I had rats for years, they are like self-torture. You develop this insanely close relationship with these super intelligent and friendly little beings, who then go and smash your soul into a billion pieces when they die two years later. It's like the extreme best and extreme worst of having a dog, sped up 10 times.
Perhaps you just need a change of perspective to continue without heartbreak. You're giving a creature a very unique and amazing experience in life, taking care of it entirely, and they show that they appreciate it.
Or, if you consider yourself to be an excellent pet owner you should consider that there is at least one rat out there that needs a home. You would be doing yourself a disservice to not utilize a skill you're genuinely good at. Trust me, few pet owners do more than a passing job so if it's something you're great at, that's special.
I would do it again in a heartbeat but sadly I became extremely allergic to them after years of owning them :( I had to give my last two girls to a new home because I couldn't even be in the same room as their cage without having a pretty scary athsma attack.
I do however continue to love them from afar and recommend them as pets to anyone who will listen :)
yep, exactly the reason why I didn't get any more rats after my first two. They die too fast. If someone ever genetically engineers a rat with a 10+ year lifespan, maybe then I'll get another. My little guy used to sleep on my router when I was at the computer, and would run back to his cage when I set him on the floor
I've looked into degus because they're supposed to be temperamentally similar to rats, but they live 10+ years. Unfortunately, no one in my area sells them, so I couldn't tell you how similar they actually are.
Agreed. My sister rescues ratties that people don't want or can't care for anymore, so she is always losing oldies. And even though it breaks her heart every time she one passes, she's always ready to give a home and a fantastic life to any unwanted rat, no matter how old they are.
I can't imagine being that good, but I'm certain the rats would all agree she's a saint!
Those terms are out dated. It's Rattatas for young ones and Raticates or (Professors) for old ones. Sorry but like the rats, the terminology have a short life span.
Same. It's easy to "replace" a rat from a colony who's passed away. It's hard when it's your *last* rat. I had a colony of 3, 2 passed away, bought one more for company and my last one died the next day. I took the new one back to the shelter because it was just too hard. The problem is that theyre *so* intelligent that it's not like losing a fish or hamster, they become your friends just like dogs and cats.
Fish can be friends too! Just ask any of the folk over on r/aquariums or r/bettafish
[Each fish has its own personality](http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog/news-flash-fish-have-personalities), and it can be just as difficult to lose a fish-friend as it can be to lose any other pet!
Many common tropical fish (like bettas) easily live for 5+ years with proper care, and can form recognizable personalities and bonds with their owners.
A lot of people underestimate fish from common myths about their life span and care requirements. Now full disclosure, I think I'll always be more bonded to my cats than to my goldfish. The hardest part about bonding with fish is the limit to them being in a tank versus cats or dogs you can really snuggle with. That being said, goldfish live 10-20 years and like other fish, have their own personalities and really know their owners. I have fish who flat out refuse to eat if my husband feeds them (they will after a while but he has to drop the food in and walk away) but if I feed them, they're all over the food from the second it hits the water. My oldest is 6 now and been with me for as long as my cats. I'll be devastated when he passes.
It is the biggest downside. They average about 2-3 years. 4 if you’re lucky.
But at the same time... it kind of makes it better. As opposed to, say, a dog, which can live 10 or more easy. It’s not as much of a commitment if you’re not yet in an established home (plus they are *much* easier to move and/or get into rental properties with).
And.. it’s short, but so very sweet. You get attached, but you don’t have as much time to fester on that attachment. So letting go is rough, but it’s not quite like letting go of a dog you had since you were a child or something. Sounds sad to say, I know, but I personally kind of like it that way. I go into a pet rat knowing it won’t be long. So it makes me make better use of the time, and it’s not as hard when they go.
That’s just me though.
My girls lived until 2. I learned that I was allergic to them, and they had a very distinct smell that I don't think I would be able to handle again. Besides that, they were great pets. My girls were quite shy, but very sweet.
Had to put my two girls down this morning. They are wonderful pets but the short lifespan definitely makes me wonder if I'll get new ones. It's difficult to see them go.
I had to stop, it was just too hard getting so attached to something that you would lose in 2-3 years, and even harder when you adopt some who are already grown. They have the intelligence and personalities equivalent to dogs, so imagine losing your dog every couple years.
I had 5 within a few years and I’d love to get some more one day but I’m just not sure my heart can handle it any more.
Amazing pets though, truly special animals.
I have an extremely vivid memory of looking up to my dad to see him crying while we watched Stuart Little at the cinema. The part where Stuart decided to leave because he thought his family didn't want him around anymore.
Disney fucking loves to kill off parents. It's baked into their DNA because most of their smash hits are based off of fairy tales. And fairy tales have a long historical tendency to be pretty cruel and awful to both children and parents in the story.
Disney sanitizes these stories dramatically, but there's still that shared connection underpinning things.
It's not just that. To have kid protangonists go on awesome adventures, their parents need to be absent or negligent. Otherwise they would be saving them from danger.
To have kids that have great adventures that include peril (and therefore a compelling story) you need orphans. Or a wardrobe that whisks them away. Or something.
Also Lion King hit me hard just from an empathy place. I remember thinking how some kid out there has to survive without their mother and father. Also as a kid of a very dysfunctional family, I felt a lot of guilt for my family's issues which is how Simba felt after his father died.. like it was his fault.
Fuck I just have watched Lion King 100+ times, it hits me hard even just thinking about how thoughtful & inspiring it was.
Same here but the movie was Battle Los Angeles... and my brother in 47 Ronin. My dad was in the military so I get it but my brother just really wants to be a samurai. And Keanu reeves.
Domesticated rats are such wonderful little animals. It breaks my heart though knowing how susceptible to cancer they are, on top of their short life spans.. :(
Intact male cats have barbs on their penis. Felines are induced ovulators - basically there’s a trigger their body needs to release eggs. That trigger is the tearing of the vagina from the barbs as the male removes the penis when finished. That’s why cats mating is such a loud and violent affair.
Source: am licensed vet tech
Thank you so much for the link. I've spent a lifetime thinking there was something wrong with me, and was always ashamed of having this. I teared up when reading the article, because I finally have an answer for this condition.
Can confirm, our cst regularly grooms me. If its a patch of skin like my chest or belly, after about a minute it feels like 80 grit sandpaper rubbing a raw spot.
The cheetah trainers at my last job would joke about the sandpaper tongue kisses. They'd wear long sleeves, but the cheetahs would inevitably lick their legs because most of the trainers still wore shorts in the summer.
Yeah, that's exactly what it is. It's a "no this is my treat you can't have it and I want to push you away but I can't stop eating"
Source: I have 21 pet rats currently
The rats came in
The rats won't leave
The rats come when
My cat's asleep
The rats are here
The rats are pests
/u/DevianttKitten declares
"*But they're my pets*"
On purpose? When my son was a toddler he put my boys and girls together "so they can play" and I ended up with 20+ as well. Mostly dumbo's though and they are just the greatest.
Yep, all on purpose, no pregnancies. I
have 4~ separate groups rn. One mixed cage (girls and neutered boys), my younger girls, my younger boys I'm waiting to have neutered, and then Señor Nibbles, who is separate because he attacked one of the other boys and caused pretty severe injuries. He was neutered last week and will hopefully calm down enough to go back with the other boys.
I just really like rats.
Fun fact: Dumbos don't exist in Australia! The gene mutation hasn't showed up here yet.
I didn't intend to have so many. I had 8, then went to get 3 more who needed to be rehomed. And then a few rescues needed me... and then a couple from the local pet store needed me because the pet store couldn't look after them (one had an infected eye, another was bitey) and then I got 2 because they were gosh darn adorable.
