Yesterday, we got the news that two of our six month old boys could no longer be taken care of by their adopter. As a breeder, I am responsible for these sweet precious lives and will take them in, and/or find new homes right away. I usually prefer to find a home right away so the little pipsqueaks do not have to transition twice. I have only had to do it a few times. Once there was an asthmatic allergy developed to the rats. Another time, the kids got 'bored' with their girls after a year, wanting to do stuff outside with their new dogs instead. One boy became hormonal and angry towards his brother. (He was needing to be neutered and the family didn't have the funds.) A group of girls got 'kicked' out of the family rental by the landlord. However, these girls are simply in a 'foster' situation with me. Their owners visit and are involved with their care. They were supposed to go home this summer but the house their humans are getting won't be ready for a bit longer - all in all they will be here a total of 8 months. When we took them in, we brought all of their toys and cage. Since they are not going to be here 'forever' we didn't re-introduce them to our girls. In fact when we do cage, toy swaps, both of these established colonies fluff up a bit not happy the other was in their space. Finally, these two boys, 'Personal Stuff' which led up to the owner no longer able to care for them. I know the above families LOVED the rats. Do not get me wrong, in the owners eyes all of these are valid issues to have to re-home their pet. Even if I am really disappointed the adoption didn't work out for everyone involved, I would NEVER lecture the adopter. I know it was a difficult choice to make for them. I am so thankful they felt they could talk to me about what is going on. In fact, personally, I would rather them contact me than have these precious ones become neglected due to the circumstances. That is why there are so many animal rescues out there. Why the Humane Society takes in countless critters of all shapes and sizes. Why I really felt I needed to talk about comfort items for even the smallest of all critters.
Whenever ratties leave our home, we always send either a hammock or snugglie, and a bit of fleece that smells like the mischief. If it is a single rattie going to a new established mischief this is especially important. Can you imagine being taken away from the only thing you have ever known and put in a room filled with different smells and items, without a way to contact your loved ones. For a rattie, especially during the 3 week quarantine a comfort item is important.
People will often have larger pets with comfort items. A dog that has a favorite toy, a cat that snuggles on a 'special' towel or even a bird that cannot seem to part with a certain toy in it's cage. All of these are things that most owners would want to take to the vet, if their pet was going in for a procedure or to be re-homed. Why not the same for a rat? The boys that came yesterday, came with bags of food, toys, hammocks and fleece. I took most of their fleece that was dirty and threw it into the laundry, making sure to keep one piece for their cage. I didn't wash their hammocks or their toys. After I got a ton of kisses and love, I put them in their old cage and let them snuggle up with each other. This morning, when I woke up, they both were laying on top of their blue fleece, not hiding in the cage but actually holding on to it like a bear hug right by the door. My heart broke a little for them. Yes our home had familiar smells and noises but it has been five months. This image only confirmed to me we are doing the right thing sending 'transitional objects' with our babies when they leave the home.
(A comfort object, transitional object, or security blanket is an item used to provide psychological comfort, especially in unusual or unique situations...) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfort_object Granted, some may say I am looking at this as a human needs a comfort item not an animal, I will always continue to provide something with their mischief's smells to help in the transition.
Whenever ratties leave our home, we always send either a hammock or snugglie, and a bit of fleece that smells like the mischief. If it is a single rattie going to a new established mischief this is especially important. Can you imagine being taken away from the only thing you have ever known and put in a room filled with different smells and items, without a way to contact your loved ones. For a rattie, especially during the 3 week quarantine a comfort item is important.
People will often have larger pets with comfort items. A dog that has a favorite toy, a cat that snuggles on a 'special' towel or even a bird that cannot seem to part with a certain toy in it's cage. All of these are things that most owners would want to take to the vet, if their pet was going in for a procedure or to be re-homed. Why not the same for a rat? The boys that came yesterday, came with bags of food, toys, hammocks and fleece. I took most of their fleece that was dirty and threw it into the laundry, making sure to keep one piece for their cage. I didn't wash their hammocks or their toys. After I got a ton of kisses and love, I put them in their old cage and let them snuggle up with each other. This morning, when I woke up, they both were laying on top of their blue fleece, not hiding in the cage but actually holding on to it like a bear hug right by the door. My heart broke a little for them. Yes our home had familiar smells and noises but it has been five months. This image only confirmed to me we are doing the right thing sending 'transitional objects' with our babies when they leave the home.
(A comfort object, transitional object, or security blanket is an item used to provide psychological comfort, especially in unusual or unique situations...) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfort_object Granted, some may say I am looking at this as a human needs a comfort item not an animal, I will always continue to provide something with their mischief's smells to help in the transition.
OCRA Orbit & OCRA Hubble making the most of their selfies
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