Rat Caesarian

Some days when I am on call there are three voices in my head that respond to people’s problems.

Client: My rat is having trouble giving birth and has been going overnight.

Voice 1: Rat? WFT? I don’t know how to treat a birthing rat!

Voice 2: C’mon, she’s obviously really worried about it, otherwise she wouldn’t have rung the emergency service.

Voice 3: Now this we have to see.

It’s a bit left field, but I’ve found the trick with these difficult cases when you don’t actually know what you’re doing is to admit it and warn them that their animal might die. In this case the first thing the owner said to me when she saw me was “I remember you. You treated my other rat. He got better.” That does wonders to boost a young vet’s confidence

Hitting the books and reading that most rats that go to caesarian die, does not.

It didn’t go too badly, but reviving newborn rats is one of the most bizarre things I have tried to do to date. They look premature when they’re born, and you can’t rub them vigorously to wake them up. The lake of hair is also very disconcerting. We only managed to revive about 4 of her dozen babies, but that will probably be plenty for her to handle. And if mummy rat rejects her pink squeaking brood, then good luck to devoted rat-mad owner who tried to bottle rear them.

Next week’s problem- taking stitches out of a rat spey wound.