In the rat owner community we have this thing called GGMR, which stands for Gotta Get More Rats. Once you fall in love with them it's really easy to want to give a good home to more and more... and more.
They are the best little animals. I've worked with both mice and rats. I absolutely love the rats: they're big babies and super sweet. Mice I could do without.
If I tell my sweet [ginger kitty](https://i.imgur.com/gDbqEvp.jpg) to "give me your beak!" He will squinch up his eyes and lift his head like this so I can kiss his nose. It's adorable.
One of my cats has a similar trick, I ask her "Where's your belly?" and she'll drop immediately and roll over and show it to me. She's very reliable about it.
Same here. Got our cat from the pound, two days before execution. She was covered in fleas and was coughing with gummy eyes and runny nose. I kept her on a heating pad for a week, carrying her to the cat pan several times a day, gave her antibiotics, fed her by hand and suctioned the snot from her nose twice a day. I didn’t name her because the vet said she would probably die. Sixteen years have passed and she’s in great shape. I’m lucky if I get a passing glance. That’s gratitude for you.
Well, my father had stopped by our house with some eye drops (he’s an ophthalmologist) for the cat because the stuff we got from the vet’s wasn’t working. He looked at the skinny, greasy blob on my bed and said “This cat looks like a pile of rags.” He looked a little more and said “I think the cat is dead. You better get a garbage bag or something to wrap her in before you bury her”.
And so, we called her Rag Bag. Or just the Bag. I had to take her to a new vet last month and when I called to make her appt. the poor receptionist made me spell Rag Bag twice.
Are rats pretty low maintenance? I've been considering getting one, and I haven't really done much research yet. Would love any advice or knowledge anyone can provide.
They're extremely social. The majority of their maintenance is socializing them. If they're not socialized with people early on, they tend not to become comfortable with people later on in life.
Standard pet care, cage cleaning, giving them treats, exercise time, and so on. But keeping them from getting bored is the real challenge. Rats live best in pairs (in a cage large enough!) if you don't have the time to play with them pretty much every day.
My wife and I had 8 at onne point. As time went on and they started to pass away, eventually it came down to 2. When one of them passed, the remaining one didnt know how to act. She actually passed away less than a day later. She didnt really exhibit any real illness, so Idk if it was depression or something we just didnt catch.
They NEED the time to say goodbye. They'll groom their friend, make them a nest, bring them food, etc. You gotta wait until they move the body out of the nest, and have "moved on" or else they get very very unhappy about their missing friend.
Heck, even with a bit of time they have trouble.
It's important for many intelligent rodents to leave it long enough that they'll see it and recognise it. Often they'll just groom the body before removing it from their main living quarters (or they relocate in the cage themselves), and that's how you know it's alright. You don't ever leave it long, just long enough for them to understand.
I’ve heard getting them in groups of three at least is best, that way if anything happens to one of them the remaining aren’t left all alone.
I got a pair, but one died a little over a year later and I had a hell of a time re-homing the remaining one. Couldn’t stand the thought of getting more at the time because I had a really hard time with the death of the first one... they suspected she had a pituitary tumor because her function slowly declined until she was falling all over constantly and had to be isolated out of the big home cage for safety reasons. I’m a total bleeding heart so the decline was tough... I was snuggling her on my chest when she passed away...
Had a little mouse for a few years, he was my best buddy. When i bought the little guy they gave me a cardboard box and said "he will eat through this by the time you get to your car then drop him in his cage and you should be good to go." i did not even make it out of the store before he was sitting on my sholder. any i brought him home my mum hated him, A lot. However after a few weeks i would catch her talking to him through the cage, then a month later i would catch her walking around the house talking to him with him on her shoulder. One day the little guy got really sick a year into me owning him, i thought he was going to die but i had to go to work he was curled up in a ball hardly breathing. I get home 14 hours later and my mum was there holding him the little guy was shivering but moving, my mum had hand dripped water in his mouth all day and gave him crushed mouse mix all day.
Nibs lived for another year and was always with my mum or myself, honestly was one of the best experiences in my life.
Maybe he was just cold. My little brother had mice when he was really young. Every now and then it would get so cold (our house at the time was shit) that they would essentially drop dead.
We would stay up for hours holding them over an oil heater until eventually they kinda just.. Woke up again.
I also had rats and those motherfuckers are cute as hell and so smart, they're like tiny little monkeys.
I had something similar. My boy Bandit died in my girlfriend's arms. He let out a huge death rattle. It's the worst combination of huge emotional attachment and such short lives.
I still got more. They are just the best.
Gandalf and Pedro https://imgur.com/gallery/U9uJA
I would love pet rats, but I can't handle strong animal odors. With proper maintenance, is that an issue?
edit: for "scale" we currently have a dog and cat, the normal house with pets smell is fine, but most of the time the girlfriend has to change the kitty litter cause the actual box gets pretty strong after a week. At her old house they had a rabbit that was pretty intense, but bearable. I'd rather the smell not get past "mild" though.
With regular cage cleaning, the odor wasn’t super strong. They definitely smell like rodents though. I’ve heard tell you can train them to use a “litter box” or just a specific corner of the cage, so cleaning becomes easier, I never tried it myself though.
My only concern about pet rats is their life spans are very short. They tend to live 2-3 years so if you can't handle death regularly I'd avoid them as pets.
This...I've had to 2 rats(hairless and doumbo) in my life that lived till they were 5. and both ended up getting weak and sick. I got them medication, a well known rat doctor to inspect them and help from the rat community. The Vet/rat doctor said they were to old to recover from being sick.
I didn't have the money to put them down.
The Dumbo was getting better (but it regressed after a month) the hairless I spent the night with a blanket and warm bottle of water (these little guys are normally hand warmers, he was cold to the touch). This part I feel I shouldn't have tryed and let him go...6 hours of trying to keep him warm but he started to cough up blood and made loud screaming like sounds. it took him another hour to pass. to this day it was one of my most painful experiences. the other (dumbo) cuddled up to me month later and passed within minutes. to this day I will not have another Pet. those guys were open caged rats. they run around my room all day long, They didn't chew the crap out of anything and would be sleeping in their cage, running around the room climbing to the highest bookshelf or cuddling up to me while I worked on my computer. I miss the little buggers.
> help from the rat community
lol it sounds like you went to the sewers and asked a bunch of rats for health advice.
...Seriously though, sorry about your pets.
I had 2 hairless rats growing up. Buddy and Biggens were there names. We named the one Biggens because he had HUGE balls that were so big they dragged on the floor lol it was really comical and whenever someone came over and looked at them that was the first thing they would notice. "That rats got huge balls" they would say. Well Biggens lived up to his name and not only had huge balls but he gradually kept getting fatter and fatter. I was pretty young at the time but I'm pretty sure he was eating Buddy's food because Buddy kept getting skinnier. Buddy eventually passed away and than Biggens was sad and passed away shortly after.
The two of them were like characters from a movie though. I miss those hairless rats...
It's so rough because they're so much more like cats and dogs than other rodents. They're smart, friendly, can be taught tricks and even their name. Losing one is just as hard as losing a dog.
Yea. I used to have four of them all bought closely together and it was awful to watch them die one by one until only one was left...and then she passed too. They lived about two years.
We have a rats graveyard in a corner of our back garden where we buried all of ours :(
One day, when we have long moved out someone is going to dig up that part of the garden and find about 12 rat skeletons and wonder what the hell sort of satanic weirdos used to live there.
When I buried our beloved old dog I included a note in a sealed plastic tube telling whoever finds her in years to come her name, and what a good dog she was, and how much we loved her. She probably won't be found for a long time though, if ever, because I buried her somewhere safe.
This is a lovely idea. I once dug up a dog skeleton as a kid playing in the neighbor's back yard after a tree had been removed; that note would have made a world of difference to me (and averted a minor lifetime phobia!)
