Baby Rat needs a home!!!

[kim21122]

Hello,

I found 2 little itty bitty baby rats in the middle of the garage floor a few nights ago. Waited for the momma to come back for them, but she never did. Unfortunately, one of them did not make it through the night. The other one, however, is alive and now seems to be thriving. She is about the size of a cotton ball and her eyes are barely open. I think she is probably about 2 wks old. I have been warming her, hydrating her with Pedialyte and started with a little bit of baby formula yesterday. So far, so good.

Here's the deal... I can't keep it; not with 4 cats. No one wants it (shelters & such) because it is "just a rodent". However, I cannot just let it die. So here I am, taking care of it. Does anyone know of a rat rescue in Northern California? Would anyone like to adopt her as a pet? Free to a good home. Please help! She is very sweet...

["Mad" Miles]

Just don't offer it for sale or breed it!!! If you do, you'll be in for it!

[Claire]

I cannot take your rattie, but I just wanted to say that my pet rat was one of the greatest pets I had ever had. I made a full habitat for her and she had a good life. She would come out on her balcony in the evening and always listened to my daughter playing the harp. Our cat learned to leave her alone, but I would never trust her to our present cats who are enthusiastic gopher eaters.
One of my favorite memories was seeing her rooting around in my purse, finding a loose altoid, and I'd hear "crunch, crunch crunch". Then she would assume her position on my shoulder and blow me minty-fresh breath. :)
I still dream about her.

[kim21122]

Happy ending... I took the baby to the local Wildlife Rescue (even though when I called them, they said they didn't take rats). I thought maybe if they saw her, they would have to take her in. I happened to meet this awesome volunteer that not only took her in, but said he has had rats before, has all of the stuff and she was so cute that he would likely keep her himself. Sad to say goodbye, but happy she will be assessed medically and taken care of by someone who really knows what they are doing. Yay!!! :)

[Claire]

Nice to hear!

Speaking of Wildlife Rescue orgs, I caught a red-tail hawk that was grounded for a day in our field and took it to the Meacham Rd rescue. They were great and will release it here again when it is ready.
Please donate to these organizations when you see them canvassing. They really do good work.