Our
House Name
(Part 1 - The Pubpsy Years).
I have to go back in time to 1995 to explain how it all happened - sorry it's rather long and this is the re-re-edited version.
Back in '95 I got my first rat Pubpsy. He was bought at a local Pet Shop when I went in with a work colleague to collect some cat litter. She spent over 20 minutes trying to decide which of 3 kinds she would take and before she'd decided I'd got the rat, his cage, bedding, food, accessories and a book.
Pubpsy had stood at the front of the cage and seemed to be saying "Please lady take me, I'm so lovely, you know you want to own me". He was a beautiful dark ratlet with a white belly and he looked adorable. I was hooked and we adopted each other. I held him for about five minutes and we were soul-mates. When we got home Bill was a bit suprised by my impulsive purchase, but quickly made friends and was soon off to the shops to get some apples and grapes for treats.
Pubpsy was a character, even in his naming. I originally was going to call him "Rattus" but he quickly decided this wasn't a name fit for a dog let alone for him. Bill began speaking to him in baby-talk and soon "Uppsy-puppsy" had become Pubpsy. Soon my little dark ex-pet shop ratlet was a strapping agouti berkshire buck with his own ideas on everything.
Pubpsy always wanted to eat our food and would threaten suicide from the top of his cage if he couldn't have what we were eating. He would hang by one paw, gradually seeming to slip, then recovering at the last minute when offered our food. He was extremely fussy about his food and really hated dry rat mix. He refused to eat most of the grains and seeds and would throw the locust beans out of his cage and on to the floor. Pubpsy loved all human foods except curry and Mexican food and he really enjoyed eating battered sausage, aerosol cream and ice cream. He was also very picky about his treats. He couldn't stand rodent yoghurt-type drops and eventually we decided to save our money and buy something we discovered he liked - Thorntons Milk Chocolate Buttons. These were his idea of bliss. He'd gently take one from us then run to the most inaccessible part of his cage (a converted indoor rabbit hutch) to sit and eat his treat. He'd clutch the button in his hands and slowly nibble the chocolate with a dreamy expression on his face, then come back for more.
Pubpsy always loved being out of his cage and his favourite games were "Peeing On The Remote", "Eating What I Shouldn't" and "The Stair Game". "Peeing On The Remote" speaks for itself and also included standing on the volume control, changing channel as his humans were watching the climax of a program and stamping on stand-by to turn the TV off. "Eating What I Shouldn't" included the sofa cushions, the cable for the mobile phone charger, wall paper, unpaid bills, throw cushions and his humans clothes. "The Stair Game" involved grid-searching each stair as he climbed up and down. Once a search was complete he'd drop a poo to say he'd been there. He got really confused as I cleaned up after him and the fun would start again.
Pubpsy loved travelling and as Bill's family live at opposite ends of the UK he had plenty of opportunities. His first trip was to Bill's parents who live in Northumberland and the highlight was tasting his first Burger King® fries. He also made many trips to Cardiff, Wales as Bill worked there for much of summer 97. On one trip we broke down on the M5 motorway and as we waited for the recovery vehicle a motorway patrol stopped to check what was happening. The police officers were very nice but seemed a little put out when I didn't want to wait in their patrol car until the recovery vehicle arrived. Their faces were a picture when I said that I didn't want to leave Pubpsy alone in our car!
Pubpsy only had one really major illness when he had a cancerous tumour in his testicles. In June 1997 he was castrated to remove the tumour. He came through the operation with flying colours and had no trouble with the wound. Fortunately our vets use disolvable internal stitches and glue so he couldn't really disrupt his wound. After the operation he became a real cuddle-rat and seemed to get bigger and softer on a daily basis.
His top weight was 780g when he was about 14 months old and he averaged about 750g for most of his adult life.
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This page was last updated: 07/10/98 21:22