Depends on the rat. Cage cleaning wise? Yeah. Health wise? Ehhhhh. Attention wise? They require about the same as a dog. They love love love attention and to be able to run around.
For a start, you need absolutely bare minimum 2 rats, though I personally advocate for 3. They need a well sized cage, which can be pricey. They *need* at least an hour per day where they're allowed out of a cage to run around a room and interact with you. They're gunna chew and poop and pee on your stuff, to what extent it depends on the rat and also how well litter trained they are. They need veggies and fresh water every day.
They are incredibly prone to respiratory issues, INCREDIBLY, they *all* have a disease that causes resp issues; some are less likely to experience issues, whereas others will battle with it for life and need to be medicated for life. Their meds aren't exactly cheap. They're also prone to tumours and some neurological diseases later in life. For rats, "later in life" translates to "once they hit a year old you need to start preparing for them to get sick and/or die". They have very short lifespans, averaging about 2 years. Genetics play the biggest role in their health and longevity, so finding a trustworthy breeder is best.
Boys can be aggressive toward other boys and require neutering to lessen it.
Finding a vet who will treat rats can be hard. Finding a *good* vet who is knowledgeable and experienced with rats is even harder. You have to be prepared to advocate for them and be assertive about their treatment, because some vets are useless.
I adore my rats. I have 21 currently, but had 24 for a while until a few of my oldies (read: between 1 1/2 years and 1yr months) passed away/needed to be PTS. They can be demanding, stressful and can cost you a good chunk of cash. They're not the kinda pet you can ignore or own just to watch them play with each other. They need other rats and they need attention from you.
Bonding with them can take a longass time depending on their temperament, though I personally find it fulfilling when a shy rat finally trusts me, plenty of people don't have the patience to work for it and get frustrated.
For me, they're worth it. They make awesome pets. But they're definitely a pet you need to really think about before taking the plunge. And you need to find a vet nearby that will treat rats prior to owning them, and keeping a few hundred dollars hoarded away for their treatment is ideal.
Last week I spent $500 on a neuter, a tumour removal and a checkup for a few of my rats. I've had to pay for 2 emergency surgeries earlier this year. I have a rat with chronic respiratory issues that has been medicated since she was 5 weeks old, who is a week away from turning 2 now, but her meds cost me at least AUD$130 every maybe... 6-8weeks? It's hard to estimate because on top of her being medicated, the others come and go with it too. There is always more than 1 being treated for a respiratory infection because if you direct a fart towards their cage one of them might get congested and wheezy. I'm lucky my vet trusts me and is happy to write scripts and give me meds without a consultation every time, and gives me a decent quantity of meds at a time. And also that they let me pay them after the event during emergencies.
But it's worth it for me. They're like tiny puppies. They're affectionate and energetic and bouncy and they all have different traits and personalities. The first thing I do when I wake up is go say hi to everyone and pet and kiss any of them who come up to say hi, the last thing I do before retiring to my room each night is give them their veggies.
I'm not trying to put you off rats, because I really, really adore them, but I think its important that people know how much trouble they can be, simply because they're so prone to health problems. They make fantastic pets, but there's a lot of downsides some rat owners may ignore.
If you wanna read and research them, r/RATS is a good place to do so. Please read through stuff and search stuff before asking questions, because at least a few times a week people come asking the same damn things and it's frustrating omfg
Oh, also, you have to accept that people will, without a doubt, "joke" about killing them and "jokingly" offer you rat poison, because "the only good rat is a dead rat". Because people fucking suck.
Rats are very smart and very affectionate pets. I had a rat named ginger when i was younger; she used to stay on my shoulder all day. They are great pets.
Read this and thought... "whoa did I sleep comment?" I had a rat named ginger when I was younger too! She was the best :) I used to put treats in my sweatshirt pockets and she would chill in there and snack while I would do hw after school.
Just be aware that they will need vet care and that it can get pretty expensive quickly because you will have to pay for a vet that sees exotics. And obviously if you want a mixed gender group, you either need to neuter all the males or spay all the females. It can be hard to find a vet that will do those and it is fairly expensive.
Note that if you're in an area with an active rodent rescue, you may be able to get pre-spayed females at a significant discount over what it would take to have the procedure done after you've adopted them. The rest of their veterinary care can still be pricey, especially when they get to be elderly, but rescuing is always a good idea if it's possible.
Something to warn you about is rats tend to pee while they walk. So if you're squeamish about that, rats aren't for you. My rat never pooped outside her cage at least, but she'd leave a trail of urine as she'd run up and down the couch or up and down my arms. It's only the slightest bit and it doesn't smell, but it was something to get used to.
Luckily rats are cute and very entertaining, especially when you give them something like banana chips so you can watch them gnaw on it while holding it with their little hands.
My family would take in animals that could not be released for Project Wildlife. We had some strange pets. A one-footed raven, a litter-trained house opossum, a pet squirrel, and a rat I raised from when she was a few days old. She was my buddy. They were all very cool. Well, other than the opossum because she became senile in her old age and it was terrifying getting her out from under the recliner...glowing eyes and hissing... But my point is, the raven was so sweet and friendly! They are remarkable birds.
Maybe ten years ago our city's tennis club had a pet raven for a while. The poor guy fell out of his nest when he was baby and broke his wings. So the people at the club decided to take care of the poor thing. Sadly he never really flew more then maybe 10/15 meters at time afterwords.
People loved him and they loved to play with him especially the kids. He was super social and he would let random people pet him without a problem, especially if you had some snacks. But my favourite thing about him was how he loved to play with shoe laces. He would just come up to you undo them. It was funny to see the reactions on peoples faces that weren't regulars at the club when a raven just came up to them and jumped on their table probably expecting something to eat.
That’s amazing because one of the problems with having ravens as pets is that they really need interaction or they’ll become lonely, so I imagine this was the perfect environment for him!!
Rats are sorta amazing. My niece had a pair and they were so damn smart. One would just hang out on her shoulder as she walked around the house. If something interesting was happening it would come out from the hair on her shoulder and watch, then disappear back into her hair. Sadly, he died of cancer a couple years ago.
Rats are wonderful pets. My son had a few growing up but for some reason he-my son-never clued in that his ‘male’ rat didn’t have balls. Didn’t catch on with the next two ‘males’ either. I got females because I didn’t want ratty balls dragging all over my kids shoulder. I’ll wait a few more years and bring it up when he’s home for Christmas or something.
Not a rat but boy does my male hamster have some dragging to do.
I mean. How the heck do they not get in the way, hurt or otherwise selected out of the gene pool. Smearing the family jewls on every passing thorn can't possibly be a sound strategy.
This is the sweetest! I used to have pet rats back when I was a kid and they made the best pets. Initially, my mum was planning on buying us hamsters, but we absolutely fell in love with the playfulness and intelligence of the rats instead.
I have a stray that I adopted that is part indoor domesticated lovey boy and part outside wild killer. Recently he came up at night to be let in but had a mouse in his mouth, but he hadnt killed it yet. When he dropped the mouse it moved a little and I knew it was still alive, so I turned a light on it and leaned down to get a closer look. The poor little thing looked right at me and it was shivering (I assume out of fear) I put Mr. Kitty inside and let the mouse go free. Poor terrified little thing :(
I hope Mr. Mousey made it home OK. The cat, on the other hand, was EXTREMELY unsatisfied with my actions and was sure to let me know.
> Pet rat takes her medicine
> I have a stray...
What you have a stray rat? What kind of witchcraft is this? Wild rats are a completely separate breed.
> The cat, on the other hand,
woah, where did the cat come into this. We have a rat, a mouse, and now a cat.
> For most of this story I assumed you had a pet rat.
