I like rats. Pet rats, fancy rats that is... rattus norvegicus, rather than the black rat of the "carrying the fleas that carried the plague" fame. They are truly delightful, similar in temperament to dogs, and just as easily trained! I'm giving you fair warning, there will be a couple of photos later, that you may well not want to see - I fully understand that some people think that they are pretty foul.
As I was looking for photos for this blog post, I came to the realisation that I've not scrapbooked about any of the rats so far, hence this post. Here's hoping it doesn't send you reaching for the close tab.
I've had the pleasure of knowing 22 in all, mostly in batches, and mostly females. Female rats are inquisitive, intelligent, friendly and very sociable. Our first big group were 6 girls named after 50s film stars, of which Dot (Doris) was my favourite. She was tiny, but by far the bravest of them all.
(notice I'm easing you in by not showing a picture that shows her tail!)
At one point, we had 13 - due to a pregnant pet shop rat. We gave all the females to good homes, but kept the males, 6 in all, named after Liverpool FC managers. If I could remember the names or thought you'd be interested, I'd list them! *sexism alert* They pretty much behaved as stereotypical male animals - sat around stuffing their faces with food, peeing everywhere and didn't move much. Working on their fat storage, presumably. They were still delightful, but much less interesting to watch than the giddy girls.
I shan't go on any more, but shall leave you with a photo of another glamorous rat Mazz (named after Marilyn Monroe). She was an albino rat, the ones with the pink eyes, and was a grumpy little sod. Unsurprising though, seeing as she couldn't see past her whiskers. The head-scarf is due to hair-loss, the story of which I may well share another day...
So, tell me. Do they make you cringe? Or do you want to reach out and stroke?
6 comments:
Sarah! So good to see you back - even though it includes seeing rather large rodents too. (Much preferred the previous picture of that gorgeous baby girl!)
I am sure that the rat babies were very cute, but I prefer to admire them from afar, don't think I would be able to actually touch one!
We have one hamster and that's enough for me :) But even I have to admit these ones look pretty cute. Now probably wouldn't be a good time to tell you about the rat I kicked across our kitchen floor many years ago..
I've actually secretly longed to own a rat or two but because we have 2 cats I don't think it will work do you?!! xx
Don't think I would enjoy a pet rat. My sister's guinea pig drove me nuts as a child. Oh well. Found you through BFS.
I rather like them, my sister and husband had two when they first married, "Bill and Ted". Bit smelly though, should have realised girls would have been nicer!
Yes they do look cute but that's as far as it goes for me too :)
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