boys Bachelor Pad all to himself. Ver says hte PIRDC will fall apart soon, and she keeps having to tape it all together again. We DO love it in here though. It's dark, cozy, easy to get to, and there's lots of room really.

Ver is starting Betty-Sue and Sheba-Sheila on new medication today. It's a natural remedy and she's tried it on herself first - as always. We all hope that it helps Shebee and Betty. They both have health problems, which I'll go into another day. For now ... I'm waiting for the Tummy Inspector!!

The Tummy Inspector

Sat, 10 May 2008 17:50:08 GMT

Sorry I haven't been in touch for a while but I've had a poorly foot and it's been difficult for me to use the keyboard. I use the front paws most, but the back ones are useful for the space bar and the numbers. It's a lot better now though. I'm a bit worried because Ver told us that The Tummy Inspector was going to make a surprise visit and that my tummy would be too big! (Well, you only have to look at the pics above!) She says that Emma would be horrified - are you Aunty Emma? This will be the first time we've been visited by the Tummy Inspector and I wondered if any of you rats could tell me what happens? We've not heard of The Tummy Inspector, have you? (OK, so I told a porky. Who ever heard of such a thing. Tee-hee!) I'm sure that some of you have had a visit. Anyone? Well, you can see from the pictures ... is my tummy too big? I'll let you decide if i should go an a diet or not. Please email me if you've been inspected and have anything to tell me. I'd be very grateful. (Oh dear. I feel rather mean now)

Introductions by Ellie-May Squish

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:07:14 GMT

Hello! This is me on the left, Ellie-May Squish. I'm head rat at Rat Planet, and I have seven brothers and sisters. We're not really all related but we like to think of ourselves as one big happy family. We call our human Ver, and she is the editor of Rat Planet. She looks after us and we are never, ever locked in a cage, although we have a number of them around the apartment for our use and security. We rats always need a secure, dark bedroom where we can feel safe to snooze the day away, and take our meals there. We're what they call "free-range" rats, and we're very lucky to have found a loving Forever Home. Not all rats are that lucky. We all come from Furry Friends Rescue in Surrey, where our aunty Emma cared for us when we were brought into her. No one wanted all of us together but Emma wouldn't split us up - thank you Emma! After a few weeks we found our home at Rat Planet and we all came here together! There were already two bucks here - Barnabus J Depp & Wormwood B Pitt. They are both neutered so there's no chance of babies, thank goodness! Sadly, two of us passed over Rainbow Bridge after just a couple of weeks. Serena-Jay and Trixie-Bell were very happy to have found a Forever Home and lots of love - and a name - even if it was only for a short time. Ver nursed them both to the end and they didn't suffer. Phew! This typing lark really takes it out of you, doesn't it? I think I'll have to introduce you to the others after I've had a rest and a snack. Hope you enjoy my diary!

Bully Bites

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:16:48 GMT

First of all I need to say that I don't hold with bullies of any kind. OK, so I may be a little bossy, and I like to be in charge, but I wouldn't, knowingly, bully anyone ... would I?

Well, poor Betty-Sue, Bluebell's twin, had a very nasty bully-bite on her shoulder. She and Bluebell were always the squeakers of the gang, but I really didn't know it was this bad. Of course, I have my suspicions - she's not called The Chainsaw for nothing. Hmph. Anyway, Ver took Betty-Sue into the bedroom so that the gash could heal. It really was a gash, not just a cut, and I wondered if Betty needed stitches. Ver dusted the wound with some amazing wound powder she got from our vet. (Amazing stuff! I have no idea what's in it though) The wound healed very quickly and Betty will be back with us very soon. (If she wants to be. She seems perfectly happy snuggling in the Snuggle Nest under my bed!) It's just one thing after another with us Squishies, isn't it? We all hope that there won't be any more emergencies for a long while.

Bluebell over Rainbow Bridge

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 08:16:02 GMT

It's been very sad here at Rat Planet for the past week. Bluebell_Ramona has been very poorly with pneumonia. Ver took her into the bedroom and made a hospital ward on her bed, with a "tent" of cushions - Bluebell always loved that. She had been on Baytril and Ranoxon, which isn't very effective against that awful illness, but Ver was also giving her Transfer Factor, to build up her immunity, and Grapefruit Seed Extract, to fight the infection. Oh poor Bluebee was very sick and would just lie there. She wasn't even interested in fish paste! We all knew something was very wrong then. We were snuggling on Ver's bed last night, watching Torchwood (I'm a great fan of Captain Jack) when Bluebell passed over Rainbow Bridge, snuggled in Ver's arms. It was very sad and her twin, Betty-Sue, misses her very much. We're all rallying round to try and make her smile but we all feel the loss. A BIG thank you to our special friend, Paul, for taking such lovely photos of us all. Bluebell will always be remembered as the beautiful doe she was.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ellie-May speaks out on hairless rats.