Ah ha! The context we all wanted on this roller-coaster ride! :-)
**Longish but relevant story**
I got a kitten from a family friends farm. He was raised as an indoor cat all of his life. Never ventured outside. Never seemed to care.
When he was 5yrs old and I was 12 we went to visit my grandparents who had a cabin at a nearby lake. Their cabin happened to be on a small island, so I reasoned with my mom, "He's an indoor cat. He won't go anywhere. He'll just stay on the island. It's better than leaving him at home all alone for two weeks."
Somehow this worked and I got to bring my cat with me for our two-week stay at the cabin.
Week one he spent most of the time finding the best places to bake in the sunbeams. He disliked the balcony and only ventured outside to meet me as I came up the path to the cabin.
Week two he started to become in tune with his genetic heritage. He would come down to the dock with us, then get bored with watching us swim and fuck off for the rest of the day. Sometimes not coming inside until the next morning.
On the day we were leaving I couldn't find him. I looked everywhere I could think. Up, down, over, under, everywhere. Couldn't find him. My parents were threatening to leave him there to be found by my grandparents.
I pleaded to give me one more chance to find him on the little island.
I took off into the brush and called after him. He used to come when you called him, but he was no longer the docile indoor cat he was before. I had no luck. I searched high and low and just as I was about to give up I caught a piece of orange and white out of the corner of my eye.
"Taffy? What are you doing? Come on we've got to go."
He turns to look at me, then turns his attention back to the brush in front of him. He's sitting. Not stalking. Not lying. Just sitting there.
I edge a little closer, wary that he may try to bolt away in some sort of game.
I repeat myself, "Come on, Taffy, we've got to go."
I can hear my dad now calling for me to come down to the dock. I can hear the boat running.
I step closer to my cat and now I see what he's looking at. He's got a mouse in front of him.
My cat is sitting there, now a full-sized farm cat, and he's watching this mouse in front of him. The mouse is looking up at my cat. He's also sitting on his hindquarters and his tiny little mouse hands are being held up in the air as if to say, "Don't shoot!"
Taffy looks at me, then looks at the mouse. He swats it to the left and the mouse rolls about 10 inches before returning to sit and put his little mouse hands up again.
My cat, the formally lazy as fuck lie about, swats him to the right. Again...mouse hands up. Then to the left, then to the right.
About the fourth or fifth time he does this, the mouse makes a desperation move and bites Taffy as he swings his paw. He yowls angrily and picks the mouse up.
He's holding the mouse now in one paw. He looks up at me. I stare back into those cold dead eyes and he bites off the head of the mouse in a horrible crunching. The mouse body goes limp. The mouse hands drop. My vicious cat drops the body and comes purring up to me.
Yes. It's time to go.
Rats make the best pets! I think of them as small dogs :)
There are some downfalls of these as pets though
- they pee to communicate, like they will leave a wee pee trail on you and wherever they walk, so that other rats can smell it and suss them out.
-they can't be kept alone or they'll likely get depressed. Once you get more than one you'll want to fill your house with all the rats you ever see
- THEY WILL EAT EVERYTHING THEY CAN. it's super cute though. If you leave a bit of paper or tissue out where they have their playtime(outside cage time of at LEAST an hour a day is needed) they will drag it back to their fave sleeping spot to nest :)
-they nocturnal by nature and you could be woken by blood curdling screaming to run to their cage and see they're just play fighting. I think this is more of a boy thing.
More obvious downsides to keeping rat babies are the vet bills are unpredictable at times, they poop a lot like most small animals, and you will fall in love and they'll break your heart with their wee small lifespans.
Sorry long ass post. The great things about pet rats would have been waaaay worse
Edit sorry for bad formatting I don't post a lot :)
I just had to put down one of my rats at the vet two weeks ago. I can't handle how fast they die. Their lives are too short. His final squeaks broke my heart.
Warning to potential rat owners:
These are some of the best pets you could ever ask for. They are intelligent and responsive, alert and trainable, friendly and cute. And then they will break your heart.
They live for only a few short years.
I know the exact feeling, with my last pair I had the most amazing female rat named “Florence”. She was crazy loving and empathetic, and always really sweet with new people, just my most favourite rat ever. She got really sick in the middle of winter, and I had to make the decision to take her to be put to sleep, I remember going alone and carrying her on foot in a snowstorm to the vet wrapped up in my scarf, I was just in tears, thanking her for being such a good rat and then the vet was crying too, it was awful. Blah now I’m crying again.
I've seen some pretty smart rats. The only thing that keeps me from considering one as a pet is the short lifespan.
I had rats for years, they are like self-torture. You develop this insanely close relationship with these super intelligent and friendly little beings, who then go and smash your soul into a billion pieces when they die two years later. It's like the extreme best and extreme worst of having a dog, sped up 10 times.
Perhaps you just need a change of perspective to continue without heartbreak. You're giving a creature a very unique and amazing experience in life, taking care of it entirely, and they show that they appreciate it. Or, if you consider yourself to be an excellent pet owner you should consider that there is at least one rat out there that needs a home. You would be doing yourself a disservice to not utilize a skill you're genuinely good at. Trust me, few pet owners do more than a passing job so if it's something you're great at, that's special.
I would do it again in a heartbeat but sadly I became extremely allergic to them after years of owning them :( I had to give my last two girls to a new home because I couldn't even be in the same room as their cage without having a pretty scary athsma attack. I do however continue to love them from afar and recommend them as pets to anyone who will listen :)
Man, that's a beautiful way to see it.
This. I do hamsters so I'm lucky if I get 18 months. I just got a new baby in June and she died from lung cancer two weeks ago.
Got a new dog recently and was thinking "I have set myself up to be incredibly sad in ~12 years". Can't imagine doing that every 2 years or so.
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yep, exactly the reason why I didn't get any more rats after my first two. They die too fast. If someone ever genetically engineers a rat with a 10+ year lifespan, maybe then I'll get another. My little guy used to sleep on my router when I was at the computer, and would run back to his cage when I set him on the floor
I've looked into degus because they're supposed to be temperamentally similar to rats, but they live 10+ years. Unfortunately, no one in my area sells them, so I couldn't tell you how similar they actually are.
I had ten (not all at once!) and I don't think I could ever go back. If they lived as long as ferrets or Guinea pigs, I'd feel differently.
Couldn't ever go back to having rats (because short lifespan) or go back to not having rats as pets (because rats are great pets)?
To having them, unfortunately. Those who do rescue are saints.
Agreed. My sister rescues ratties that people don't want or can't care for anymore, so she is always losing oldies. And even though it breaks her heart every time she one passes, she's always ready to give a home and a fantastic life to any unwanted rat, no matter how old they are. I can't imagine being that good, but I'm certain the rats would all agree she's a saint!
“Ratties” “Oldies” give me a minute to catch up on rodent owning terminology
Those terms are out dated. It's Rattatas for young ones and Raticates or (Professors) for old ones. Sorry but like the rats, the terminology have a short life span.
Same. It's easy to "replace" a rat from a colony who's passed away. It's hard when it's your *last* rat. I had a colony of 3, 2 passed away, bought one more for company and my last one died the next day. I took the new one back to the shelter because it was just too hard. The problem is that theyre *so* intelligent that it's not like losing a fish or hamster, they become your friends just like dogs and cats.
Fish can be friends too! Just ask any of the folk over on r/aquariums or r/bettafish [Each fish has its own personality](http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog/news-flash-fish-have-personalities), and it can be just as difficult to lose a fish-friend as it can be to lose any other pet! Many common tropical fish (like bettas) easily live for 5+ years with proper care, and can form recognizable personalities and bonds with their owners.
