Me and the boyfriend C bought our two bed flat in 2006. We lived happily just the two of us for a while then decided it was high time for a new addition to our family. By this of course I mean a pet.
Both me and C are feline fanatics and no walk around our neighbourhood is complete without stopping to make a huge fuss of any fluffy tailed moggy that crosses our path. We are also the type of awful guests who if invited to your house will completely ignore you if you have cats in favour of stroking and cooing. C in particular has an affinity with cats, and when he does return to the house he used to share with his Mum, her cat Squeak goes into a complete state of purring joy whenever he is around. I left behind at my parents the casually indifferent Dee-Dee. She will however rub her little nose against mine and give me a purr when she thinks no one is looking. Unfortunately, we live on a very busy road and do not have a garden, so it wouldn’t be fair for us to have a cat.
During a trip to our local retail park, we took an unscheduled detour to press our faces against the glass at all the sleeping bundles of fur. Following a heated discussion about a lop-eared house bunny I had fallen in love with, despite his enormous price tag, we spotted a tiny little sleeping black and white puff. Why was she all alone? All the other rats had brothers and sisters. Both of us completely melted, even more so when the sales assistant confirmed we were correct, all her brothers and sister had been sold. She was a slightly older rat and therefore harder to sell. Before we really knew what we were doing, we had parted with over £100.00 for the rat, a cage, bedding, food and other assorted paraphernalia (which we call “rat tat”) and I had a terrified little rat on my lap in a rectangular cardboard box. The orphan Roger (yes I know, we didn’t know she was a girl for a very long time) came home and stayed with us for a happy time. Here is a little guide for owners and potential owners.
1. Handling your rat
I bought all of my rats from a large pet superstore. They may tell you they handle the rats daily but this is a total lie. Unfortunately, you may never be able to handle your rat if you buy one from a place like this. I’ve never been able to. The first time I gave Roger my finger she nearly bit it clean off. I still have a scar. Rats can chew through concrete so if one bites you, you will know about it.
Be patient with them. Rats have very poor eyesight but exceptionally good senses of smell and hearing so whenever I have new babies I talk to them. I also give them an old pair of socks or a cut up old t-shirt which I rub all over C and myself so they can get used to our scent. Bob, (named after B.O.B in the film Monsters vs. Aliens), being the quiet good-natured little creature he is will happily be stroked and will climb on your arm or shoulder, but he will not be picked up. Tippex (Bob’s brother. So named as he was all white) and Roger would not be touched at all, although we did mange to train both of them to take food from our hands. This could just be me doing it wrong but the great wise internet says if you do want a rat you can cuddle get them from a breeder when they are very young.
2. Housing
Firstly, rats are social creatures and it is always advisable if possible to get 2 or more. They are very active and playful creatures and need room to run around. The cage we have is a large modified aquarium with shelves at various heights and a mesh lid. It also has ventilation holes in the sides to keep them cool. Rats need toys and ours have had various ladders, balls, cubes and a hammock (christened by C as “the rammock”). We also give them old toilet roll tubes and clothes. They love crawling into the tubes and very cutely, they pile the clothes up in one corner and sleep on them.
Always use “safe” bedding to fill the cage. Newspaper or sawdust is not suitable as they will eat the newspaper and the ink can make them unwell. Sawdust or wood shavings can irritate their eyes and skin. If you do have a rat you can get out of its cage, do be careful they don’t nibble through wires or go and live in the sofa. You can buy a ventilated “rat ball” so they can run around without disappearing forever.
A strong sturdy water bottle is essential. They chew everything that you put into their cage so keep another bottle for when they inevitably break the first one.
Rats may be tiny when they are babies but they can grow enormous. Even more so if you do let them out of the cage. Tippex was longer than my forearm not including his tail, so he really needed a lot of room.
3. Food
Thankfully, rats are omnivores and will eat anything. Sadly, I do mean anything. Roger liked to climb onto my head which I thought was lovely until I found her attempting to eat a hairclip. Bob likes to climb down the front of my top and then attempt to eat the buttons on my shirt. My hair, glasses, mobile phone, rings and of course finger have all had a good gnawing. Do be careful what you let them near as if they don’t know what it is, they will bite it to try to figure it out (can be quite handy if you want someone to get out of your house!)
