Pet rats. Three of them — named Monty, Splinter and Rosencrantz. I happen to think they’re the funniest, cutest, greatest little balls of fluff ever, even though much of the world disagrees.
When I got my first rat, my mom informed me, “That rat will never enter my house.” I’ve had rental applications declined because of my rat pack – not because they were animals but because they were capital-R Rats. I’m regularly greeted with shrieks or exclamations of, “Are you crazy?” when people find out I husband rodents. You get used to it after a while.
Pet rats — known as fancy rats — get a bum rap. People think of New York’s subway rats, or the rats on South Park which come skittering out to chew Kenny’s bones. Though they are part of the same species, wild rats and fancy rats are quite different in behavior and looks. According to the American Fancy Rat and Mice Association, 
domestic rats developed from Victorian England “sport.” There were so many wild rats at the time that they’d be collected and thrown into a pit with a dog. The dog that killed the largest number of rats in the shortest time was declared the winner. Pit owners started to keep back some of the more unusually colored rats and bred them. Now, domestic rats come in a variety of colors and patterns.
A number of misconceptions make rats unpopular, so I’d like to clear them up:
- Rats are mistakenly thought to have caused the Black Plague. However most researchers agree the Plague took root in Europe thanks to fleas. They hitched rides on the backs of the rats — but also on any other hosts they could find, including dogs and humans. Contemporary fancy rats pose no more health threat than other household pets. I kiss my rats on the nose, they lick my fingers, and I wash my hands after playtime just as others do with their dogs.
- Our language is full of rat-based pejorative phrases. We call someone a “ratfink” or a “dirty rat” when they betray us — we “rat on” someone when we’re tattling. Despite their linguistic legacy, rats are actually very sociable creatures that are friendly, safe for children to play with, and rarely bite. I’ve found that my rats have bonded with me much more easily than past small animals have. Don’t get me wrong — they’re so mercenary about their snacks that you’ll always wonder if they just love you because you feed them -– but I imagine that goes for many cats as well.
- Rats aren’t dirty; they’re often more organized than I am. They have a tendency to defecate in the same corner because they like their areas to be tidy. I’ve been told they’re very easy to litter train, though I haven’t tried. As long as their cages are kept clean, rats don’t smell at all. They groom themselves like cats — and it’s very cute to watch. Rats can be bathed — I gave them a bath so they’d look good to meet my parents — but usually it’s not necessary. After I SO carefully spread out newspaper bedding over his cage, my most-obsessive rat, Monty, has a habit of stacking it up in a pile so he can sniffle with joy over how neat it is.
- My boys have distinct personalities. Monty is the oldest, crankiest rat. He beats up on the others and has to be kept in a separate cage, but he also curls up on my lap and lets me pet him. When I was sick recently, I brought him into bed to take a nap by my side. Splinter and Rosencrantz are brothers — Splinter is always exploring and finding trouble. Rosencrantz is shy — if I take him out on his own, he’s likely to shiver by my side until he remembers I’m a friend. I often refer to the brothers as Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum because they’ll run and climb all over each other to get food from me — crashing over each other in a thoroughly comic way.
Fortunately, my rats have a habit of winning over those who meet them. One of my roommates was initially leery, but now I often find her cooing over them. Every little kid I’ve introduced them to has loved them –- boy or girl. My mom — who, remember, declared they would never enter her house — made them a hammock for Christmas. What can I say? I guess rats have winning personalities.
I am a vet tech at Banfield (vet inside Petsmarts) and we see rats pretty regularly and I’m usually the only tech who is actually thrilled to do so. One of our vets LOVE them and the other is impartial and thinks they’re kind of gross. I have had rats in the past but now have 2, one was dumped on the doorstep of Petsmart in January in 20 degree weather with HORRIBLE overgrown teeth, so overgrown, they grew through the bottom of her mouth! Despite that, she is the sweetest, best dispositioned rat I’ve EVER had. She’s amazing. My second was brought in to be euthanized because of a large tumor. The vet I work for refused and we just took her in from the owner and removed it. After a long healing process and weeks later, she’s just as good as new. 🙂 Rats are very sweet, funny pets.