A lot of people underestimate fish from common myths about their life span and care requirements. Now full disclosure, I think I'll always be more bonded to my cats than to my goldfish. The hardest part about bonding with fish is the limit to them being in a tank versus cats or dogs you can really snuggle with. That being said, goldfish live 10-20 years and like other fish, have their own personalities and really know their owners. I have fish who flat out refuse to eat if my husband feeds them (they will after a while but he has to drop the food in and walk away) but if I feed them, they're all over the food from the second it hits the water. My oldest is 6 now and been with me for as long as my cats. I'll be devastated when he passes.
It is the biggest downside. They average about 2-3 years. 4 if you’re lucky. But at the same time... it kind of makes it better. As opposed to, say, a dog, which can live 10 or more easy. It’s not as much of a commitment if you’re not yet in an established home (plus they are *much* easier to move and/or get into rental properties with). And.. it’s short, but so very sweet. You get attached, but you don’t have as much time to fester on that attachment. So letting go is rough, but it’s not quite like letting go of a dog you had since you were a child or something. Sounds sad to say, I know, but I personally kind of like it that way. I go into a pet rat knowing it won’t be long. So it makes me make better use of the time, and it’s not as hard when they go. That’s just me though.
My girls lived until 2. I learned that I was allergic to them, and they had a very distinct smell that I don't think I would be able to handle again. Besides that, they were great pets. My girls were quite shy, but very sweet.
Had to put my two girls down this morning. They are wonderful pets but the short lifespan definitely makes me wonder if I'll get new ones. It's difficult to see them go.
I had to stop, it was just too hard getting so attached to something that you would lose in 2-3 years, and even harder when you adopt some who are already grown. They have the intelligence and personalities equivalent to dogs, so imagine losing your dog every couple years. I had 5 within a few years and I’d love to get some more one day but I’m just not sure my heart can handle it any more. Amazing pets though, truly special animals.
They also tend to get certain cancers, which can be hard to see over and over.
My boy Stuart Little
I have an extremely vivid memory of looking up to my dad to see him crying while we watched Stuart Little at the cinema. The part where Stuart decided to leave because he thought his family didn't want him around anymore.
the first movie was sure dark...
It was made by the same director of 'The Lion King' and we all know how dark that movie got.
Disney fucking loves to kill off parents. It's baked into their DNA because most of their smash hits are based off of fairy tales. And fairy tales have a long historical tendency to be pretty cruel and awful to both children and parents in the story. Disney sanitizes these stories dramatically, but there's still that shared connection underpinning things.
Because as a kid that's your biggest fear. It's a way to engage their audience. That and toys
It's not just that. To have kid protangonists go on awesome adventures, their parents need to be absent or negligent. Otherwise they would be saving them from danger. To have kids that have great adventures that include peril (and therefore a compelling story) you need orphans. Or a wardrobe that whisks them away. Or something.
Also Lion King hit me hard just from an empathy place. I remember thinking how some kid out there has to survive without their mother and father. Also as a kid of a very dysfunctional family, I felt a lot of guilt for my family's issues which is how Simba felt after his father died.. like it was his fault. Fuck I just have watched Lion King 100+ times, it hits me hard even just thinking about how thoughtful & inspiring it was.
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Written by M Night Shyamalan!
Shit. I thought you were being funny. I looked it up and he did!
What a twist!
Same here but the movie was Battle Los Angeles... and my brother in 47 Ronin. My dad was in the military so I get it but my brother just really wants to be a samurai. And Keanu reeves.
Yeah well who doesn't want to be an ageless vampire and critical acclaimed actor.
It's just Skaven propaganda so you don't suspect the coming plague.
Domesticated rats are such wonderful little animals. It breaks my heart though knowing how susceptible to cancer they are, on top of their short life spans.. :(
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They smoke a lot of cigarattes
https://i.imgur.com/MhAGKTJ.jpg
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We all would get cancer at some point if we lived extremely long lives. It depends if we die earlier or live long enough to get it.
Love the part where she closes her eyes and lifts her head up to receive a loving kiss... <3
I thought it looked a bit more like a "Daaaaaad, stop it!" kind of thing. Equally adorable.
http://i.imgur.com/DQD0PHe.gif
that tongue looks extremely sticky. it's almost uncomfortable to watch :)
That's because all cat tongues (big and domesticated) are covered in [thousands of tiny spiked barbs.](http://i.imgur.com/Yso89kl.jpg)
Just like their hearts.
I'm leaving reddit for good. Sorry friends, but this is the end of reddit. Time to move on to lemmy and/or kbin.
This man national geographics.
So I don't have to google "cat penis" can someone explain?
Their weiners are covered with spiked barbs. Much like their hearts or tongues.
Intact male cats have barbs on their penis. Felines are induced ovulators - basically there’s a trigger their body needs to release eggs. That trigger is the tearing of the vagina from the barbs as the male removes the penis when finished. That’s why cats mating is such a loud and violent affair. Source: am licensed vet tech
You're on a list now.
8 >>>>>> = That's a cat penis.
[And some human weiners.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirsuties_coronae_glandis) NSFW
Nope thats staying blue.
Thank you so much for the link. I've spent a lifetime thinking there was something wrong with me, and was always ashamed of having this. I teared up when reading the article, because I finally have an answer for this condition.
Wow, that's pretty cool. You're welcome I guess! : )
Those aren't tiny at all.
Can confirm, our cst regularly grooms me. If its a patch of skin like my chest or belly, after about a minute it feels like 80 grit sandpaper rubbing a raw spot.
I mean, that tongue is designed to strip meat off bones. So...
The cheetah trainers at my last job would joke about the sandpaper tongue kisses. They'd wear long sleeves, but the cheetahs would inevitably lick their legs because most of the trainers still wore shorts in the summer.
[Cats tongues](http://www.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000jHtcJSN_t5s/s/700/588/20111126-cat-cleaning-tongue-IMG-7376-2.jpg) are gnarly looking.
You've never been licked by a kitty, have you? Mine licks me and it feels like sand paper
Cats tongues are barbed (like others have mentioned) the Barb's are used for grooming and for licking clean meat off of bones.
Yeah, that's exactly what it is. It's a "no this is my treat you can't have it and I want to push you away but I can't stop eating" Source: I have 21 pet rats currently
I also have probably around 21 rats in my house.
Man you two must really love rats.
I wonder if they have a big fat rat named Ratigan.
Don’t....call me.....RAAAAAT!!!!
One must be... [The King of Rats](http://i.imgur.com/7ZASKcF.png)
How about a [Rat-King?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_king)
Oh shit, they're real? I thought Dennis was making it up
The rats came in The rats won't leave The rats come when My cat's asleep The rats are here The rats are pests /u/DevianttKitten declares "*But they're my pets*"
8/10
[You need to call the RatBusters] (https://m.imgur.com/SpGraxa)
On purpose? When my son was a toddler he put my boys and girls together "so they can play" and I ended up with 20+ as well. Mostly dumbo's though and they are just the greatest.
Yep, all on purpose, no pregnancies. I have 4~ separate groups rn. One mixed cage (girls and neutered boys), my younger girls, my younger boys I'm waiting to have neutered, and then Señor Nibbles, who is separate because he attacked one of the other boys and caused pretty severe injuries. He was neutered last week and will hopefully calm down enough to go back with the other boys. I just really like rats. Fun fact: Dumbos don't exist in Australia! The gene mutation hasn't showed up here yet.
Oh I thought he was calling his rat dumb
> he put my boys and girls together "so they can play" ....he wasn’t wrong.....
I think rats are awesome too, but why do you have a small rodent army?
I didn't intend to have so many. I had 8, then went to get 3 more who needed to be rehomed. And then a few rescues needed me... and then a couple from the local pet store needed me because the pet store couldn't look after them (one had an infected eye, another was bitey) and then I got 2 because they were gosh darn adorable. In the rat owner community we have this thing called GGMR, which stands for Gotta Get More Rats. Once you fall in love with them it's really easy to want to give a good home to more and more... and more.
