Petal & Peach
Having a rattie family of your own.
We had four months with Petal as a lone rat, and throughout that time we spent as much time with her as we could. She was very sweet and cuddly with us, but there was always something missing – that twinkle in her eye that I’ve seen in all my other rats. Petal often came across as cranky and set in her ways, she certainly liked to boss me around. Having no idea how old Petal is, or if she’d always been on her own worried me, because I didn’t want to force a companion on her and cause her any stress or upset.
Still I followed my instincts and kept on looking for a suitable companion. Then I found Daisy and her daughters. Being so young the three of them weren’t quite what I had planned for, but I went with it. Derek and I were prepared to look after the girls separately if things didn’t work out, but luckily they did.
It has only been a few weeks since Petal moved in with Daisy, Peach and Apricot, but the change in Petal has been extraordinary. At first it was hard, I found myself worrying about Petal and if the young ones were driving her crazy or stressing her. Every squeak or bump and I’d check on them. Occasionally Petal has put one of the girls in their place, especially the two young ones, but yesterday Peach, one of the babies, had Petal rolled on to her back and was half grooming her half fighting and Petal was happily going along with it.
Petal and her new family
There have been many occasions where I’ve caught all four of them piled up in a hammock together or just sitting together, but yesterday I realised that not only did Petal look happier and healthier than I’d ever known her, but she looked younger.
Petal went through so much having two tumours removed within the first week of joining our family, and we were so proud of her for making such a brilliant and quick recovery. Seeing Petal now, with her new rattie family, it’s hard to believe that all that heartache and worry was only four short months ago.
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