# Cuddly rats?



## Mitsy (Apr 8, 2013)

So lots of people talk about how their rats will cuddle with them. Mine would rather lick me and run around them sit still and lay with me. My rats are girls and I know they are more active and hyper so I understand they don't sit still but is there some way I can get them to cuddle with me for a bit? The only times I really think they seem to cuddle is when they are all piled in my shirt or sweater pocket, is that all I'm going to get for a cuddle from my rats?


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## Michael<3Ben (Jul 15, 2013)

The only way to cuddle with your rats is on their terms, unless you force them, and that wouldnt be really cuddling, so much as molestation to them. I believe that it is best to tire them out first, i have Ben out all day, and by about 4PM he is ready to cuddle and take a nap with me. I suggest you teach them that you are their for affection, not just room and board.


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## Daize (Jun 8, 2013)

My rat, Belle, is also very active. She does occasionally fall asleep in my lap, but mostly she loves to be active. We do find her, from time to time, in bed with us in the morning. She loves to hide under the blankets and play hide and seek. LOL. As far a cuddling goes. She will cuddle after a swim or after we come in from playing in the yard. This only lasts about 30 minutes though. She's sort of like the energizer bunny in rat form. She keeps going and going. 

My friend has a rat, Charlie, that's a total "cuddle bug". He's a fairly large male. If you had a pillow for him to sit on. He'd sit on it all day and wait for you to bring him treats. Sometimes Charlie and his mom will come visit. Charlie and Belle will play for about an hour and then he wants to curl up on his mom's lap and take a nap. He gets sleepy pretty fast. LOL

I don't know if females ever get to the cuddle bug stage or not. Sometimes I wish my girl was more cuddly, but not as much as Charlie is. He almost catatonic at times. LOL.


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## Mitsy (Apr 8, 2013)

I know I can't force them I don't want to force them. I just want away I can get them to want to cuddle they like to spend time near me but when they get tired the go find a spot to lay or go to their cage. 


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## Mitsy (Apr 8, 2013)

Daize said:


> My rat, Belle, is also very active. She does occasionally fall asleep in my lap, but mostly she loves to be active. We do find her, from time to time, in bed with us in the morning. She loves to hide under the blankets and play hide and seek. LOL. As far a cuddling goes. She will cuddle after a swim or after we come in from playing in the yard. This only lasts about 30 minutes though. She's sort of like the energizer bunny in rat form. She keeps going and going.
> 
> My friend has a rat, Charlie, that's a total "cuddle bug". He's a fairly large male. If you had a pillow for him to sit on. He'd sit on it all day and wait for you to bring him treats. Sometimes Charlie and his mom will come visit. Charlie and Belle will play for about an hour and then he wants to curl up on his mom's lap and take a nap. He gets sleepy pretty fast. LOL
> 
> I don't know if females ever get to the cuddle bug stage or not. Sometimes I wish my girl was more cuddly, but not as much as Charlie is. He almost catatonic at times. LOL.


Haha I don't want a super cuddly rat but one that would rather come lay next to me or something then their cage right now one of my girls are laying on my bed near my feet I can feel her fur tickling my feet haha. I guess I could count that as cuddling. 


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## Michael<3Ben (Jul 15, 2013)

If you want to count that, thats good, Ben is sleeping inside my shirt at the crook of my neck, he is soooo soft. I think that you need to bond with them more, Ben is really only in the cage when I go to bed, or when I have something very important and cant be distracted, He goes on trips with me, He is very sweet. I think your ratties will get there eventually, it just takes time.


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## Daize (Jun 8, 2013)

Mitsy said:


> Haha I don't want a super cuddly rat but one that would rather come lay next to me or something then their cage right now one of my girls are laying on my bed near my feet I can feel her fur tickling my feet haha. I guess I could count that as cuddling.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Sounds like cuddling to me.


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## Mitsy (Apr 8, 2013)

Haha I guess so 


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

When Fuzzy Rat was young she would just start bouncing off walls so I would take her down to the soccer field. It had a fence around it and I would put her on the fence... it was about 100 yards long. She would run the length of the fence back and forth a few times and then when she had burned off all of that girl rat energy she would be ready to cuddle. As she got older she cuddled more often and would even nap with me... Oddly as her health declined we had more quiet times together, it was nice but I missed the rat that ran alongside me for a half mile jog.