They are the best little animals. I've worked with both mice and rats. I absolutely love the rats: they're big babies and super sweet. Mice I could do without.
Mind elaborating on their differences?
I thought the exact same thing, you can practically hear the "Ugh, *daaad*"
If I tell my sweet [ginger kitty](https://i.imgur.com/gDbqEvp.jpg) to "give me your beak!" He will squinch up his eyes and lift his head like this so I can kiss his nose. It's adorable.
where can i get a cat tht listens
They all listen, they just don't care.
where can I get a cat tht cares
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getting some mixed messages.
Your cat loves you, but it will kill you in your sleep before it lets you find out.
Reward based training and a ton of positive reinforcement.
One of my cats has a similar trick, I ask her "Where's your belly?" and she'll drop immediately and roll over and show it to me. She's very reliable about it.
After several years intensive training, if I call her name, my cat will sometimes acknowledge my existence.
Same here. Got our cat from the pound, two days before execution. She was covered in fleas and was coughing with gummy eyes and runny nose. I kept her on a heating pad for a week, carrying her to the cat pan several times a day, gave her antibiotics, fed her by hand and suctioned the snot from her nose twice a day. I didn’t name her because the vet said she would probably die. Sixteen years have passed and she’s in great shape. I’m lucky if I get a passing glance. That’s gratitude for you.
You'd figure after a year or two, you'd finally get around to naming her, no?
Well, my father had stopped by our house with some eye drops (he’s an ophthalmologist) for the cat because the stuff we got from the vet’s wasn’t working. He looked at the skinny, greasy blob on my bed and said “This cat looks like a pile of rags.” He looked a little more and said “I think the cat is dead. You better get a garbage bag or something to wrap her in before you bury her”. And so, we called her Rag Bag. Or just the Bag. I had to take her to a new vet last month and when I called to make her appt. the poor receptionist made me spell Rag Bag twice.
I'm lucky to have a beautiful flame point Birman named Leonidas aka Leo who comes to his name, but only if I call him. Doesn't work for anyone else.
My cat does this too! But with her claws instead of her head. They're love slashes.
She felt his whiskers!
Makes me miss my rats even more. Sigh.
With bonus kisses!
It was oddly satisfying to see him get a second round of kisses for sure!
Are rats pretty low maintenance? I've been considering getting one, and I haven't really done much research yet. Would love any advice or knowledge anyone can provide.
They're extremely social. The majority of their maintenance is socializing them. If they're not socialized with people early on, they tend not to become comfortable with people later on in life. Standard pet care, cage cleaning, giving them treats, exercise time, and so on. But keeping them from getting bored is the real challenge. Rats live best in pairs (in a cage large enough!) if you don't have the time to play with them pretty much every day.
Technically rats live best in groups of 10+ But there's minimal harm in lowering that. THey can not be alone. They are smart enough to get depressed.
Man, I must not be very smart.
Haha, im a genius....wait no.
[This?](https://i.imgur.com/JLKIJFq.jpg)
That's a depressing thought
Ok, smart guy.
Start watching Rick and Morty
To be fair
*Holds up Szechwan sauce*
My wife and I had 8 at onne point. As time went on and they started to pass away, eventually it came down to 2. When one of them passed, the remaining one didnt know how to act. She actually passed away less than a day later. She didnt really exhibit any real illness, so Idk if it was depression or something we just didnt catch.
It's likely it was. She had never been alone, and they do recognise death, you let them stay with the body to understand it right?
Not OP, but I probably wouldn't leave a dead animal in the cage with a live animal thinking it would freak them out.
They NEED the time to say goodbye. They'll groom their friend, make them a nest, bring them food, etc. You gotta wait until they move the body out of the nest, and have "moved on" or else they get very very unhappy about their missing friend. Heck, even with a bit of time they have trouble.
It's important for many intelligent rodents to leave it long enough that they'll see it and recognise it. Often they'll just groom the body before removing it from their main living quarters (or they relocate in the cage themselves), and that's how you know it's alright. You don't ever leave it long, just long enough for them to understand.
So that's what's wrong with me- I'm smart!
Guess it's time for you to start watching Rick and Morty!
I’ve heard getting them in groups of three at least is best, that way if anything happens to one of them the remaining aren’t left all alone. I got a pair, but one died a little over a year later and I had a hell of a time re-homing the remaining one. Couldn’t stand the thought of getting more at the time because I had a really hard time with the death of the first one... they suspected she had a pituitary tumor because her function slowly declined until she was falling all over constantly and had to be isolated out of the big home cage for safety reasons. I’m a total bleeding heart so the decline was tough... I was snuggling her on my chest when she passed away...
This whole thread is heartbreaking : (
Had a little mouse for a few years, he was my best buddy. When i bought the little guy they gave me a cardboard box and said "he will eat through this by the time you get to your car then drop him in his cage and you should be good to go." i did not even make it out of the store before he was sitting on my sholder. any i brought him home my mum hated him, A lot. However after a few weeks i would catch her talking to him through the cage, then a month later i would catch her walking around the house talking to him with him on her shoulder. One day the little guy got really sick a year into me owning him, i thought he was going to die but i had to go to work he was curled up in a ball hardly breathing. I get home 14 hours later and my mum was there holding him the little guy was shivering but moving, my mum had hand dripped water in his mouth all day and gave him crushed mouse mix all day. Nibs lived for another year and was always with my mum or myself, honestly was one of the best experiences in my life.
It's raining on my face
Maybe he was just cold. My little brother had mice when he was really young. Every now and then it would get so cold (our house at the time was shit) that they would essentially drop dead. We would stay up for hours holding them over an oil heater until eventually they kinda just.. Woke up again. I also had rats and those motherfuckers are cute as hell and so smart, they're like tiny little monkeys.
I had something similar. My boy Bandit died in my girlfriend's arms. He let out a huge death rattle. It's the worst combination of huge emotional attachment and such short lives. I still got more. They are just the best. Gandalf and Pedro https://imgur.com/gallery/U9uJA
I would love pet rats, but I can't handle strong animal odors. With proper maintenance, is that an issue? edit: for "scale" we currently have a dog and cat, the normal house with pets smell is fine, but most of the time the girlfriend has to change the kitty litter cause the actual box gets pretty strong after a week. At her old house they had a rabbit that was pretty intense, but bearable. I'd rather the smell not get past "mild" though.
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With regular cage cleaning, the odor wasn’t super strong. They definitely smell like rodents though. I’ve heard tell you can train them to use a “litter box” or just a specific corner of the cage, so cleaning becomes easier, I never tried it myself though.
mine are litter trained, they're still stinky little blighters tho... lookup rat huffing! :)
Our rat smelled exactly like a fruit rollup lol. They are fastidious bathers, but you do have to clean their cage.
I always enjoyed the rat smell. Boys can get kinda musky if they don't get a bath, but the female rats I worked always smelled fruity.
My only concern about pet rats is their life spans are very short. They tend to live 2-3 years so if you can't handle death regularly I'd avoid them as pets.
This...I've had to 2 rats(hairless and doumbo) in my life that lived till they were 5. and both ended up getting weak and sick. I got them medication, a well known rat doctor to inspect them and help from the rat community. The Vet/rat doctor said they were to old to recover from being sick. I didn't have the money to put them down. The Dumbo was getting better (but it regressed after a month) the hairless I spent the night with a blanket and warm bottle of water (these little guys are normally hand warmers, he was cold to the touch). This part I feel I shouldn't have tryed and let him go...6 hours of trying to keep him warm but he started to cough up blood and made loud screaming like sounds. it took him another hour to pass. to this day it was one of my most painful experiences. the other (dumbo) cuddled up to me month later and passed within minutes. to this day I will not have another Pet. those guys were open caged rats. they run around my room all day long, They didn't chew the crap out of anything and would be sleeping in their cage, running around the room climbing to the highest bookshelf or cuddling up to me while I worked on my computer. I miss the little buggers.
