Miranda was my very first rat, and the only one who lived to be over three years old. She survived Winnie, six months younger, by almost a year. Franny, eleven months younger than Miranda, had always been a shy girl, and terrified of the cats. But near the end of Miranda’s life she started being more assertive, as if knowing that she would soon have to be the Boss Rat.
Sadly, Franny only survived Miranda by about six weeks. She was frisky and lively, seemingly healthier than Miranda had been at the same age… and then she got liver cancer, and was gone within weeks after I first suspected she wasn’t feeling well.