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 08:58:44 GMT

I'm working very hard on my very first feature for Rat Planet, but it's not easy. I rarely have time for a tea break, and the typing is very hard on my pads. It's about hairless rats. The very first thing I will ask is ... WHY? Being a rat with a good healthy coat of fur, I can't think of one reason why you humans should want us not to have our fur. OK, maybe it will prevent fur mites but they're not the end of the world, are they? We've had fur for millions of years so we must need it. Why, oh why would you do this to us? Do you hate us that much? I wish you'd explain it to me and those poor rats you have brought into this world ... without their fur. I've had emails from a few hairless rats and they're not very happy with their baldness. Most humans think they're ugly and they don't get the good homes. Many bald rats stay in rescue all their lives (that's awful!) Our human, Ver, thinks they're very cute but I'm glad I have my coat. I get the impression that it was reptile food breeding farms that started all of this. Brrrr.... it makes my blood curdle just to think of it. If you can help me with this feature please email ratplanetuk@aol.com

Tags: Hairless Rats, Rat Farms,

The Daisy Chainsaw Gang

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:29:48 GMT

Ok, so here we have ME - Ellie-May, and Daisy-Chainsaw. Her real name is Daisy-Jane but Ver calls her Daisy Chainsaw. That could be my fault. Daisy got the blame for eating Ver's pillowcases (Tee-hee!) We're The Chainsaw Gang, and sometimes Sheebee joins us. Daisy and I are really close friends but she's much smaller than me so I have to be careful when we're playing. She's a lot tougher than she looks though. Brrrr... there's a really spooky picture of Daisy in the photo pile above. Ver put it on the kitchen rat-gate to remind us that we're being watched!

Text like this is by Ver, our human. "Yes. I'm very glad you owned up to chewing my pillowcase, Ellie. I knew it was you all along :)"

Betty-Sue & Bluebell-Ramona, The Twins

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:58:42 GMT

The Twins are very beautiful Russian Blue dumbo ladies. They have THE most beautiful big dark eyes. We're all rather envious of their fur too. It's very soft and silky, just like velvet - really! OK, so they may be a little ... what shall we say ... round? Some may even say porky. The only way we can tell one from the other is because Betty-Sue has a nick out of her ear. Bluebell doesn't. I really love the names we've all been given, don't you? Squish is our family name (every group of Rat Planet rats has one) and we all have TWO names each. We never even had one name between us when we arrived at Rat Planet. Ver says that's just wicked. Every name deserves a name, she always says. That's why we were so glad that Serena and Trixie had names when they went over Rainbow Bridge.

Tags: Rainbow Bridge, Russian Blue,

Rocky-Bob & Sheba-Sheila

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:22:49 GMT

Rocky-Bob is a neutered buck too. He's a Himalayan top eared boy, and he's Daisy's brother. He's very gentle and rather shy. He moved into the bachelor apartment with Woody and Barney. I think he was glad of the male company. I'm afraid we does used to boss him around a little and he's much happier with his new brothers around. He doesn't always sleep in the bachelor pad. He's very fond of the snuggle nest under the sofa. Ver makes sure there's lots of fresh bedding, and Sheba-Sheila LOVES to rip up magazines and squash the nest full! Sheba-Sheila is a sort of golden coloured hooded lady. Anyone know exactly what she is? She's head housekeeper and makes the best nests!

Barney and Woody

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:41:33 GMT

Barnabus J Depp, Barney to his friends, is a very cuddly, gentle Berkshire dumbo rat. Wormwood B Pitt is a very handsome Siamese dumbo. They both welcomed us at Rat Planet straight away, although they moved out of The Paw in The Drawer Club, and into their own bachelor cage. Boys are sooo much messier than we does, don't you think? Barney and Woody are brothers, although they look very different, and they are both very handsome! They're named after gorgeous film stars. Human film stars. I'm sure they are both very well named. Does anyone know if Johnny Depp likes rats?!