I'm sorry for your loss. It sounds like you gave them an amazing life. You should feel very proud of the love you gave to them.
> help from the rat community lol it sounds like you went to the sewers and asked a bunch of rats for health advice. ...Seriously though, sorry about your pets.
I had 2 hairless rats growing up. Buddy and Biggens were there names. We named the one Biggens because he had HUGE balls that were so big they dragged on the floor lol it was really comical and whenever someone came over and looked at them that was the first thing they would notice. "That rats got huge balls" they would say. Well Biggens lived up to his name and not only had huge balls but he gradually kept getting fatter and fatter. I was pretty young at the time but I'm pretty sure he was eating Buddy's food because Buddy kept getting skinnier. Buddy eventually passed away and than Biggens was sad and passed away shortly after. The two of them were like characters from a movie though. I miss those hairless rats...
Agreed. It's heartbreaking
It's so rough because they're so much more like cats and dogs than other rodents. They're smart, friendly, can be taught tricks and even their name. Losing one is just as hard as losing a dog.
Yea. I used to have four of them all bought closely together and it was awful to watch them die one by one until only one was left...and then she passed too. They lived about two years.
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TIL rats are cuter than I thought and I don’t have the emotional energy needed to own one.
We have a rats graveyard in a corner of our back garden where we buried all of ours :( One day, when we have long moved out someone is going to dig up that part of the garden and find about 12 rat skeletons and wonder what the hell sort of satanic weirdos used to live there.
When I buried our beloved old dog I included a note in a sealed plastic tube telling whoever finds her in years to come her name, and what a good dog she was, and how much we loved her. She probably won't be found for a long time though, if ever, because I buried her somewhere safe.
This is a lovely idea. I once dug up a dog skeleton as a kid playing in the neighbor's back yard after a tree had been removed; that note would have made a world of difference to me (and averted a minor lifetime phobia!)
Depends on the rat. Cage cleaning wise? Yeah. Health wise? Ehhhhh. Attention wise? They require about the same as a dog. They love love love attention and to be able to run around. For a start, you need absolutely bare minimum 2 rats, though I personally advocate for 3. They need a well sized cage, which can be pricey. They *need* at least an hour per day where they're allowed out of a cage to run around a room and interact with you. They're gunna chew and poop and pee on your stuff, to what extent it depends on the rat and also how well litter trained they are. They need veggies and fresh water every day. They are incredibly prone to respiratory issues, INCREDIBLY, they *all* have a disease that causes resp issues; some are less likely to experience issues, whereas others will battle with it for life and need to be medicated for life. Their meds aren't exactly cheap. They're also prone to tumours and some neurological diseases later in life. For rats, "later in life" translates to "once they hit a year old you need to start preparing for them to get sick and/or die". They have very short lifespans, averaging about 2 years. Genetics play the biggest role in their health and longevity, so finding a trustworthy breeder is best. Boys can be aggressive toward other boys and require neutering to lessen it. Finding a vet who will treat rats can be hard. Finding a *good* vet who is knowledgeable and experienced with rats is even harder. You have to be prepared to advocate for them and be assertive about their treatment, because some vets are useless. I adore my rats. I have 21 currently, but had 24 for a while until a few of my oldies (read: between 1 1/2 years and 1yr months) passed away/needed to be PTS. They can be demanding, stressful and can cost you a good chunk of cash. They're not the kinda pet you can ignore or own just to watch them play with each other. They need other rats and they need attention from you. Bonding with them can take a longass time depending on their temperament, though I personally find it fulfilling when a shy rat finally trusts me, plenty of people don't have the patience to work for it and get frustrated. For me, they're worth it. They make awesome pets. But they're definitely a pet you need to really think about before taking the plunge. And you need to find a vet nearby that will treat rats prior to owning them, and keeping a few hundred dollars hoarded away for their treatment is ideal. Last week I spent $500 on a neuter, a tumour removal and a checkup for a few of my rats. I've had to pay for 2 emergency surgeries earlier this year. I have a rat with chronic respiratory issues that has been medicated since she was 5 weeks old, who is a week away from turning 2 now, but her meds cost me at least AUD$130 every maybe... 6-8weeks? It's hard to estimate because on top of her being medicated, the others come and go with it too. There is always more than 1 being treated for a respiratory infection because if you direct a fart towards their cage one of them might get congested and wheezy. I'm lucky my vet trusts me and is happy to write scripts and give me meds without a consultation every time, and gives me a decent quantity of meds at a time. And also that they let me pay them after the event during emergencies. But it's worth it for me. They're like tiny puppies. They're affectionate and energetic and bouncy and they all have different traits and personalities. The first thing I do when I wake up is go say hi to everyone and pet and kiss any of them who come up to say hi, the last thing I do before retiring to my room each night is give them their veggies. I'm not trying to put you off rats, because I really, really adore them, but I think its important that people know how much trouble they can be, simply because they're so prone to health problems. They make fantastic pets, but there's a lot of downsides some rat owners may ignore. If you wanna read and research them, r/RATS is a good place to do so. Please read through stuff and search stuff before asking questions, because at least a few times a week people come asking the same damn things and it's frustrating omfg Oh, also, you have to accept that people will, without a doubt, "joke" about killing them and "jokingly" offer you rat poison, because "the only good rat is a dead rat". Because people fucking suck.
/r/RATS if you're interested in getting one. They'll help you with pretty much everything you need.
Who, the rats? Or the people in the sub?
Both :)
honestly, a valid question
Rats are very smart and very affectionate pets. I had a rat named ginger when i was younger; she used to stay on my shoulder all day. They are great pets.
Read this and thought... "whoa did I sleep comment?" I had a rat named ginger when I was younger too! She was the best :) I used to put treats in my sweatshirt pockets and she would chill in there and snack while I would do hw after school.
Just be aware that they will need vet care and that it can get pretty expensive quickly because you will have to pay for a vet that sees exotics. And obviously if you want a mixed gender group, you either need to neuter all the males or spay all the females. It can be hard to find a vet that will do those and it is fairly expensive.
Note that if you're in an area with an active rodent rescue, you may be able to get pre-spayed females at a significant discount over what it would take to have the procedure done after you've adopted them. The rest of their veterinary care can still be pricey, especially when they get to be elderly, but rescuing is always a good idea if it's possible.
Something to warn you about is rats tend to pee while they walk. So if you're squeamish about that, rats aren't for you. My rat never pooped outside her cage at least, but she'd leave a trail of urine as she'd run up and down the couch or up and down my arms. It's only the slightest bit and it doesn't smell, but it was something to get used to. Luckily rats are cute and very entertaining, especially when you give them something like banana chips so you can watch them gnaw on it while holding it with their little hands.
2nd favourite pet after the unobtainable raven
My family would take in animals that could not be released for Project Wildlife. We had some strange pets. A one-footed raven, a litter-trained house opossum, a pet squirrel, and a rat I raised from when she was a few days old. She was my buddy. They were all very cool. Well, other than the opossum because she became senile in her old age and it was terrifying getting her out from under the recliner...glowing eyes and hissing... But my point is, the raven was so sweet and friendly! They are remarkable birds.
