Loca Rat passed away Friday night. She had been having trouble breathing for a couple of months now. The vet said it wasn't Myco [a common respiratory infection] because it did not spread to Quesadilla, my other rat. The vet, however, didn't rule out a tumor, even though he didn't see any evidence of one. She had become real skinny and didn't eat much. During her last two weeks, I kept her by my side. I fed her butter and mac and cheese and sour cream hoping that she would put back on the weight that she had lost. I also kept her in my bed at night, just to comfort her. The night I left her in her cage, she must have stopped breathing. She was only a year old. Loca was the 6th rat that I have owned. I brought her home Oct of last year. Back then she was a vibrant, bouncy little black and white hooded rat. Her full name was Besa Loca. She will be missed.