Truthfully, I'm exhausted. I am such an animal lover, and I love rats. I have loved rats since I was eight years old. I rescued three rats from a nasty living situation over a year ago now. One has sadly passed since, and the remaining two are both infected heavily with chronic upper respiratory infections, as was my late girlie (they came to me like this).

I feel like I'm at my wit's end. I've tried everything for the poor girls. And they're in my room with me, where I'm hearing them suffering constantly with their raspy breathing. I have already been to the vet. I have already put them on antibiotics and painkillers and bought a nebuliser and coughed up massive vet bills and bought solutions for the nebuliser and tried the steamy shower rooms and done everything I can think of to help them. I've deep-cleaned the cage. I've tried countless different litters and linings for the cage to try and minimise any irritation or dust particles. I've been buying a more expensive brand so that it has pretty much zero to no dust. I still hear them breathing in and out multiple times a day with raspy breathing and it pains me to the core because I know it must be uncomfortable for them.

I wonder if they get frustrated, that somehow, something as simple as breathing is difficult. I have nowhere else to go really. The vet just said they just have chronic upper respiratory infections and there's nothing you can do to make it go away, only lessen it. And now it just feels like as my remaining two girls are getting older, they are succumbing more and more to the infection. 

Has anyone else had babies with chronic URIs? Is there anything I'm missing that could help them? I'd love to hear any stories of people going through something similar 💔

A hard reality from a ratty lover