Amelia doesn't cuddle much, she will lay quietly in her cage, and I can reach in and she won't move. I can sit next to her cage with my hand on her as long as I want. But once she is up and out of her cage, her feet start moving... she just can't help herself.


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## Mitsy (Apr 8, 2013)

I guess I need them to run around some more haha they are extremely hyper they run around my room none stop and Michael<3Ben I don't think I need to bond with them more they will curl up and sleep in my shirt but I want to be able to see them when they cuddle I can't see them in my shirt when they are curled up in it that's where wanting my rats to just come up and curl up beside me comes from. If I bonded with them anymore my family would think I'm crazy they are out of their cage for hours everyday now and run around and come see me when they want and I will go bug them and play with them but I'm in my room with them so I don't think it's a bonding problem.


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## Mitsy (Apr 8, 2013)

And Rat Daddy how did you know when she wanted to cuddle would she just go curl up next to you? 


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## Michael<3Ben (Jul 15, 2013)

Okay, in that case, your right, I think you need to tire them out, they need to lose energy, as Rat Daddy said. I dont however think its a good idea for you to throw them on top of a fence and strand them up there.


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## Mitsy (Apr 8, 2013)

I don't plan on it. Haha


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## mnesson (Jun 18, 2013)

I have the same problem with one of my boys! He runs around and plays for a while, then loves to curl up in the corner of my closet for a nap. He never comes to me sleep.. Oh, I wish he would!


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## xjad0re (May 10, 2013)

My two boys are the same, they will only cuddle with me if I'm wearing a cosy jumper or my dressing gown. And even then one of them is more cuddly than the other. Their age is probably an important factor though so don't worry about it


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## ratclaws (Nov 11, 2012)

Michael<3Ben said:


> Okay, in that case, your right, I think you need to tire them out, they need to lose energy, as Rat Daddy said. I dont however think its a good idea for you to throw them on top of a fence and strand them up there.


Rat Daddy didn't strand his rat on a fence. He's an experienced shoulder ratter with quite possibly one of the most well known rats on this forum.


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## Mitsy (Apr 8, 2013)

Ratclaws I was going to say something like that but decided not to.


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## Lesti (Jun 25, 2013)

Yeah, I'm sure if she hadn't wanted to be on the fence she would've found a way down  My boys aren't really cuddly either, and it isn't long lived when they are. I just had them out for about 2 hours and on the third they came over to me and groomed me. Beau (my newest boy) has never groomed me before so I was pretty astonished. They're good boys...


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

That's absolutely right, Fuzzy Rat was a true shoulder rat and she loved to run along the top of chain link fences, hopping over those little pointy things on top of the poles. Not only did she enjoy the normal height fences she loved to run on top of the very high ones. On the way back from the soccer field, she would often run every chain link fence on the route home. She continued to struggle along chain link fences until her tumors made it impossible for her to balance.

Not every rat can do chain link fences... it's wide open territory and very frightening for normal rats. All rats have great natural balance and love to run on high places, but being outdoors, is just too stressful for rats that aren't true shoulder rats.

Mostly when she was tired she would stop at the end of the fence closest to the house, but she always saved enough energy for a short fence or two on the way home. 

Once we got home she would pretty much collapse in my lap and nap while I skritched her. Then she was ready for bed.

Fuzzy rat never had a big fancy cage, nor did she ever play with toys, and she was a menace indoors when it came to wires she could strip and cut, or papers she would shred or carpets she would dig through... But outdoors in her element, she was the master of her universe. She was always alert and on guard, but intrepid and she loved to run, climb, swim, explore and play. And she could run for about half a mile without stopping while we jogged along with her. Talk about a fit rat... Unfortunately winter indoors really took it's toll on her and she gained lots of weight. Then of course came the tumors... Her last public appearance was the 4th of July fireworks show after which she did her final meet and greet with some children she knew and a few new ones... She was 27 ounces, only about 8 of which were rat. We let her walk a few feet on a very low 4 inch wide fence, but she fell off, she insisted on trying again and made a few more feet before we carried her back to the car. Even when she couldn't climb trees anymore she still enjoyed hanging out in the low branches and napping in the breeze.

No, we didn't make her do anything, she even dragged me outside one night in the pouring rain for a short run. Running on fences was just part of who she was and what she did right up to the point she couldn't anymore.

