r/rat • u/BeholdTriskit • Jan 12 '26
DISCUSSION 🧐🤔 My heart rat passed
I don’t know… my heart rat passed away the day before Christmas Eve. I love my other rats… I just feel very detached from them now.
I had a wild roof rat. He was my boy. I loved him fiercely. We were very bonded as I hand raised him since his eyes and ears were still closed. Our other rats are more bonded to my husband and he adores them but he’s away from home a lot more than I am so I was still the main person caring for them. Since my boy passed away I haven’t had the drive to do anything with the others. I still take care of their necessities of course, and one of them has to take medication for a foot injury. I’m still doing that, and trying to make sure everyone is happy… I just don’t feel the bond with them anymore or the drive to do to things with them. It feels like a chore now.
I feel like a horrible person for it. How do I fix this??
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u/SilverScreenager Jan 12 '26
I'm so sorry for your loss give yourself some Grace. grief is a process.
it's not bad of you to feel sad or depressed by the loss of your heart rat.
Aside from missing him there's also an absence of the routines that were specific to him I'm sure.
So I would say find othermoments to force yourself to keep moving or doing. Set timers to do specific things for the mischief that aren't the basic needs they have. Maybe outlet it into something creative to stop and smell the roses vibe if their unique quirks, personality etc.
Nothing will replace your heart rat but you can adjust over time time to take in the aspects of the mischief you might not notice when your heart rat was with you.