What's New at The Literary Rats

February 10th, 2003

The main purpose of this update is to let everyone who visits know that I won't be doing any updating for a while. The site will remain with it's current content, but life has just gotten too busy to devote time to expanding this website. Also, with limited time, it's far more important to devote it to the ratties themselves, and not to their webpage!

I am also removing my email address from the website for the time being. I don't have time to properly respond to folks who write us, and I feel badly offering something I cannot provide right now.

I hope everyone and their ratties are well, and if you have any questions this site does not answer about rat care, please check out the rattie links as it has several sites that offer help and guidance.

Happy Spring!

December 8th, 2002

Christmas is nearly here, which means it's almost time for me to start making their favorite yearly treat. Walnuts carefully cracked, the meat chopped and mixed with yogurt, peanut butter and cheese, then refilled with this delicious mixture and tied shut with a bow- I tell you my boys go crazy!

The rats are having loads of fun lately, as I've put together a play table for them, a rattie romper room if you will. Now whenever I'm up in my studio they can have free run safely. It's fabulous having the space in our new house for them to have a permanent playground.

We here at The Literary Rats hope you and yours have a wonderful Holiday Season full of merriment. And may we all see in the New year with heathly, happy rats!

September 9th, 2002

Life as certainly been full of change for the Literary Rats, in ways both good and sad.

In late July we brought home a new little boy, a rescue we adopted from our vet's office. Little Shakespeare would have been snake food, but instead he gets to lead a happy life here with us. We can't believe how sweet and loving he is.....if you've got a shoulder, Shakespeare wants to be on it, cuddled right up to your neck!

In early August we dealt with the loss of both Edgar and Huxley. They were approximately 2 years and 8 months old, and both died of old age within a week of one another at home with Mom.

The last big news is that the whole family has moved! In the midst of all this change for the rat family, we purchased a home in the country and headed a couple hours North. We're getting all settled in, but it means I never had a good chance to get baby pictures of Shakespeare! Now that things are getting back to normal, I'll be doing some updating of the site, so keep an eye out.

June 18th, 2002

I hope all of you who visit this site are well, and that your rats are happy and healthy!

My boys are getting along just fine. Edgar and Huxley are both 2 1/2 years old, and enjoying old age. Edgar has lost weight and muscle tone, but he still really holds his own with the youngsters. Huxley has begun to lose ability in his hindquarters, but he hasn't had to be seperated from the others and drags himself around fairly well. I feel it would break his heart to be all alone, and that the activity and companionship of the other four is what keeps him going. He mostly sleeps though, and enjoys making himself elaborate nests out of papertowels in his igloo. Edgar has been wonderful, keeping his old chum company and helping to groom him.

Hawthorne and Whitman are a year old! They're all grown up and, ahem, big boys. They may look a bit pudgy, but when you pick them up you can feel it's all muscle! Hawthorne continues to be the main instigator of trouble, and Whitman is still his sweet self, always happy to run to the door for scratches.

Potter is a big boy now as well! His 1st birthday is at the end of August. He's still very sweet, but his favorite new pasttime is to run from Mom. Very naughty! I'm trying to train him that leaping from my arms is not an acecptable behaviour, but he's not interested in rules, he's just interested in racing around like a madrat!

November 17th, 2001

Well, things have been busy here at the Literary Rats. We've had an injury recently, requiring the sick tank.

The other night we heard the squeaks of a fight....I checked up on them, and everyone seemed perfectly fine. Next day when I got them all out for their evening playtime, poor old Edgar's back left leg and foot were horribly swollen.

Early the next morning, off to the vet Edgar and I went, just to make sure things weren't more serious than I suspected. Thankfully, a week in the sick tank with lots of treats and scratches, and daily doses of children's aspirin, and he's as good as new (albeit with a little limp).

Now he's back in with all the other boys, and everyone seems content, enjoying some walnuts from our walnut tree. I'm sure they have no idea what a delicious feast they'll have of Thanksgiving leftovers in just a few short days :)

September 7th, 2001

Well, today I finally updated the website with pictures of Whitman and Hawthorne, so now everyone can get to know them. They each have a story page of their own now:
Hawthorne's Page
Whitman's Page

We also have received two new awards, which the boys think is just amazing. We want to give a big thanks to:

You can view the awards on our awards page. Please visit all the kind folks who have been so kind as to award our site!

July 6th, 2001

Today was the homecoming of two new Literary Rats....welcome to Whitman and Hawthorne! They came to us from our favorite local pet shop. She only breeds now and then (only what she can sell as pets!), and only very healthy animals. She's been working on a line of dumbos, and these two little boys were too cute to pass up. Whitman is a lovely creamy amber color, with some silvery white, and Hawthorne is a dark rusty agouti, like their mother. And, of course, both are dumbos, and adorable as can be.

April 27th, 2001

Happy Spring to all! I've just added a new page to the Literary Rat site. It's titled Are Rats the Right Pet For You? and includes a basic list of DO's and DON'TS for rat owners. I hope it helps someone out there to decide if rats are the right pets for them!

March 27th, 2001

Hello again so soon! I just wanted to say a big "Thank you!" to the two folks who have bestowed awards upon my boys in the past week. They're lovely awards, and we're very proud and honored to put them up on our awards page. The boys got special treats, and are always very pleased and thankful when other rat owners enjoy their site.

You can view them on the Awards page.

Please take the time to visit the generous people who awarded us, if you have a minute!

