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Julius Becomes Zatoichi Written By: Pam Mitchell  Last April I was checking out a post about a cage on Craigslist that my friend, Julie, had told me about. While there I decided to look around since I'd never been on CL before. I found a message from some people who had found a rat on the sidewalk in front of their home. It was being stalked by a cat. They admitted they knew nothing about rats and wanted someone to come get him ASAP. They had checked with their neighbors and couldn't find anyone who had lost a rat. When I talked to the woman she said they had him in an ice chest with a bowl of water and some cheese.
I raced out to Sacramento to pick him up right away in between visits to clients. I was sooo glad I didn't delay. When I got to the house the husband met me at the driveway and led me back to a workshop at the rear of the garage. Mind you I had assumed they had him in the house with the cooler lid cracked open a little. I should know better than to assume anything. When we went into the workshop there was a metal ice chest, about the size of a small pet carrier, with the lid securely latched. As I unlatched it I'm thinking to myself, "OMG, how much do you have to know about a rat (or any animal) to know it needs air!" I honestly thought I'd be doing CPR. I lifted the lid and got hit in the face by warm, musty smelling air. This little guy was absolutely terrified. He was all white with pink eyes and had the softest tail. Reminded me of my first rat, Timothy. When I picked him up he just clung to me. I got him into my carrier with some real rat food and a couple of napkins to hide under.
I called Julie to let her know she had just saved a ratties life. After taking care of my clients I stopped by her place to borrow an extra water bottle and we weighed the little guy. He was 200 grams. We figured that put him around 6 weeks old. I dubbed him Julius after Julie since I would never have found him if she hadn't posted about the cage. In June of 2006, I took Julius to Rat-stravaganza. There was a Sacramento Sheriff's Deputy, Raleigh, and his wife, Linda, there. They were videotaping the event for a cable show they do. They had already adopted some rats from us at a previous adoption event and weren't actually looking to adopt another, but we all kept hinting at what a good match they made. Julius spent most of the event riding around on Raleigh's shoulder and on his video camera. By the end of the day they were inseparable and Julius went home with his new family. He was the only foster I've ever really had a hard time letting go, but I knew this was the right home for him. Raleigh renamed him Zatoichi after a blind samurai. I later saw a photo of the larger than life sized tattoo Raleigh had done on his calf. It was Zat in a kimono and 'coolie' hat. Zatoichi was very loved, maybe too much. I'm told he grew to over 2 pounds. Last night after dinner Raleigh went to the FN to get Zat and found him dead. He was curled up and appeared to have passed away in his sleep. He was 17 months old and will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him. A Remarkable Reading Rat Named Zatoichi March, 2006 - August 1, 2007 Written By: Raleigh Adams (AKA: PapaRattzie) Edited By: Linda Bradley (AKA: TheCraftyRat) Zatoichi (Zat) was named after a very famous Japanese folk hero. He was a blind samurai and a man of peace, but no one would let him be. Just like my little Zatoichi, he was found on the streets. Zat was cornered by a cat and his tail was hurt. Someone had thrown him in an ice chest and shut the lid in the hot summer heat of California. He barely lived to be rescued. But, an angel of a lady found him, managed to revive him, and brought him to an adoption fair. It was there, while I was filming a TV story that "Julius", (that was his name back then) got on my shoulder, and stayed for over two hours. I think he wanted to come home with me, so he did. Now he is "the light of my life", and I dearly love him. He lives in our bedroom so he will not be lonely, and he gets only the best of the best of everything including lots of play and the best care.
 Well, enough of that part of the story. The most special thing about Zat is that I noticed he would always hang out with the books I was reading. If one was open, he would sit on the page and look at it, especially the pictures. And sometimes, he will look up at me, as if to say, I understand daddy...
He began dragging books over to my elbow at night. He would try to open the cover, but they were usually a little awkward, so I open the cover and he just lights up with enthusiasm! Then, he scans the pages and looks intently at the pictures. What is it that he sees? Can he really read? He is, after all, not educated as far as I know. And, rats can't read can they?
Zat will look at three or four pages and then, with a contented look, put his little head down and go to sleep. He is truly "the light of my life"
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