# Please please read



## RatzRUs (Feb 5, 2012)

I ask of everyone to spread the word! I understand Halloween is coming up..I BEG do NOT buy a rat just too scare or add it to your props for Halloween. So many people do this and then they are either set free or at a rescue. Owning any animal is a commitment and not a right! If you don't want too give it a full life after please do not get one. You have no idea how many people have been asking me for a rats at work just too pull this off....Thank you


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## Korra (Dec 11, 2011)

This is a great message...but it kind of seems to be in the wrong place. Most people here already love rats more than the average person and already take care of their rats


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## Rat-1- (Jul 22, 2012)

That's so sad


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## RatzRUs (Feb 5, 2012)

I know but we have people who aren't registered that still frequent this forum


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## Rat-1- (Jul 22, 2012)

Yeah anyone can access rat forum do its good your spreading word. How could anyone be so cruel to just buy rats and ditch them after. Do yu work at a petshop or something?


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## aripatsim (Jul 26, 2012)

Wait...people actually do this?! Wow ???

Animals aren't disposable objects that can just be tossed to the wayside when you're finished


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## Korra (Dec 11, 2011)

That's true...I didn't think about that. Good point. Although I still don't think the message will get as far as we want it to. We should find some way to get this to people even further.


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## 1a1a (May 6, 2011)

**** that's a selfish thing to do.


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## IOVERATS (Aug 25, 2012)

Why people do this is STUPID! Someones mum at school breeds rats (shes very good at it and never once has there been a problem, they have all gone to good homes the last litter and are growing up to be great pets!) but some kids at my school have bought 2 rat for £20 and think that they will put them on top of the bookshelf and are going to invite people over for a Halloween party and he's trying I teach them to jump onto his shoulder and apparently its not going well so he said he will have to let them run around the house whilst the party is going on so he can scare people! I keep telling him no, but he just says 'who cares, they are just animals and they have no feelings, so I might as well cable tie them to the wall and put ketchup on their bellies so it looks like blood! That would be awesome, I'm going to do that, and to make them smell horrible is going to pour vinegar on them too! And I can draw fangs on them etc etc etc. I'm getting really worried, I went round his house after school to see if I could stop him, and his house is amazing, it's already got loads of decorations, so I asked why he felt the need to strap them to the wall as props! He refuses to stop, and he is keeping them in a hamster cage! Halloween is so soon and I can't just sit there and let him do all that to a pair of beautiful rats! What should I do! I've tried telling his mum, but she hates rats and doesn't want anything to do with them and she even said she will help him! And he isn't joking, before you say anything like that, because he went to Homebase (basically a hardware shop) with his dad and bought 'extra tough' cable ties! They cost him £12 so he wouldn't be wasting money on that if he was joking! He is a good friend and I don't want to stop being friends with him, but at the same time they are wonderful critters, they came out and snuggled on my shoulders for hours! Please help! I don't know what to do!




A wise t-shirt once said 'my rats think your gross too!' directed at all you rat haters out there!


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## Babs (Jan 26, 2012)

People do this with cats and bats, too. I just realized all the main Halloween animals rhyme... :') But yeah where I live they won't sell or adopt out cats and bats coming up to October because so many people buy them for the occasion. 

Good job putting the word out!


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## fluffy470 (Feb 24, 2012)

Lol I know this is not uber relevant but I'm dressing up my boys for Halloween and then set up a mini trick or treating event in my room for them! I'm getting a rat harness for my bday so maybe I can take one of them actually trick or treating with me  (I would probs take six since he's the only one who doesn't flip out in public lol) I agree with your message and I hope it spreads


Hearts Fur
Jojo Six and Remmy! The boys who sleep in the litter-box instead of the hammock, and poop in the hammock instead of the litter-box


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## IOVERATS (Aug 25, 2012)

Babs said:


> People do this with cats and bats, too. I just realized all the main Halloween animals rhyme... :') But yeah where I live they won't sell or adopt out cats and bats coming up to October because so many people buy them for the occasion.
> 
> Good job putting the word out!


Yeah, my 'friend' or won't be soon if he goes ahead with his plan! Bought his rats from my friends mum rat litter ages before Halloween was near, they are 1 year old now, she doesn't sell rats in that period because of this! (if you haven't read what I sad, then you'll know what I mean 


A wise t-shirt once said 'my rats think your gross too!' directed at all you rat haters out there!


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

This happens every year with baby chickens and bunnies for Easter, too. Parents buy them, sometimes even dipped in dye, for their kids and then set them loose.

It's horrible, but it's just the world we live in.

