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Rats, the pets of the future
As space and time become more limited, pet ownership is moving in new directions. Rats, I believe, are the ideal pet for this trend. The dog lover of today is the rat owner of tomorrow. When it comes to space, all a rat needs is a nice cage to get all its needed exercise. Unlike cats, rats have no desire to leave your room or apartment and kill wildlife. A cage is a good home, and a room a whole world for a contented rat. Happy to be in their cage while you're at work or school, rats are not a threat to your home. You will not find puddles on the carpet or things chewed or torn (provided the cage is secure). Rats don't need daily walks or an extensive amount of attention, yet they are as affectionate as any cat or dog and far removed from hyper-active rodent cousins. If you have more than one rat, they will not mind being left along for hours, but they will always be glad to see you. They will not bark or cry at night, disturbing you or your neighbors. When it comes to loyalty and intelligence, rats are often compared to dogs. Rats form strong pet-human bonds, and adore food and attention. They are a limitless source of entertainment and companionship. Unlike dogs, rats will never challenge you for dominance; your sheer size is enough. Even an abused rat is not exceedingly dangerous. A rat bite can hurt an adult or child, but not kill. Rats, even wild ones, are not known to carry rabies, and pet ones can and usually do spend their entire lives indoors. As the price of things increase, rats are a conventional pet, with low initial costs (the major investment on the cage) and low maintenance costs. Rats appreciate being spoiled with all kinds of things but live just as happily with discarded boxes as toys and other cheaper supplies. Perhaps, even a shorter life span is more of an upside than before in this fast-paced changing world. Three years may be all a person spends in one place. Will the next place allow pets? What about ten years from now? Will you still have the time and money for a pet? Rats, with their seemingly tragically short lives, remove the burden of long commitment. (I had an emotional need for a new pet in high school, but didn't want to burden my parents and break my bonds after I graduated, so I got rats.) Rats, in their full spectrum of colors and types, are attractive to people who would never have dreamed of liking rodents. People with rat biases are always surprised when seeing their first fancy rat and how docile these animals are. For anyone wanting a more dog-like small pet, rats are closer than any others. I believe that for the future, rats are calmer, lower maintenance, and more "durable" than any other cage pet.  Not Vermin 
I've met many people who were put off by the idea of rats for pets, but I have NEVER met a former rat owner who regrets the experience. The only reason for not getting a rat again I've ever heard from people who have owned rats is "They live such short lives. I couldn't bear to lose another one." The Norway (or brown) Rat (the ancestor of the pet or fancy rat) is one of the most successful creatures in the human environment, and therefore one of the most hated. They have lived beside people since ancient times and compete for resources, often being quite destructive. People may argue that wild brown rats are not native to America, but neither are we. I believe even wild rats have the right to live. The brown rat is believed to be diseased. All wild animals carry diseases and should be regarded with caution. Rats are no more diseased than mice or squirrels and less so than most birds. Our domestic rats' ancestors even have an alibi for the black plague. They were on another continent at the time. This disease, to which the domestic rat's negative image is often attributed, was caused by a bacteria in a flea on the black ship rat (a rodent unrelated to domestic rats) and cats and dogs... in the filth produced by humans. So who is the guilty party? Even if you're convinced it was the rats, it wasn't OUR rats. They weren't even in the equation. Domestic rats have come a long way from their ancestors. Mutations occur in any wild population. Albino is one of the most common, and for rats, hoodeds were common too. People started keeping these colors as novelty pets. (One of the names associated with pet rats is "white rats" since the albino was the most common color for pets.) Gradually, these interesting animals drew a lot of admirers in Great Britain and other countries. People bred the animals for color and personality. Scientists found value in them for research and needed exceptional personalities as well as easy maintenance animals. Gradually, over centuries of domestication, the pet rat of today emerged. Pet rats have been artificially evolved (thanks to selective breeding) to be larger, calmer, and more appealing than the common barn or sewer rat. It's admirers are numerous and growing. The people who've known them, love them. Others just haven't given them a fair chance. So, if you are still rat-wary, don't remember your childhood nightmares of wild rats killing chickens or infesting buildings. That makes as much sense as avoiding a poodle or spaniel because some wolves killed livestock and attacked little girls in fairy tales. Instead, go meet a domestic rat. Come meet one of mine. I promise they don't bite. ;) |
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