*excited squeal*
I used to have fancy rats!! I had all girls and they were SO much fun. They each had as much personality as any dog I’ve ever had. My baby Mila loved the hamster ball and she would literally follow the sound of my voice in the ball and knew how to turn corners and get “unstuck” from a corner. She loved music and would chatter when she heard a song she liked. She was so hyper and social. We played little fetch games with them. I have dogs now but when we get a bigger place, I will have rats again. They are such an underrated pet!
This post made me miss having rats. My boyfriend had them growing up and we got some when we lived together in college. We got them from another couple who were about to have a baby and didn’t think they would be able to give them the same amount of attention.
They were the sweetest rats ever. I was upset when we had to find someone else to take them when we moved because we couldn’t find an apartment that let us have any pets at all.
Yes!!!! I had such a lovely friend, Hamshack! She was the sweetest rat! She was a literal pack rat, every few months we had to clear out her crazy nest! Ah! I miss her! She died when I went into labor, we had a friend take care of her, but she was left out in the sun. RIP, my poor Hamshack 🙁
Another previous-rat-owner here! I was *just* telling someone about them yesterday! Fancy rats are truly ambassadors for their other ratty cousins. Everyone I know learned to like them, including a few rat-hating friends that ended up facing their fears. When I first moved in with my now-husband he loved bursting into the room where we kept the rats and seeing them get all excited that he was home. <3
And since they were so small I took them quite a many places.. especially in the winter. Sweatshirt pockets anyone? 😀
Love the pic of the rat with the witch’s hat- so cute! I’m not a big fan of pet rodents in general, but I do think they’re pretty cool animals. I think it’s funny how people’s preferences differ as far as pets go; my mom had pet mice as a kid but was horrified when I asked for a pet snake. I have a friend who doesn’t much like pet dogs but has a menagerie of ocean crabs. To each his own!
My friends have rats, and whenever I visit them I have to have “rat time.” I love getting the little sniffs on my cheeks, feeding them the all-powerful yogurt drops and very gently tapping their tails which produces a “whut? you dumb human” look. They are such sweeties!
My friend had rats when we were in high school; Corsehair and Gooberpeas. Gooberpeas was such a darling, they really made me want pet rats. Sadly, until we have a bigger place I’m sticking to my two cats. They’ll likely be my only pets for a long time.
I used to have six girls. Four sisters from one litter (Frodo, Sammy, Merry, and Pippin) and two from another (Pinky and Bluebell).
They are truly underrated pets. I used to joke it was like having very tiny dogs. Not totally accurate, but close! They are such sweet critters.
I do wish they lived longer. All six, unfortunately, were close to the same age…so after a while I was just saying goodbye to one rat after another. So heartbreaking.
I do plan to eventually have rats again. They’re just too much fun.
I love rats and rodents in general–sometimes I feel like the only one, so this is good to see! I had two rats in high school and they had so much personality. My husband isn’t a huge fan, but I won him over to our two guinea pigs, who crack us up on a daily basis. Small animals are so funny and loving!
The very first pet I had that was all mine was a gorgeous charcoal colored Rat who I creatively named “Charky.” He went everywhere with me, crawled around my bed at night when I slept (my mom was less than thrilled about that), and was demonstrably smarter than our dog. The only tragedy, which Ariel also mentioned, was that he died after only four years of life.
However, it was a great way for me to learn to care for a pet (relatively low-maintenance) and to learn about death and loss in a very natural and predictable way as a child.
Yeah, rats are actually recommended as a great first pet for kids, because their life span is short enough that kids can really wrap their brains around the whole “circle of life” thing … unlike a cat or a dog, rats are short-lived enough that a child can very clearly see and participate in the process from baby to adult to old to death, and learn a lot about the cycle of birth and death that way.
Rats are awesome. My brother owned a pair of sisters named Crush and Pepper. When I would visit, they would nest in my hair (a very tickly experience). My hair is a literal rat’s nest!
We just recently said goodbye to the last of our 6 ratties. They are amazing pets. Easily litter trained, to the point of when it’s play out time they will go back into their cage to do onesies and twosies. And they knew their names too and would come running when you called them. They will also try and groom you if you let them haha! The short life span is tough tho, and watching them become ill in their old age, putting them to sleep is the worst! We’ll probably get some more when we get a bigger place. My FH is taking about getting a 2 bed so we can have a rat room!
And now a video for all you non lovers, c’mon, say aww!
This just made my day!!
