When I was preparing for my journal club, Margarita slept soundly on the butt of Sangria. I called her name, she didn't bother to open her eyes. Instead, she turned her butt towards me, as if I was a bad smell she wanted to aviod. I thought she was bored with endless scientific talking took place in my room. I never anticipated that would be tha last time I saw her alive. I probably bored her to death (literally) with my journal club.
Margarita the rat was born in the forest of Farmington in my friend's place. She and her siblings are from an accidental preganancy. It was not known to my friend that their mother was pregant. They arrived to this world anyway.
I adopted Margarita, as well as her sister, Sangria, from my friend, and brought them home, a quiet neighborhood in West Hartford. My landlord's dog didn't seem to be interested in these two little furry balls. From early age, Margarita was the beta rat. She was suspicious about everything around, like hiding in the dark, and being very cautious when I approached them. In contrast is her sister, Sangria, a very outgoing and a very curious, and dominant rat. It didn't take long for Sangria started to bully Margarita, occasionally beating her despite being very close to her for the rest of the time. They sometimes groomed each other, slept on each other, fought for the precedent in taking food, and whom to occupied the better box or hammock.
There were early signs that Margarita is not the dominant, the more outgoing rat. Shortly after they arrived my home, Sangria started to explore the cage, while Margarita stayed at the shadowy corner of the cage. It was Sangria who started to take treats from my hand. For some time, Sangria was the only rat took things from me, while Margarita was standing aside watching Sangria. Not until she was sure that there were no danger to her would she join Sangria to take treats. Yet there were still significant difference between these two eating: while Sangria would stay near by my hand so that she could get her next piece of cereal (cereal was the treat) as soon as she finished last one, Margarita preferred to take the treat and run to a corner of the cage in the shadow and finish her food there. I was slightly upset by Margarita's suspicion, as if I were some threat to her. I need to admit that I may not be completely friendly to her. They annoyed me when they made their cage completely a mess and when they peed everywhere on my table. I sometimes scolded them loudly, hoping this is a type of discipline so that they would not do it again. Instead, this only made them more timid, especially true for Margarita. I guess she could not understand what human means. Maybe in her eyes, I was a giant that that makes noise all the time, despite this level of noise will attrack preditors, such as cats. This put all of us in danger.
I have to admit that I take them as members of my household not fully due to the kindness out of my heart. I was worried that I may develop allergy over time because living condition in this country is very clean. On the other hand, I was also lonely. I had to endure a boyfriend that was never around, barely cared for what I need, and didn't put up the effort to read what I enjoyed. I was very sad when I heard one of my friend's boyfriend learnt Python just to understand what she was going through, and how ridiculous Python could be. I hope some furry balls to keep me and my immunosystem occupied so that I would not feel lonely or develop allergy.
My rats never failed that part to entertain my immunosystem. They never cease to make their cage a complete mess, or making my room full of dust (from their bedding) and the smell of rats. They endless pee on my tables and my sheets so that I have to keep cleaning all the time. Overtime, they also develop a habit of tearing my sheets/ pillows/ pillow cases/ shirts so that they could take some pieces of fabric home and made a nest for themselves. Sangria, as the more outgoing rat, had been the one to initiate this vandalism. Margarita, with endless energy, always carried out what Sangria started.
It took sometime for Margarita to get use to live in my household. During the early days, Margarita always hid in the shadow of Sangria. Sometimes she didn't seem to be bother by the fact that Sangria used her as a pillow or a cushion. She sometimes fought Sangria, but only end up to be beaten. There were a couple of times I heard Margarita screaming after Sangria beating her. It didn't bothered Sangria that she hit Margarita's face to get herself in the front line to get cereal. Nor did she show any level of remorse when she took cookies from Margarita by force. Margarita, tried her best to defend her cookie in vain. She hit Sangria's face hard, trying to send Sangria a message to stay away from her cookie. Nevertheless, Sangria has stronger teeth and limbs and Margarita ended up standing with no cookie.
There is one task, however, Margarita out-performed Sangria: nesting. Margarita loves to make nests from paper/ tissue/ fabric and boxes. She and Sangria together has torn apart 4 sheets, a comforter, a pillow, and endless pillow cases so that they can use the fabric/ cotton to make their own next. Margarita is particullay fond of tissue boxes. She viewed these boxes as perfect starting point of making herself a home. She was very persistant when making nest. She would repeat the action again and again and again until she had her nest. In constast, Sangria's interest in nesting was short-lived. She would be interested in taking fabric home for about 2 or 3 minutes, before starting to wondering around and find new interesting things.
I guess Sangria saw no necessity in making a nest. If she wanted one, she would take a nest from Margarita. Once I added a new tissue box in their cage, adjacent to the tissue box that is already in their cage. Margarita had converted the old tissue box there into a comfortable nest with all the pieces of paper and fabric she stole from me, many of which with scientific material. Neither of them seemed to be interested in the newer tissue box. Sangria, initially running around the cage, decided it was high time for her to go home. Yet she didn't want to reside in new box. Instead, she crowded into the old tissue box, the box that Margarita "decorated" and was sleeping in. Initially, Margarita didn't seem to care about sharing the box with her sister. However, maybe 5 minutes later, the two rats started fighting, and Margarita was kicked out the nest she made. She was so helpless standing at the entrance of the box, wishing to go back to the nest she built for herself. Yet Sangria blocked her way, declaring the box was hers now. Margarita ended up converting the new tissue box into her new nest.
Yet this episode does not mean that Sangria does not nest. Only she nested differently. She enjoyed taking pedals from my flowers and use these pedals for her nest, while eating anthers for food. I once joked to Sangria that a hundred-year-old person said his secret for longevity is to eat a tulip everyday. The next day, Sangria ate my tulip. I guess she wanted to live for 3 years so that she can greet people new year at the year of rat.
Atlas, Margarita is not there to join her.
Yet started 2019, I noticed that Margarita became much more active than she used to be. In comparison, Sangria spent more time stayed inside the cage doing nothing. Margarita were more likely to respond to the sound of cereal and jumped out of cage for the treats. She also seems to be timid than she used to be. She was rather relaxed when I was around, enjoying herself. I thought this was a good sign: after years hidden in the shadow, Margarita was willing to take a more active role in my household.
I was preparing my journal club the other night. I was under a huge amount of stress, as I knew all the professors there would be very sharp, and they had a record of asking difficult questions. It didn't help when a friend sent me a screenshot showing my journal club was at "UConn Today" page. This meant there would be more outsiders in my journal club. Who knows what they would ask. I was rehearsing again and again, and Margarita seemed to be very bored by it. I tried to pursuade her to learn something about receptor trafficking in primary cilia, but she seemed to couldn't care less, and was asleep. I guess she understood well that she did not have ciliopathy so that she could not care how other people has messed up primary cilia. Being bored of me talking to her, she turned her butt to me tp show that she was not interested in it at all.
Yet when I waked up the second day and boiled two eggs for them as breakfast, I only see a restless Sangria. I went year the cage and see Sangria was standing on Margarita. I didn't think much of it, and tried to wake Margarita up for her breakfast. Yet I found she was cold. I was in shock. I fell on the floor, keep patting her, wanting to see her looking at me inpatiently. Yet she didn't move. She lied still, with her eye half open, yet she didn't respond.
I could not morn more about Margarita. She didn’t outlive her mother. I blamed her early death on Sangria, for her endless bullying may cause chronicle stress on Margarita. I cannot cease to blame myself as well, since my presence may also cause stress on my very sensitive Margarita. I wish she died in peace, and had little regrets about her life.
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