Animal care pop quiz.

[theweaselking]

You're a pro-life libertarian with a pet rat. Your rat gets cancer. You leave this cancer totally untreated until there is a tumour 3/4 the size of the rest of the rat growing out of its side, rendering its left rear leg completely unable to touch the ground, making the rat barely able to move at all. It has bedsores on this tumour. It is barely able to lug itself out of its own feces. Its entire world has been reduced to an area twice the length of its own body, with a food dish, water dropper, and its tumour sitting in puddles of its own urine.

Do you:
A) Pay for adequate medical care when you first detect the problem (almost six months ago), which will be expensive but within your possible budget, before treatment becomes hopeless?
B) Wait until the rat's quality of life is really untenable (like, several months ago) and have it humanely put down?
C) Do nothing. The rat should have better prepared itself for this eventuality, treating cancer in rats who can't afford to pay for it only encourages more financially insecure rats to get cancer, and charity should come from the family, community, and church, not the authorities.

Bonus hint: The rat is currently in my bathroom, being spoon-fed peanut butter, preparing for a final vet visit tomorrow evening, after torrain offered to buy it from the owner so that *she* could take the rat to a vet and get it treated. And by "treated", I mean getting a vet to look at it, determine if the quality of life as described above really is exactly as bad as it sounds, and then likely euthanised.

Comments

[ladyariadne.livejournal.com]

Having had pet rodents before.. simply put it down... and if it is as bad as you say... and from how bad it is , the cancer is probably metaticized (sp?), even if it were a baby rat and would have a year or two more life if treated.... the treatment is harsh and can cause other problems... be nice to it and put it down immediately

[kookiemaster.livejournal.com]

True .. if it's the armpit is't likely in the lymph nodes but in female rats, spaying at a young age does wonders.

[ladyariadne.livejournal.com]

sounds a bit late for spaying at this point though... but yes. spaying and nuetering in many animals causes dramatic health improvements