In addition to the neglected cage parts, Wanda’s apartment was filled with stacks of rat feed in large plastic sacks, miscellaneous toys and hammocks the rats had destroyed and she had never found time to mend, old sheets and pillowcases she bought from the second-hand store to use for rat bedding, boxes of single-use gloves, trash bags, wipes, and containers of antibiotics and other medications she had compiled from countless vet visits.
Wanda’s modest apartment, regardless of the seasons, was stuffy and suffocating from heat (she could not risk the rats getting sick, especially during the winter months, and never turned off the heaters). Unfortunately, there was the persistent odor of rodent urine and feces, despite the multitude of air fresheners stationed in and around the space.
The
