Tag: rats as pets

Let’s Hear It for Rats!

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

Once upon a time my sister Alice gave us two hooded rats (the white ones with the black heads) for Christmas. We’d never had pet rats before.

Well, hey, this video’s not lyin’. Rats (at least the ones of my acquaintance) are affectionate and playful–and very intelligent. If they could live ten years or so, they’d be reading and writing.

Whenever I had to take one of our rats in to see the vet, I’d just deposit her on my shoulder and there she’d stay until the vet examined her. Often the other people in the waiting room would go “Ew!” and make faces. But after they saw how good my little rat-girl was, usually they wanted to pet her.

Caveat: None of this applies to wild rats. Just in case anybody needed to be told.

A Rat in Love with a Cat

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

Actually, it’s two rats that follow this cat all around the house; but only one of them cuddles up to the cat every chance she gets.

As pets, rats are affectionate, playful, and very smart. Sort of like cats. This is the first time I’ve seen this kind of relationship; but having known and loved both cats and rats, I find I’m not surprised.

You should’ve seen the people in the vet’s office, who at first made faces and sort of cringed, gushing over my rat as she sat so well-behaved on Daddy’s shoulder. Didn’t take her very long to win them over!

Cozy Time with Your Rat

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

Got to talking about my pet rats–what sweet girls they were! Every bit as affectionate as the rat in this video. They never did anything bad at all except to fight with each other as soon as we turned the lights out. Then I’d turn the light back on and they would pretend nothing had happened.

You’d hardly believe how smart rats are, how fast they can learn all sorts of things. Ditto mice. If they lived ten years or more, they’d run rings around us.

Come to think of it, though, that wouldn’t be so hard to do, these days.

A Most Pettable Pet

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

Oh-ho-ho, you and me,/Giant brown rat upon my knee…

Hi, everybody, Mr. Nature here–with the Gambian pouched rat. If you look around youtube, you’ll find a lot of people have these as pets.

Around here we’ve had many regular mice and rats as pets. Their only fault is that they have short life spans. Rats and mice are smart, affectionate, and cuddly. In fact, they’re so smart that, if they lived ten years or so, they’d be winning chess tournaments and giving financial advice.

I don’t know how our cats would like sharing quarters with a Gambian pouched rat or any other kind, and I don’t propose to find out. But it sure looks like this would be a nice pet to have, especially if you don’t have a lot of space.

Yes, I know–some of you just have to see a mouse or a rat, and you’re outta here. But I also know that, when I used to bring one of my rats to see the vet, and had her–the rat, not the vet–sitting patiently on my shoulder, as good as gold, people who were at first quite unhappy even to see the rat wound up petting her and going kitchy-koo.

Praise God, for giving us animals that we can love and that can love us back. If we had been creating the world, we never would have thought of that.