small miracles

[ratcreature]

So far Silas has been super cooperative when taking his meds. *knocks on wood* Even though today was the fourth time at home, and by now he has to know what is coming and that Baytril tastes horribly bitter, he still lets himself be held on my lap *and* lets me shove the syringe in his mouth without struggle. He doesn't even try to spit the antibiotic out or wipe it off afterwards. I keep checking that I didn't accidentally miss his mouth, I'm so astonished.

I mean, I've made sure to praise him and give him something sweet, like a piece of banana, afterwards, but I've never had it happen that any rat who wasn't half-dead didn't at least try to get away or shove the syringe away with its paws.

Comments

[lilacsigil]

What a good little rat! I had a cat that was co-operative on that level, but only because he was developmentally disabled and simply didn't remember what the medicine syringe meant. Silas sounds much brighter than that!

[ratcreature]

Well, he's not the most energetic rat, and prefers lazing around to running outside, but with the right motivation he gets positively enterprising. For example as soon as I fill their bowl he grabs food pieces and squirrels them away in other places in the cage as fast as he can. I'm not sure whether he does this to make up for being the smallest of my four, but it does indicate that he is able to plan ahead somewhat.

[ladyjanelly]

What a sweet baby he is. :)

[ratcreature]

I just hope I haven't jinxed it and he'll stay cooperative for the second half of his antibiotics course too.

[bluemeridian]

Yay! I has to be done one way or the other, but at least this ends up being easier on both of you. (So far! No jinxing!)

[ratcreature]

Yes, I much prefer to not have to use much force and enact some drawn out drama with a heroically struggling rat. Maybe he has some lab rat ancestors that were selected for indifference to drug administration...