Mishka (Nov. 7, 2010 (?) - May 14, 2013)

Recently, we said good bye to our rat, Mishka (aka Mama).  Even though we took the time to pick out a name for her, we almost always referred to her and called her Mama.  Since we adopted her when she was an pregnant adult, we are not sure when she was born.  Our best guess is that she was 4-6 months old when we got her two years ago in March.  Soon after we brought her home, she gave birth to a litter of 12.  She was a very patience rat and a wonderful mother to all of the babies.  She always made sure there was enough for them to eat, even if it meant giving up her food to feed them.  I think in the end, this was part of the reason she was so skinny.  A few months ago, we separated her from her daughters and gave her her own space.  She seemed to enjoy the extra room and attention.  Mama was a very special rat.  She seemed to always have nesting on her mind and she loved to take care of her daughters.  She even went out of her way to groom us too.  Even though her daughters were bigger than her, she seemed to have a mother mentality all of her life.  It was really fun to get to know her and watch her mature.  We loved her and will miss her.  

Click here and here to see more pictures of Mama.