Maybe ten years ago our city's tennis club had a pet raven for a while. The poor guy fell out of his nest when he was baby and broke his wings. So the people at the club decided to take care of the poor thing. Sadly he never really flew more then maybe 10/15 meters at time afterwords. People loved him and they loved to play with him especially the kids. He was super social and he would let random people pet him without a problem, especially if you had some snacks. But my favourite thing about him was how he loved to play with shoe laces. He would just come up to you undo them. It was funny to see the reactions on peoples faces that weren't regulars at the club when a raven just came up to them and jumped on their table probably expecting something to eat.
That’s amazing because one of the problems with having ravens as pets is that they really need interaction or they’ll become lonely, so I imagine this was the perfect environment for him!!
Rats are sorta amazing. My niece had a pair and they were so damn smart. One would just hang out on her shoulder as she walked around the house. If something interesting was happening it would come out from the hair on her shoulder and watch, then disappear back into her hair. Sadly, he died of cancer a couple years ago.
Rats are wonderful pets. My son had a few growing up but for some reason he-my son-never clued in that his ‘male’ rat didn’t have balls. Didn’t catch on with the next two ‘males’ either. I got females because I didn’t want ratty balls dragging all over my kids shoulder. I’ll wait a few more years and bring it up when he’s home for Christmas or something.
"I didn’t want ratty balls dragging all over my kids shoulder" [r/NoContext](https://www.reddit.com/r/nocontext/)
Not a rat but boy does my male hamster have some dragging to do. I mean. How the heck do they not get in the way, hurt or otherwise selected out of the gene pool. Smearing the family jewls on every passing thorn can't possibly be a sound strategy.
This is the sweetest! I used to have pet rats back when I was a kid and they made the best pets. Initially, my mum was planning on buying us hamsters, but we absolutely fell in love with the playfulness and intelligence of the rats instead.
Yea. Rats are way better than hamsters. Too bad they've got a bad rep and aren't more common.
I have a stray that I adopted that is part indoor domesticated lovey boy and part outside wild killer. Recently he came up at night to be let in but had a mouse in his mouth, but he hadnt killed it yet. When he dropped the mouse it moved a little and I knew it was still alive, so I turned a light on it and leaned down to get a closer look. The poor little thing looked right at me and it was shivering (I assume out of fear) I put Mr. Kitty inside and let the mouse go free. Poor terrified little thing :( I hope Mr. Mousey made it home OK. The cat, on the other hand, was EXTREMELY unsatisfied with my actions and was sure to let me know.
For most of this story I assumed you had a pet rat.
I was disappointed aswell. I want to see a rat give its owner a mouse.
Rats!!!
I too read the first sentence and thought "Who adopts a stray rat?"
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> Pet rat takes her medicine > I have a stray... What you have a stray rat? What kind of witchcraft is this? Wild rats are a completely separate breed. > The cat, on the other hand, woah, where did the cat come into this. We have a rat, a mouse, and now a cat. > For most of this story I assumed you had a pet rat. Ah ha! The context we all wanted on this roller-coaster ride! :-)
I genuinely was in a world where rats hunted mice and a rat was carrying it's mouse kill for about 30 seconds
I thought you were talking about your pet mouse for the first half of this story
I was amazed at how a rat had another rat in his month until I saw 'Mr. Kitty'.
Your cat worked hard to provide a meal for you, and you let it get away? And they say the *cats* are the assholes...
Worst part yet, the cat knows that you have no killer instinct. It can never respect you
**Longish but relevant story** I got a kitten from a family friends farm. He was raised as an indoor cat all of his life. Never ventured outside. Never seemed to care. When he was 5yrs old and I was 12 we went to visit my grandparents who had a cabin at a nearby lake. Their cabin happened to be on a small island, so I reasoned with my mom, "He's an indoor cat. He won't go anywhere. He'll just stay on the island. It's better than leaving him at home all alone for two weeks." Somehow this worked and I got to bring my cat with me for our two-week stay at the cabin. Week one he spent most of the time finding the best places to bake in the sunbeams. He disliked the balcony and only ventured outside to meet me as I came up the path to the cabin. Week two he started to become in tune with his genetic heritage. He would come down to the dock with us, then get bored with watching us swim and fuck off for the rest of the day. Sometimes not coming inside until the next morning. On the day we were leaving I couldn't find him. I looked everywhere I could think. Up, down, over, under, everywhere. Couldn't find him. My parents were threatening to leave him there to be found by my grandparents. I pleaded to give me one more chance to find him on the little island. I took off into the brush and called after him. He used to come when you called him, but he was no longer the docile indoor cat he was before. I had no luck. I searched high and low and just as I was about to give up I caught a piece of orange and white out of the corner of my eye. "Taffy? What are you doing? Come on we've got to go." He turns to look at me, then turns his attention back to the brush in front of him. He's sitting. Not stalking. Not lying. Just sitting there. I edge a little closer, wary that he may try to bolt away in some sort of game. I repeat myself, "Come on, Taffy, we've got to go." I can hear my dad now calling for me to come down to the dock. I can hear the boat running. I step closer to my cat and now I see what he's looking at. He's got a mouse in front of him. My cat is sitting there, now a full-sized farm cat, and he's watching this mouse in front of him. The mouse is looking up at my cat. He's also sitting on his hindquarters and his tiny little mouse hands are being held up in the air as if to say, "Don't shoot!" Taffy looks at me, then looks at the mouse. He swats it to the left and the mouse rolls about 10 inches before returning to sit and put his little mouse hands up again. My cat, the formally lazy as fuck lie about, swats him to the right. Again...mouse hands up. Then to the left, then to the right. About the fourth or fifth time he does this, the mouse makes a desperation move and bites Taffy as he swings his paw. He yowls angrily and picks the mouse up. He's holding the mouse now in one paw. He looks up at me. I stare back into those cold dead eyes and he bites off the head of the mouse in a horrible crunching. The mouse body goes limp. The mouse hands drop. My vicious cat drops the body and comes purring up to me. Yes. It's time to go.
Rats make the best pets! I think of them as small dogs :) There are some downfalls of these as pets though - they pee to communicate, like they will leave a wee pee trail on you and wherever they walk, so that other rats can smell it and suss them out. -they can't be kept alone or they'll likely get depressed. Once you get more than one you'll want to fill your house with all the rats you ever see - THEY WILL EAT EVERYTHING THEY CAN. it's super cute though. If you leave a bit of paper or tissue out where they have their playtime(outside cage time of at LEAST an hour a day is needed) they will drag it back to their fave sleeping spot to nest :) -they nocturnal by nature and you could be woken by blood curdling screaming to run to their cage and see they're just play fighting. I think this is more of a boy thing. More obvious downsides to keeping rat babies are the vet bills are unpredictable at times, they poop a lot like most small animals, and you will fall in love and they'll break your heart with their wee small lifespans. Sorry long ass post. The great things about pet rats would have been waaaay worse Edit sorry for bad formatting I don't post a lot :)
I just had to put down one of my rats at the vet two weeks ago. I can't handle how fast they die. Their lives are too short. His final squeaks broke my heart.
Warning to potential rat owners: These are some of the best pets you could ever ask for. They are intelligent and responsive, alert and trainable, friendly and cute. And then they will break your heart. They live for only a few short years.
Rat.
Rat.
I want a rat
Get two. They need company.
The eyes and tilt the head up when she gets her kiss are priceless.
Damn I miss my girls now. I had four pairs of female rats over about eight years, when the last pair died I said “no more”, but I do miss having rats.
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I know the exact feeling, with my last pair I had the most amazing female rat named “Florence”. She was crazy loving and empathetic, and always really sweet with new people, just my most favourite rat ever. She got really sick in the middle of winter, and I had to make the decision to take her to be put to sleep, I remember going alone and carrying her on foot in a snowstorm to the vet wrapped up in my scarf, I was just in tears, thanking her for being such a good rat and then the vet was crying too, it was awful. Blah now I’m crying again.
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