Fuzzy Rat hanging out in the tree tops










Fuzzy Rat still posing for photos in the grass, about 40% tumors at this point. No more fences, but she still loved the great outdoors.








After the 4th of July fireworks show she wasn't up to going outside any more, although she dragged herself around the house a bit every day when she was up to it and liked to nap under the furniture, we did a lot of snuggling during those last two weeks, she snipped my phone line on the 14th for the last time and passed away on the early morning of 15th after asking to go back to her cage and waiting for my daughter to say goodbye to her... She was amazing every day of her life and went out with class and style... right down to dragging herself behind my desk and snipping my phone line one more time as a parting gift.

Sorry for the digression... yes sometimes you have to tire your rat out in order to get them to slow down enough to snuggle...


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## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

Rat Daddy, you should write a book about your experiences with Fuzzy Rat, from beginning to end. I would certainly buy it and I'm sure many others would too. Her stories sound amazing. I love reading your little bits here and there that I come across about your girl, and I only just joined the forum shortly after she passed. It makes me want to look through all your old posts but since you're closing in on 2k there, I wouldn't know where to start! Fuzzy Rat seems like she was such a great girl and really unique. I'll have to dig my way through your threads to learn more about her


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I would buy a picture book of Fuzzy Rat, even. It's so amazing. He's got a lot of knowledge I'd love to read.


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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

I love when people write books about their amazing pets. I read every one I can get my hands on and I have yet to read one about a rat! And I would gladly illustrate a childrens book about Fuzzy Rat. There could be a whole series about her adventures! 

To keep my post semi on topic, the only time my girls sort of cuddle is if I am walking around with them on my shoulder. For the most part while free ranging, they explore and run to me for kisses every few minutes 

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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

*Cuddly Rats*

My girl Lilly loves to cuddle, she will gladly snuggle up at the crook of my neck or on my lap and nap for an hour or so before running about and exploring again. My boy Jasper on the other hand stays by my side constantly ( I think it's because he was raised in a pet shop for the first 8 months of his life with little human contact and no toys; he has very little expectations for humans but we're working on that). Both my kids love to snuggle and sleep on me as well as dig in my pockets for hidden treats lol


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

It's funny actually, I almost never wrote down any of Fuzzy Rats amazing stories here. Fuzzy Rat was only our second rat and literally from day one she was different, she was very much like a human baby or perhaps a really wonderful puppy. I went on line to look for help in raising her and training her properly, as after four years of psychology in college I suddenly realized that everything I thought I knew about rats was either wrong or just didn't apply to our odd little "rodent".

I went to a site that was supposed to be one of the best and read lots of threads... honestly they had some very good medical type advise there, some passable diet information and a lot about fancy cages. There were also countless threads on how only rats from reputable breeders with fancy pedigrees were the only rats worth raising, and how inferior pet shop rats and feeder rats were. It actually made me feel kind of bad to bother these important rat people with my questions about my insignificant mis-marked feeder bin refugee because there really was nothing about shoulder rats or trained rats there. I found that, when it came to behavioral information it came down to, good rats don't bite; if your rat bites, neuter it; if that doesn't work you're pretty much SOL. 

My concerns were way beyond that, when Fuzzy Rat went swimming in the lake her bladder leaked for a few days afterwards, and we were having issues with her interest in meeting wild male rats and were looking for experiences people had with managing crowds and other risks associated with our real life experiences. So I posted a few questions...

And I was told in no uncertain terms that there is no such thing as a shoulder rat. Not only didn't Fuzzy Rat exist, but I was most likely the world's worst rat owner for the way I was raising her. I recall that day clearly, Fuzzy Rat was napping on my desk and after getting a reply to an inquiry with regard to a small bladder problem she had, I said to her... "Sorry Fuzz, apparently there's no help for you, because you don't exist." She gave me one of her patented looks, sniffed the air just in case I was talking about food and went back to sleep.

All in all, I pretty much decided to keep Fuzzy Rat a secret when I came here so I wouldn't get burned at the stake again...

But some new rat owners had real serious issues, and I knew the right answers because traveling with a shoulder rat means you learn a lot about rats really fast. And with Fuzzy Rat being able to communicate her wants and needs and interests to us we really had a very different perspective on rats than was traditional. I was working with a highly intelligent, very competent, communicative and emotional animal. The basic approach to rats as mindless, helpless small animals made no sense to me. People were underestimating their rats and both humans and rats were missing out on what we had and took for granted every day. So I tried to explain the things I learned from Fuzzy Rat, but for the most part I know I sounded pretty off the wall. 

