As predicted, the pain is gone. No visit to the ER for me!

I got up first thing this morning and took care of the rats. Nattie seems to be doing fine. She's eating and drinking (which, in the Animal Kingdom, is almost always a sign that they'll live) and about half of the injury has dried. I put more Neosporin on her tail, dumped the bedding out, wiped down the glass with just a wet rag (I'm afraid to use any cleaners that might make them sick or slow down Nattie's recovery), put in fresh bedding (which Mercedes cut up yesterday), and they're already back in their home. It didn't even take 10 minutes, from start to finish. I'll be doing this every day until Nattie is healed, then I can go back to twice a week cleanings, and litter. I have to admit, I really prefer the corncob litter to the shredded paper. Nasties don't stick to the bottom, and I never see puddles of piddle.

I really hope you aren't mad about this, Christine. I've been stressing about how you're going to feel when you see this. All I can say is that I'm sorry, and I'm doing my best to see that Nattie recovers well. Please don't be mad at Alex, either. He just loves those rats, and he wanted to play with them. He cried himself to sleep after our talk yesterday. The only reason I was mad at him was because he had already been told to leave them alone, and he disobeyed.

the last trail...the next path