#10 Take Care of a Pet

My family has always been prone to pet ownership. For as long as I can remember, there has always been at least one dog and one cat running around chasing each other and causing a ruckus. Not to mention all of the adopted lizards, frogs, turtles, fish, and rodents my brother and I begged or hunted for as children. We were never quite to Doolittle status, but we pushed the envelope a bit.

So, when I flipped to this challenge, I first contemplated just reliving the best of my many pet stories: my brother and I throwing Jack (one of our many psychotic cats) back and forth across the lawn cause we didn’t like him, Ginger (my grandmas pudgy tabby cat) dragging a full turkey behind Grandma's bed on Thanksgiving because she was (per usual) hungry, Doby (our psychologically unsound dachshund) attacking and then riding on the garage door as it opened, or Eugene (my badass piranha) hunting goldfish for an audience of my friends. But I figured I’d bore everyone except my brother and mom with my random reminiscences. The plan then was to ramble on to you about my roommate’s cat, Guess, and what it’s like to care for her. I was going to describe in detail the protruding tummy, poorly executed litter box habits and dietary schedule of our shy and massive kitty. That was the plan until last Monday.

On Monday I got Lucy.

I know, I know. Most of you are probably bug-eying me and silently (or not silently) shouting to the proverbial heavens “A RAT?!? (unless, of course, your first reaction was “is that a mouse?” In which case I am here to tell you she’s, in fact, a rat. Now you can do the whole “shout to the heavens” thing…). Why on earth would you get A RAT?!?!” The answer is simple: I have no fucking clue. Well, I know I decided within a 10-second window of time that our seemingly innocent trip to PetSmart! was not going to just be for cat food. And I know that everything involved in getting her was an impulse buy birthed from an off-handed mention of Ratatouille. And I know that I love her. So you must love her too.

There is actually quite a bit of planning and buying to do in order to keep a healthy happy rat. I dropped about $75 bucks at the store (sponsored almost in full by my loving bro David), and that was only buying the bare minimum. According to the handy dandy pamphlet I picked up near the rodent section, they need huge cages with exercise wheels, things to chew on, special food, water bottles, a specific kind of bedding, things to climb on blah blah blah blah blah. Case in point: lots and lots of stuff. Jinni and I spent over an hour in that place picking out all the essentials before we lugged it all (and Lucy!) home with us.

Now, I’ve only had Luce for a week from today and I’ve already learned quite a bit. Rats are, contrary to popular belief, kind of kick ass animals to have. They’re cleaner than you might think, they’re smart and very sweet, and you can train them like dogs! I found out how to have her do tricks, how to dance, and even how to be potty trained. That’s right folks, my rat can learn to pee and poop in a specific spot. A little un-real, right?.

The only unfortunate thing up until this point is that they get sick very easily. Tumors, respiratory infections, and foot diseases run at the top of the bill. I experienced the respiratory issue first hand. When we first got Luce we realized that she sneezed a lot, but didn’t think anything of it other than it made her that much more adorable. It wasn’t until Saturday that we noticed a little blood coming out of her nose that we got scared. That’s not normal, right? So I called up PetSmart! and told them what was up. “She probably has a respiratory infection,” they told me. “You need to bring her in to the store vet.”

Luckily, we caught it early and they took care of the expenses (14 day guarantee! Score.) and a week later the little lady is fine. Cleaning her ears inside of my shirt sleeve at the moment, as a matter of fact, and having a grand ole time. And soon I will make things even better for her by getting her a sister! Rats are social creatures and they stay healthier if you give them companions. PetSmart! was out when I went yesterday, but I can get some next week.

Since I’ve just gotten the little lady, there isn’t much else to report. But! I will keep you abreast of the ongoing care tactics and training progress. I’m hoping I can have some cool stuff to show you before too long. And for all of those of you who are hatin’ on me right now cause I have a rodent, you just wait. Unless you are Beth Spencer (I accept that Beth will always hate her),you’ll meet her and fall in love like I did.

Until Next Time,

Atticus