A word to the wise: if you’re thinking about getting more than one rat, make sure you have someone who REALLY knows their stuff identify their sexes. Or only buy adult rats, whose sex can be easily identified.
I kept pet rats for years, one at a time, and they were freakin’ awesome. But then I decided to get two of them. I was assured by the pet store owner that the two juveniles I bought were both males, and I took his word for it because younger rats’ junk looks almost the same regardless of sex.
Then one day I woke up and there were a bunch of dead and almost-dead babies in the bottom of the cage. I saw one of the rats giving birth to another. I sequestered her with the two living ones. She must’ve deduced that it wasn’t a safe environment for her young because she ATE one. I nursed the other one by hand with a syringe for a few days, but it eventually died too. And then about a week later, ANOTHER BABY APPEARED IN THE CAGE.
So, uh. Being a highly sensitive eleven-year-old, I found my rats new homes and wasn’t able to deal with the idea of getting more until recently.
I think I’ll stick to one next time.
I’ve never had rats, but some friends in university had them. I loved them, but it didn’t surprise me. I used to raise & breed pet mice.
People thought that was crazy too.
I would have a rat in a heart beat. But right now I have a rabbit who is just a wonderful little ball of mischief.
Rodents in general make great pets! I’ve had rabbits for years as well as mice and hamsters. I haven’t had rats personally but one of my room mates in college did and another close friend had one herself. They are so amazingly affectionate.
We have five snakes. I bet you can guess how rats feature in our lives…
Mind you, the ones we get aren’t fancy rats, they’re specifically bred to be feeders, so they tend to be dumber than a sack of hammers.
My college roommate had a pet rat. It was disgusting. It could have also been that my roommate was disgusting but she constantly had that thing out of the cage and it pooped all the time. Having petrified rat crap stuck into your foot while walking through the room in the middle of the night was horrible and unfortunately, I’m biased against all pet rats now.
I hear you! I loved being around my brothers rats, but a rather scruffy pal of mine also had them and oh man! do they stink if they have the wrong cage litter and a hap-hazard cleaning regime. Not cleaning up after your pets is revolting, especially if they’re inside.
I am so glad of all the lovely feedback seen on this post. I have had rats for 10 of the past 12 years and have also changed so many peoples opinions of these lovely critters the only thing that made me stop was the short life span 🙁 such individual characters but yet only live a few years, it was way too heart breaking, so instead we got a ferret called Ziggy who is now a free range ferret with the cat in the house! Much harder work than a ferret but at only 2 yrs old now we will hopefully be having many more happy years together, even if he does get a worse reaction from the general public than my rats ever did, he loves coming out on walks with u. And meeting everyone. Hhhmmm ….. Offbeatpets.com?
i’ve had a ferret, much like a rat but a little bigger and more weasel-ish. Probably one of my best friends ever!! my man and i dont believe in keeping something in a cage so we built a shelf high up on the wall and that’s where she ate and slept. She was a free roaming ferret, in the mornings we’d let her down, and she’d hang around the farm, disappear for awhile, and around feeding time she’d be right back at home, waiting to be lifted up onto her shelf! She even disappeared for 7 DAYS!!! we thought she was a goner, then in the middle of the 7th night, she crawled into bed with us!!!! very skinny and dirty, but alive!! AMAZING!! i love small fluffy creatures!!!!
HOORAY! Pet rats are sweet! I had one “illegally” in my college dorm. Pickle was great, he loved his ferret ball and would come when I called him. When my son is older he can have a rat if he wants!
Aww! I had a number of pet rats as a kid. They’re so cute!
My 16 yr old son convinced me to get him a pet rat and named her Miss Giggles. She was a chocolate dumbo rat, and the sweetest thing! It took a bit for me to get used to her, and eventually she became my pet. She got used to her routine, and one day I forgot to let her out for her exercise on my bed while I got ready for work – I came out to find her climbing the bars of her cage wanting out! She went to Rattie Heaven, and I’d have another one in a heartbeat if it werent for the other 4-legged menagerie and objecting fiancee!
Pet rats are amazing! I have four little girls at the moment. My first was a shy loner named Sophie who was my best friend. After she got very sick with cancer in her bladder, and we had to put her down, I didn’t think I could ever have another rat because I loved her too much. But rats offer such a different pet experience than any other pet! Once you lose one, its hard not to miss that little fur ball on your shoulder power-sniffing your ear 🙂