We can all keep an eye out and call authorities for animal abuse.


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## CherryDawn89 (Aug 25, 2012)

ILOVERATS-Couldn't you tell the breeder what your 'friend' is doing to the rats? Perhaps she could talk to him about it.


Andromeda and Bellatrix's Human


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

CherryDawn89 said:


> ILOVERATS-Couldn't you tell the breeder what your 'friend' is doing to the rats? Perhaps she could talk to him about it.


Yes, this.

Any breeder worth their salt keeps close tabs on what happens to their babies after they are adopted out and have legal contracts regarding their treatment. She should easily be able to rectify the situation with a phone call.


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## RatzRUs (Feb 5, 2012)

Yes I work for a pet store even though we don't sell rats there we still get calls made.....and caged is right as soon as Easter comes everyone's wants bunnys and baby chix...it's horrible and disgusting!


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## IOVERATS (Aug 25, 2012)

CherryDawn89 said:


> ILOVERATS-Couldn't you tell the breeder what your 'friend' is doing to the rats? Perhaps she could talk to him about it.
> 
> 
> Andromeda and Bellatrix's Human


Okay, thanks for the advice, I'm seeing the friend tomorrow after school so I'm sure I can talk to her mum about. I'm so worried and angry that he would do such a thing! He loves animals well, he supposedly does, he has owned hamsters, dogs, guinea pigs and rabbits before, so why should he teach his lovely rate like this, I've offered to look after them during the Halloween period, but he wants to do is 'amazing plan' stupid idiot! 


A wise t-shirt once said 'my rats think your gross too!' directed at all you rat haters out there!


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## RatzRUs (Feb 5, 2012)

I'm not sure where else too put it :/


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## Eden10 (Aug 11, 2012)

So sad! When I worked at the animal shelter we refused to adopt out any cats October coz of sick ppl that adopt black cats and kittens just to torture them...makes me cringe.I'm so glad I rescued my lil black kitten before October...she was living on my friends porch before I took her in who knows what could have happened to her.I hope no animals are harmed this holiday season...but I know that's wishful thinking


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

As the proud dad of a real life shoulder rat, I regret that I'm keenly aware that some people are very extremely rat phobic. I'm not talking about people that don't like rats, I'm talking about people that panic, jump, freeze up, scream, lose bladder control, run into traffic or even pass out. Introducing rats to strangers usually goes remarkably well, most people are curious friendly and interested, I've even had people who ran out and bought rodents of their own after meeting our rat only once. Our pizzaria gives our rat free cheese and a DQ gives our rat free ice cream. But a tiny percentage of people are actually dangerously phobic. An experienced shoulder rat trainer knows how to manage these kinds of situations without anyone getting hurt, but no one else should take a rat into a public situation as a lark.

We've been asked by a few phobics who otherwise thought our rat was cute and friendly for help with their phobias. I've had two women who wanted to get over their phobia so badly they actually push themselves beyond the point of panic to where their health was actually in jeopardy trying to overcome their fear. One young lady didn't protest one bit when her date put our rat on her, I suppose she wanted to look cool in front of her boyfriend who obviouly wasn't afraid of rats, but when I noticed that she wasn't moving and had completely stopped breathing and was turning an alarming shade of blue, I quickly recovered our rattie before she passed out. It's not a matter of phobics not likeing rats, in fact some apparently do... it's a dangerous uncontrollable hysterical reaction that should be avoided or treated in a clinical setting. 

There's an excellent chance you could go to 20 parties and trick or treat at 100 homes and not come across a single phobic, in fact mostly it would be lots of fun, but if you ring the wrong doorbell and a true phobic opens the door to find a live rat two feet in front of them, they could very well injur themselves or have a heart attack. 

For the very few people who are too stubborn or stupid to take good advise from someone with experience; phobics usually won't lose control as long as the rat is 15 to 20 feet away from them... Maintain at least that distance from anyone until they see your rat and you can see how they react. Even at 15 feet some phobics will panic, scream and run away, but in general they won't hurt themselves. It's not that certain trained shoulder rats can't be taken out in public by experienced handlers, its simply a matter of there being dire consequences of inexperience and carelessness. 

Please keep in mind:

True shoulder rats are very rare, thats mostly because most rats don't survive the learning curve.


