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The Ratty Fun Pages |
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| Nimbus
Mink self 8.4.00 - 17.12.02 |
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Nimbus was not a rat. He looked like a rat, he sometimes even acted like a rat... but we weren't fooled. We used to tell him he was "a little person in a mink suit" as he had more personality than most people we've met... he was charismatic, cheeky, lovable, comical, sensitive, and, of course, beastly. This was much much more than we had ever expected of a rat.
Nimbus and his cagemate Stat! were adopted from Carawatha Rodents in July 2000 to be new friends for Dapper soon after his best buddy, Fudge, left us. Nimbus was named because he was the exact grey blue colour of a storm cloud (cumulonimbus). The word also describes the atmosphere about a god when on earth, which suited his halo of soft white whiskers. He's since adopted more names than I can list, including Num, Nimbat, Big Mean Alpha Rat and The Beast.
From a young ratlet he stood out, always wanting to be in the spotlight with all the attention. For this reason we ended up with countless photographs of him... he loved the camera lens and worked it any chance he got. He KNEW he was special, and acted like it at all times. He was always the alpha rat and made sure everyone knew it, even us... or else. :)
He was stunningly beautiful... all soft minky fur and an over-abundance of long white whiskers. He had a way of staring blankly at us, gorgeously innocent, with what we called his "supermodel look"... with this look he could get away with anything. He knew that of course. But the expression we will remember the most is his smile. Nimbus literally *grinned* when he was bad, he *smirked* when he was naughty, and he had the most wonderful casual confident smile most of the time (as he models in the photo here).
He was probably best known
for his beastliness, which was so impressively bad and comical that it
was archived in The Naughty Nimbus Narratives.
But he was more than just a troublemaker... he loved us completely and
wanted to spend all his time with us, rather than other rats. He
used to watch TV with us at night, lying flat out on the coffee table next
to the remote controls. He nipped my nose lovingly any chance he
got. He'd lie upsidedown in my hands while I massaged his belly and
searched for his "zipper"
(for the mink suit).
Whenever I scritched him, he'd lick my hand. He was always there
for us with a brux if we needed him.
With age and the hind leg paralysis he suffered in his last months, Nim mellowed into a delightful old fuzz. He craved our attention and love and spent literally hours on our laps grooming himself and licking us and just being with us. I'd stroke his face and he'd fall asleep in my hands. But even with his limitations and old age, he retained his cheeky personality... he'd still fooff madly at the other rats, nip their butts if they came too close, and scent mark everything. I used to hold his weak rear end in my hand and carry his butt all over the house as he free ranged, fooffing and chattering cheerfully.
Nimbus left us rather unexpectedly, he went to sleep one night and just didn't wake up. This is what we hope for all of our rats... a long happy life and a quick and peaceful end. We will miss him more than we can put into words, but know that his memory will continue to cheer us, as he always did. I hope that through our website, photos and stories a little bit of Nim will live on in everyone who knew him.
We miss you NumNum. We miss your gorgeous smile, we miss your charismatic personality, we miss your rampant enthusiasm, we even miss your beastliness. Your minky madness changed us... you made our lives better for knowing you.
Nimbus (right) with his
best buddy, Stat!
Nimbus was an expert ratty
photographic model
Nimbus shows a young Statty
how to chew on expensive items
Nimbus reveling in his digging
box
Nimbus in one of his rare
dignified moments
Nimbus's "awra" (see The
Ratty Dictionary)
Nim's ever cheerful, confident
smile
Tea with minky me
To see some more recent photos: Nimbus: Growing old disgracefully
Nimbus was such a charmingly beastly character that we have a whole webpage devoted to his tales.
Go to: The Naughty Nimbus Narratives
More tales of Nimbus and his friends on the Ratty Ramblings page.
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All photographs, graphics and text on this website are Copyright © The Dapper Rat, 2000-2012. All rights reserved.