Then one day in order to illustrate my point I wrote about our shoulder rat and shared the details of one of her really tame stories, and I suppose my advise started to make sense when I added an example. In fact, the more I wrote about Fuzzy Rat, the more people seemed to see their own rats differently. With the kind permission of Rat Forum I posted a thread on shoulder rats and eventually wrote the thread on immersion based on the "teachings" of Fuzzy Rat. And no, thankfully everyone didn't run outside with their rats, but everyone finally knew it was possible. And if Fuzzy Rat could walk at heel in the park and find the car and house from half a mile away, their rats could certainly know their names, free range the living room without getting lost, learn to come when called and even communicate back to them. Fuzzy Rat showed me what was possible and all I had to do was tell her stories exactly as they happened and other people gave their ratties a chance to amaze them too. 

To be honest it has been very gratifying to read people's responses to Fuzzy Rat and to read how their rats are amazing them too. 

I really never thought about writing a book about her life, but some of her stories might appeal to children if illustrated. I'll definitely give it some thought. And I'll definitely need someone who can draw to help... Maybe her life and her example can still bring some more people pleasure and she would very much have liked that.


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## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

I know I would love to read pages and pages of your adventures and even just you every day normal routines with her. I think you could fill an entire "adult" style book with valuable information and stories and it would be easier that way to explain the risks than in a children's book so , as you said, "everyone doesn't run outside with their rats" or kids don't get the wrong idea and suddenly want rats only because they expect them to be a perfect little Fuzzy Rat. It would certainly shake up the idea of what a good pet would be since most of these "amazing pets" books are written about dogs (and Fuzzy seems much more obedient and smarter than a lot of dogs I've met!). Illustrations would make it a really cute idea though even if they are aimed to adults instead of for a children's picture book. There are lots of artists on this forum, I'm sure if you made a thread and sent us stories, we would love to illustrate for individual Fuzzy Rat adventures!  

sorry for taking this thread off topic a bit. The only cuddly rat experiences I've had was when my girls were either old, or were just babies. Other than that, they've all preferred to explore!


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I love the term obedient... in all reality outdoors she usually was right on the money, unless she really had to explore something, then she would take off and come back on her own when she was done exploring. Somehow she could tell by my tone of voice when things were really serious and then she would practically perform on cue. But the dark truth was that at home she was her own rat and needed to be bribed to do something she wasn't planning to do already. A friend once asked me who was in charge in my house, me or my rat.... honestly I didn't know how to answer that question.

For the most part Fuzzy Rat always got her way. Once you realize you have a really special one of a kind pet, you give her way more latitude than you most likely should; like sleeping in the bed or eating dinner at the table with the family. Just about no one ever said "no" to Fuzzy Rat.









Sorry, still hijacking the thread...


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## Roxy the Rat (Apr 7, 2013)

I have to agree, I love to hear your stories as well. Fuzzy Rat definitely sounds like an amazing rat.


As far as cuddling goes, you probably do just have to tire them out. I have girls and they're the same way. My one will follow me around my room like a dog, and if I have her out and leave the room for a while she scurries to come and greet me and give me kisses. She won't settle down with me any more though, unless she curls up in my robe with me. She prefers to walk all over me and lick me/kiss me. Cuddle though? No way!


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Just keep in mind it's no easy trick to tire a girl rat out, they can run at cruising speed for over a quarter mile easy (human slow jog). And believe it or not a healthy young rat can bolt at top speed for over 50 feet and that's nearly as fast as human running speed. After they recover for a few minutes they can do it over and over again for over half an hour. If I want to skritch Amelia, I wait for her to fall asleep and reach into her cage, she doesn't deal well with the outdoors and as soon as I set her free in the house she has places to go and things to do. There's just no way to tire her out. She's a girl and she was neglected as a pup so she has little or no appreciation of human skritches. That by the way is another thing I've noticed, if girl rats didn't get lots of hugs and skritches as pups they often don't like them much later in life. I haven't had enough rats to be entirely certain, but from my limited experience early childhood memories mean a great deal to rats.


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