Being down to two guinea pigs, three parrots and four cats, leaves me with a lot of time on my hands for thinking.

I’m looking forward to when I’m going to be capable of owning rats again.

I’ve been looking at cages on Craigslist and I even kept a hoodie of mine that’s falling apart because there is plenty of usable fabric there for making hammocks. I’ll get to sew things, make rattie food mix again and play with tiny little intelligent creatures.

I’m not sure when this is going to be and I keep a closer eye on my guinea pigs now with Honey’s passing. They seem to have much more food and water available then when Honey was alive, along with her thyroid problem.

One thing I’m not sure about is if I’m going to adopt or if I’m going to the local breeder, but I feel that the breeder will give me more time with the rats than getting previously used rats and their lineage can be traced back further, checking for health issues in the line. Most rats I’ve had die either from something neurological or tumor related.

My dearest Georgie had a head tilt, then dry skin, then frailty, then death. Probable pituitary tumor. I remember the day before she died I couldn’t wake her from her nap for at least an entire minute, saying her name over and over and more loudly. I knew it was coming. She died on Yule in 2008.

They bring so much joy for how little time they are actually here. Compare an average rat’s lifespan to the length of time I’ve had this seven year old guinea pig and it’s just a blink.

Still, love them.