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## Keelyrawr (Mar 7, 2012)

People do this with black cats where I live.. It makes me sick. My local walmart has 2 or 3 people selling litters of Black kittens nearly every day. "Halloween Cats" for 10 dollars each. :/ Different than buying an animal for a prop I guess, but taking advantage of people during the holidays -sigh-


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## Stubbylove (Sep 5, 2012)

It's sad when any animal is pushed because of a holiday or a movie. Such as Easter and bunnies and rats and black cats and Halloween and chicks and spring and Dalmatians and 101 Dalmatians. It's awful. It is no good! I wish people bought pets as a member of a family. And have life time commitments on each and every animal they rescue or buy!! 


Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


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## Stubbylove (Sep 5, 2012)

People need to do research on any animal they get to make sure it will fit into their current household. And know those animals life span and understand the care that they need. And save funds for vet procedures if needed. Animals should be pretty much treated as children. They r helpless and innocent and if an owner brings them home they r responsible for their care!! And I feel the spur of the moment pet shopping is the worst!! I hope more and more people start feeling this way cuz if they do there will b less pets out on the streets and in shelters all around the world!!


Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


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## RatzRUs (Feb 5, 2012)

Its heartbreaking,but there are us good people out there that know better


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## Stubbylove (Sep 5, 2012)

Yes I agree and the more people like us. That tell the people that don't know or don't care hopefully it will spread the word and help all our furry friends out!! 


Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


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## unlikelyfather (Sep 11, 2012)

Unfortunately, I agree with everyone else here... We're not the ones who are likely to do this.  Telling us probably won't stop it.


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## IOVERATS (Aug 25, 2012)

cagedbirdsinging said:


> Yes, this.
> 
> Any breeder worth their salt keeps close tabs on what happens to their babies after they are adopted out and have legal contracts regarding their treatment. She should easily be able to rectify the situation with a phone call.


Thank you so much!!! The earliest I can see the breeder (she's my friends mum) is after school, so I'll be round there quick. 

I do not understand the mentality of some people! It's not like the rats are horrible (even then why would you do that to an animal!!?) they are wonderful his rats, they sit on your shoulders, they brux at you, they turn on their backs and let you massage them! I cried when I got home from his house! I cried on the phone to him when he first told me his plan! And I keep thinking about these poor poor rats, but now you have given me advice so Im more at ease. I'll post back on here later with what the breeder says.

Good luck with all your ratties  


A wise t-shirt once said 'my rats think your gross too!' directed at all you rat haters out there!


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

IloveRats, I really preferred not to comment on your "friend's" demented plan to torture rats to create a party decoration. My rat actually does like parties and mooches treats from my guests all of which love her antics. At my last party, she spent quite a while preening a curly haired fellow's head after he fell asleep on the couch. It was quite a sight and everyone had to laugh. As to creepy, I suppose the fact that she spent a good portion of her time hanging out with one of my friend's boyfriend, who is a professional snake handler and snake breeder... by the end of the evening, he told me that he was swithching to frozen rats as he couldn't see himself feeding live animals anymore after getting to know my rat. That comment actually gave me the following idea....

FROZEN RATS Trade him some frozen rats for his live ones. It gets the live rats away from him and he can still gross out his guests.

If your sick "friend" really needs bloated, smelly, bloody rats as decorations, the frozen variety should actually be preferable. I suppose I prefer frozen rats as reptile food to live ones only because reptiles need to eat too. So wasting even a single frozen rat as a party favor seems wrong but given the circumstances, I believe it's the lesser evil.

I suppose, my rat's and your choices of friends might be suspect. My rat has befriended a snake handler, a lab tech and even an exterminator. (all of which have promised to re-think and where possible improve their handling of rats) But they do what they do for a living, or for research or out of love for other animals... and most of all my rat's a rat and loves almost everyone. You on the other hand might want to seriously rethink your choice of friends. You might also want to warn other people about what your "friend" intends to do... I can't imagine that anyone I know would seriously consider attending a party where animals are going to be tortured. Perhaps if all of the guests voice their objections or reneg on the invitation, that might get through to him if you can't.


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## jd882 (Sep 16, 2012)

This is a great thread and I agree with the reoccurance of posts saying that we don't need to be told the obvious... it's everyone else that needs a double dose of common sense when it comes to buying pets for a holiday prank, spook, scene, whatever. That being said, do any of you have experience with say Photoshop or the like that can make a cute halloweenish image to post out there in the world? It can be worded something like "Bats, rats, and blackest cats don't get them for a scream. There's lots of other ways to scare our friends on Halloween..." I would totally put that up on my facebook page!


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## Rodents=Love256 (Aug 26, 2012)

I really dont understand this, but I have heard many instances of people KILLING black cats AND rats in the month of halloween, not even just having them as "props". My local animal shelter wont even adopt out black cats in the month of October. Thanks for spreading the word. Animals are a gift from God, not disposable objects to be tortured and used for pleasure. High hopes that animals will be appreciated more in the future...hopefully with people like ourselves spreading the word.


