Brothers in thirst. (Leopold is convinced the water tastes better when his feet are in it.)

I'd call him a handful of sentient mashed potatoes, except he doesn't have any sentience.

Today brothers Hector and Diomedes crossed the bridge the way they came in: stinky, sleepy, and never apart for more than a minute. Three years I had these guys, and I am happy to have had the honor of spoiling and loving on them the entire time. This was our last cuddle before we left for the vet.

Oberon 's name when he's being a terrible little bastard is "Obe-Ronald Reagan", but I did not call him that when we were snuggling last night. I did call him that when he tried to stash smoked salmon in the couch cushions later.

Watching these 3 year-old fart-butts drinking water to make sure they don't fall asleep and accidentally drown themselves. We are at the days-not-weeks stage of hospice care, they're still enjoying treats and cuddles, but when that stops we will talk to the vet about The Big Nap.

Hector, age 3, finally letting me cuddle him. This would be a magical, transcendent moment in our rocky relationship if he didn't have dementia and a tendency to bite anything in front of his face when he wakes up, hence my index finger being held out of his face.

Rat Meme Monday movie night at my place, bring cheese.

Locked up for his crimes (tax fraud and identity theft).

A gift given (an oxtail bone) and a gift stolen (an oxtail bone).

*Tiny fighting T-rex noises*

Selkie likes to just sit next to me and make sustained eye contact.

I'm doing introductions between Selkie and my new girls. They're going slowly, because Selkie insists on asserting her dominance with younguns who don't seem to understand what a rat social hierarchy is. What you see here are the airplane ears of a woman who is trying to create order and is Over It.

For Rat Meme Monday, here's what I look like when I'm talking about rats.

This giant handful of a man is a mere 5 1/2 months old.

*Dial up internet noises*

Diomedes is two years and ten months old, and between getting extra treats and day-long snuggles he's taking full advantage of being a gross, crusty, stinky old man.

An inspirational Rat Meme Monday, go out and achieve something inconsequential.

I love zooming in on rat pupils, like, where are you looking you little freak?

Two really old guys in a blanket eating baby food, five inches apart because they're brothers and it would be weird to sit on the same side.

Obtained some sweet new greatures. Two sisters, a black Berk and a Himalayan who are four months old, a fifteen month old who was neglected and is underweight, and a three month old who was kept in a cage with a snake and is stunted physically and emotionally from the stress. They're all safe now.

Rat Meme Monday* *The money rat is not a licensed financial advisor. Many factors can affect the money rat, such as market timing and geopolitical upheaval. Please do your research and evaluate your own finances before committing to the money rat.

No brain activity detected.

We had spaghetti the other night.

Getting a cuddle from Hector is pretty special, unlike his brother Diomedes he's a standoffish guy. He's developed epilepsy in his old age and has decided that it's ok to have the human around to pamper him after an episode. Still moons me with his balls to remind me who's boss, though.

Three way baby battle to the death

Brunhilda, Destroyer of Men and Devourer of Damned Souls. Bruni for short.

Not one thought has ever penetrated the space between those ears.

Me: "C'mon guys, snuggle up, human wants a cute little family portrait." Mama Selkie: "Fuck these kids."

Mama Selkie is here to inspect you.