March 20th, 2001

Hello everyone....here I go again apologizing for not updating things for so long!

We did lose Justin back in October, the original Literary Rat, and my very first rat. He is sorely missed, which is partly why I have never written about his passing.

In happier news though, the young boys are great! Edgar and Huxley maintain their perfect health, and are living it up with gusto and merriment. Huxley is still brave and adventurous, while Edgar prefers to stay where it's safe (which is in my lap or under a pillow!). Now that Spring has sprung, Huxley comes on short outdoors excursions, to view the backyard or get the mail with me....but poor Edgar has such senstive red eyes bright light pains him. So to make up for it, we make sure he has special playtimes when all the lights are off and he can frolick in the dark.

Our newest addition isn't a rat, but a puppy! It should be very interesting to bring home our puppy in two weeks time and introduce her to the rats. While I'm trying not to get my expectations too high, I am hoping to train her to give them piggy-back rides ;)

As for the website, I do plan to do some work on it soon. I'd like to rewrite some old articles, and add some new ones full of information people write asking about frequently. I want this site to just get better and better! Also, I plan to offer a little something artistic soon...chances are you'll see something like original Literary Rat stationary ready for order in the coming season.

I hope this Spring sees everyones' rats happy and healthy...give them all a treat from myself and the boys!

September 29th, 2000

Sorry it has been so long since I've updated the site, things have been very busy here at home, in both positive and negative ways.

Sadly, we have faced our first loss here at The Literary Rats. Templeton, who fell very ill way back in May, finally had to be put to sleep. We were very lucky in that with lots of extra care and the use of a nebulizer, we were able to give him several extra months of life. On Sunday, September 10th, he suffered a stroke, his oxygen intake became very low, and he could no longer walk. We knew it was time, and Monday we took him in to Dr. Bob's office, and had him put painlessly to sleep. If anyone is facing this, and has fears and concerns over the forms of euthanasia, feel free to email me with any questions.

Justin is plodding along. He grew more ill the very day Templeton passed on, and I cannot help but feel he knew he'd lost his lifelong friend. He is doing better now, with regular doses of Prednisone, and is getting tons of love and treats and scratches, just as he deserves :)

The young boys are outrageously healthy, and to this day (getting close to their first birthdays) neither of them has had anything more than a sniffle, which was instantly cured with a dose of Tylan in their water. They just recently got spoiled by me, as I went to the pet shop and bought loads of new toys and treats to spruce up the entertainment level of their cage!

Justin is not so keen on toys and playing anymore, but as he has a trick leg, and trouble walking on smooth surfaces, he now has a lovely mat upstairs made from hay and straw to comfort his old bones.

I hope all is well with your ratties, give them all a treat and a cuddle, and let them know how much you love them.

June 3rd, 2000

Well, it's June already! That marks the 2nd birthday of our original Literary Rat, Justin....Happy Birthday Justin!

In unhappy rat news, Templeton in early May, got very ill, and on several occassions we nearly lost him to severe gasping attacks. One morning I opened their door and he flopped himself out at me, his feet and tail blue from lack of oxygen. Thankfully, we had the nebulizer, and a forced treatment of Albuterol saved his life, and within 10 minutes he was all calmed down, resting and grooming himself. He cannot live with Justin anymore, and they do miss each other, but Temple's can't do the climbing anymore, so he now lives in a tank by our bed where we can keep good tabs on him. The good news is, his condition seems to have stabilized, and he gets to have lots of play time on the couch with Justin.

The little ones are doing very well. Edgar is poised yet very sweet, and Huxley....well, he is ridiculously cute, but if there ever was an autistic rat, it would be him. He's brilliant, but his social behaviour is just nuts!

Hope all is well with your rats, goodbye for now from the Literary Boys!

April 16th, 2000

Hello again, I wanted everyone to know I just added a new large feature to the Literary Rat site. A book store in association with Amazon.com. It's a little nook where you can find books about rat care, and fiction about rats, with more rattie stuff to come! So please come and visit!

The Literary Rat Shop

April 7th, 2000

Well, right now this page is what's new! I thought it might be a nice idea to add somewhere to the site that I can point out updates, new pictures, how my boys are doing, and what they're up to in general for first time visitors, and our faithful online friends who come by and visit regularly.

I've just scanned in a couple new pictures of everyone from my last role of film, and added them to their respective picture page. In particular, I finally got a picture of the lovely Martin's Cage we bought for the little boys up on the housing page.

Everyone is doing well. Edgar and Huxley are growing and growing, and if I didn't have the big boys to compare them to, I would think they were all grown up! Edgar has turned into quite a lovey dovey little boy, always eager for attention, but shy and very reserved. Huxley is a bundle of activity! Every time I go to pet him all he wants to do is tackle and wrestle my hand to the ground....unless of course when I catch him when he's sleepy, then he allows me to give him some good scratches :)

The big boys are doing well also. Justin has his continual sniffles, and often gets red around the nose, but he's as vigorous and healthy as ever in all other respects, and still will do anything for a scratch! Templeton has developed the worst respiratory troubles of the two (he has a persistent rumbley wheeze these days), and I just started him on a new treatment. I purchased a nebulizer, and our wonderful vet gave me a prescription for albuterol. Templeton just had his first treatment the other night, and while he protested heavily, once the treatment was done he truly did sound better, and not once during the night did I wake and hear him coughing or rasping.

I hope all is well and happy with you and your ratties, Literary Rats signing off!

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