Some people give their rats dark chocolate but just to be on the safe side, I don’t give them anything as chocolate can contain chemicals that are poisonous to rats. They do not seem to like citrus fruit and I would advise limiting sugar intake unless you want them bouncing off the walls all night (apart from the occasional hobnob as a treat.)
Like humans, a balanced diet is always a great idea with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. “Wet” vegetables like cucumber and tomatoes are great so they can get plenty of moisture. They also always need fresh water. Rats enjoy looking for food and me and C hide snacks in, under and around things in their cage so they can go and look for it.
Personally, I also do not give them any raw meat or fish for fear of making them ill or them choking. Any cooked meat always seems to be welcome. They also love dry food like sugar-free cereal (All Bran and Weetabix are popular) and dog biscuits. Rat muesli and rat nuggets are always a good idea as they contain extra vitamins and they seem to like them.
As a very special treat, I give them a cooled hard-boiled egg with the shell on as I love to watch them shove it around the cage with their noses. They eventually learnt to tip the egg off the top shelf of the cage so the shell smashes.
I would also be careful with too much dairy as it seems to give them an upset tummy. Other than those things, they are the best little leftover munchers you could ask for!
4. Things to be wary of
Rats have a very short life span. Most do not live for longer than 3 years. Roger, our first rat, very sadly had a cancerous tumour under one of her nipples and had to be put to sleep. Tippex was also put to sleep following a stroke that lost him the use of one of his hind legs. He was 2 years and 8 months old. They are prone to cancer, strokes and respiratory problems. Bob is now well into old age as he is nearly 3 and whilst he is as happy as ever and eats and drinks well his movements are slower and he sleeps more. Keep a very close eye on them if their breathing is laboured, they have any problems going to the toilet or eating/drinking and take them straight to a vet as soon as you can if you notice anything wrong. It cost only £20.00 to have our dear little Roger put to sleep. She is buried in my Mother in Laws garden, and C’s family planted a bush on top of the spot. Tippex got poorly very suddenly in the night and so was very kindly cremated by our local vet.
Rats are nocturnal usually and whether you have 1 or 2, they may keep you up all night crashing around and fighting. They really do fight. The first time I stuck my hand into the cage to break it up they naturally assumed I wanted in on the brawl and started attacking me too. I eventually kept an old wooden spoon next to the cage to force them apart with. Play fighting is fine of course but it could get really out of hand and resulted in nosebleed and torn off ears.
Rats themselves do not smell as they are always cleaning themselves or each other. However, their cages do absolutely stink. Their faeces have almost no smell at all but their urine is very pungent. Their cage needs regular cleaning and fresh bedding. You can only use animal safe cleaning products, as they do like to lick things. These are available from most pet stores and are not too pricey at all.
Do be careful when cleaning out the cage. I failed to notice Bob attempting a flying leap for freedom. I managed to catch him by his tail, leaving him hanging upside down like a chubby squeaking piñata.
5. Things to be happy about
When rats love you, and they will because you give them food, they really cannot hide it and are very responsive. All 3 of mine when I had them would come crashing to the top of the cage as soon as I got in from work demanding attention. When they are really happy, they make a rumbling noise in their throats called “chuggling”, like when a cat purrs or a dog wags its tail, its their way of showing they’re happy. They are so adorable to look at, and you don’t ever need to feel guilty if you are out all day and usually this is when they sleep. They love company however and will follow me up and down the cage when I walk around the room they live in. They love to play games (Bob’s favourite is “I’ve got your tail”. He waddles around the top of his cage and I pick his bottom up by his tail. He wiggles his feet until I put him down. I know he loves it as he immediately points his bum at me, so we can do it again.) They are also so clumsy, and will forever fall off and into things and then look surprised when they land.
As I am writing this, Bob is staring at me curiously, holding onto and nibbling a cherry tomato. Look at you little man, you’re famous! I better go and make him some tiny sunglasses.