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## Raturday (May 26, 2012)

jd882 said:


> That being said, do any of you have experience with say Photoshop or the like that can make a cute halloweenish image to post out there in the world? It can be worded something like "Bats, rats, and blackest cats don't get them for a scream. There's lots of other ways to scare our friends on Halloween..." I would totally put that up on my facebook page!


I will definitely make this tonight after work! I will post it here when I'm done with it.


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## IOVERATS (Aug 25, 2012)

I went to the breeder when I went round my friends house (the breeder is my friends mum, its not the mum whose son is planning to do the horrible thing, but another friends mum, sorry if this is confusing) and she rung him up when I was there, and she is collecting the rats tomorrow! I'm so glad! I'm relieved that these poor rats were saved! This is what we have to do! In situations where we can do something about it, we must act!


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## CherryDawn89 (Aug 25, 2012)

That's good news! I don't think rats should be adopted out to humans who are going to be cruel to them.


Andromeda and Bellatrix's Human


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## IOVERATS (Aug 25, 2012)

Yeah, the breeder has told him he won't be able to ever buy rats from her. Those two other ratties that got rescued, are now staying with the rattie breeder for the rest of their lives, I'm going round tomorrow to see them  can't wait , they love to sleep on your shoulder  

And that stupid idiot who was my friend is no longer, he used to love animals, he has owned literally every animal possible to name. Dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, snakes, mice, hamsters, tarantulas, etc etc, even two horses, some pigs, sheep and chickens and has always loved them, so how could he do this to rats?!? I told him I don't want anything to do with him, and he said fine then, I thought it would be a laugh! My whole class started calling him sick minded etc and they said that they are glad there won't be any rats tied to walls etc, so I'm happy  


A wise t-shirt once said 'my rats think your gross too!' directed at all you rat haters out there!


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

You did something truly great for those little rats. You have a big and brave heart and you should feel very proud!


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## Raturday (May 26, 2012)

I felt like the quote alone was too nice for something so inhumane and disgusting, so I added some other tid bits at the bottom. If someone has a better paragraph of words, just let me know and I can change that part - I just came up with the words on my own so hopefully they're good enough.


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## IOVERATS (Aug 25, 2012)

cagedbirdsinging said:


> You did something truly great for those little rats. You have a big and brave heart and you should feel very proud!


Thank you  I'm just glad that I did something whilst I could, otherwise I dread to think what would of happened if I didn't, I think we should all intervene in situations where it is safe and appropriate to do so, otherwise we will just be as bad as the abusers because we have just sat back and not done anything. Obviously this is within reason, I don't been charge into a rat mill and then beat up the people there and save the rats, I mean in the situation I was in, it was clear after asking you guys on here what I should do, I knew that I could do something. 

Thanks again  


A wise t-shirt once said 'my rats think your gross too!' directed at all you rat haters out there!


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## jd882 (Sep 16, 2012)

Wow!! I LOVE that picture! Is it ok that I save that and repost it anywhere I can? And you're right! What I said was too cutsie but what you added gave some depth to the message we need to try to get across!


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## YellowSpork (Jul 7, 2012)

I like the banner you made! I'll go put it up on facebook! What credit should be given when I post it? lol


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## jd882 (Sep 16, 2012)

Posted on facebook with the website in case people want to check this place out


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## Raturday (May 26, 2012)

jd882 said:


> Wow!! I LOVE that picture! Is it ok that I save that and repost it anywhere I can? And you're right! What I said was too cutsie but what you added gave some depth to the message we need to try to get across!


Of course, that's what I made it for! Glad that you liked my addition.



YellowSpork said:


> I like the banner you made! I'll go put it up on facebook! What credit should be given when I post it? lol


No credit needed, just spread the message. You can always link back to this post or to the forum if you really want to.



jd882 said:


> Posted on facebook with the website in case people want to check this place out


Very cool, glad to see people are posting it.


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## coffeegirl (Aug 19, 2012)

Wow, that's just stupid and horrible. I can't believe people actually do that!


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## jd882 (Sep 16, 2012)

I also posted it in the Northern NJ Craigslist ads!


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## RatzRUs (Feb 5, 2012)

Sorry I haven't been following my post. I am dealing with work and sick ratty. I love the picture!


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## Raturday (May 26, 2012)

Thanks! Glad you like it - post it everywhere!


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## RatzRUs (Feb 5, 2012)

I did  on my FB


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