# Can we call them something other than rats?



## mghemm437 (Nov 19, 2015)

So I was talking to a coworker the other day about how I had pet rats. He was mildly disgusted and said If I had called them something else to begin with but said they were LIKE rats, he would have been okay with it. There is such a negative stigma with the term 'rat' that I feel it puts people off. Even when I try to explain that the rats I have and love as pets are a completely different species (_Rattus norvegicus) _than wild rats _(Rattus rattus_), they still say "buy they're RATS!". 

When telling people you have rats as pets, does anyone call them by a different name? I feel like it would make people much more accepting of them as pets if they weren't necessarily associated immediately with the classification of 'rat', even though that is what they are.


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## rottengirl (Mar 16, 2016)

All of my department has pets (dogs), so we talk about our pets often. My boss finds rats and the term 'rat' gross, so she asked me to only call them my 'buddies'. She makes jokes about it but she still asks me to say buddies. I do it because she's my boss and i'm on probation, but my co-workers stand up for me and say I shouldn't give into her childishness. 

I'm still not sure yet, so I'm taking it safe. But every now and then, "rat" will _accidentally_ slip out.


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## Ratlettes (Mar 29, 2016)

Honestly my boyfriend's brother is disgusted by our rats when he comes over and doesn't hide it one bit and is always crying about how "dirty" they are and always asks if they're gonna bite and wants them put in their cage at all times....like . . .. They live here, they have every right to be rats under this roof, I just want to scream at him to get his ignorant self out of my house but I can't cuz I don't want trouble lol it's stressful BUT if he wasn't my boyfriend's brother then I would show no mercy


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## Ratlettes (Mar 29, 2016)

You guys shouldn't have to deal with those people though :/ they're terrible


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## SaberKatt (Mar 14, 2016)

Nope! If they have a problem, I introduce them to my rats. That almost always changes their mind. If not...oh well. My step-dad HATES rats because his house had a rodent infestation when he was a kid. He would wake up to them in his bed. So he won't come around. I just turn it into a joke with him. Mom, on the other hands, pretends she doesn't like them, but will totally sneak them table scraps after making sure the food is rat safe. xD I make sure I use the word rat so that I can create a different association with the word than what she had previously.


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## GreenEyes (Apr 24, 2016)

I have a friend who was pretty indifferent to rats. He didn't know anything about them accept for the stuff you hear about wild rats. Once I introduced him to my boys he started petting them and talking to them. It was pretty cool. He even said, "I'll never think of rats the same way again. These guys are actually pretty cool." It was awesome because this is a grown man who had probably been told his entire life that rats are just pests.

I agree with just associating the name rats with the good aspects. It's worked pretty well for me so far. If someone comes up to me and asks what they are I just straight out tell them rats. Then if they act a little frightened or freaked out I tell them that they have no need to worry. I tell them that they won't leave my shoulder and that they probably won't even pay much attention to them unless they have food. My boys pretty much just care about my dad and I. They're nice to others but are just kinda indifferent to them. They are Momma's boys for sure.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Saying pet fancy rats helps. Saying how great they are, BEFORE they get a chance to react helps too. So say very fast, lol, "I have pet fancy rats, and they are so smart and loving, for instance the other day blablabla"


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

lets call them teacup beavers


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## SaberKatt (Mar 14, 2016)

Fu-Inle said:


> lets call them teacup beavers


Doing this now.


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

Or for male rats: Brodents


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## Ratloved (Oct 4, 2015)

Teacup beavers and brodents, TOO funny Fu-inle!! Making me lol!


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## mghemm437 (Nov 19, 2015)

Love the term teacup beavers haha. I am not ashamed of my rats, I love them. I feel it would just be easier to introduce them by a name other than 'rat' and then say they are a special species of rat or something. Idk, just a thought.


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

I don't really give a d***! If someone has a problem with my rats.......well then deal with it yourself!

However, I do secretly enjoy those screaming, bug eyed people when I take my rat places! And I also love to meet people who aren't weirded out by them. Some people have never thought about a rat as a pet and are curious are open to the idea and ask me questions about having one. Those people usually want to pet Anga or in some cases actually want to hold her. 

I do like 'tea cup beaver'. That would surely got some odd looks!


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## rebelvig (May 5, 2016)

Teacup beaver :') That's what I'm going to refer to my babies as from now on.

My parents are both very vocal about their hatred of rats, however I really just think they're exaggerating. It breaks my heart when people blatantly insult or bash my having rats as pets... I'm like "you don't even know them!" I'm protective over them as if they're my own children haha


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## ray (Nov 4, 2015)

90% of the people I meet are fine with it or at the least not vocal about not liking rats. It's my parents who don't like them. My dad just doesn't care about them. He'll let me talk about them but doesn't think they're cute or interesting. He'd never want to hold one. My mom on the other hand thinks they're gross and evil and disgusting and hates them. I try to talk about them then she'll say something mean and I try to disagree and I'm told that I'll "never win this argument" and if I don't like hearing these things I should just stop talking about them. Like ok, but in case you were wondering my rats and my girlfriend are most of my life and you've already made your feelings about me having a girlfriend abundantly clear so we're not gonna have a lot to talk about...


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## SaberKatt (Mar 14, 2016)

I posted "teacup beaver" on Faceboook. It's a thing now.


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## Britastic Gremlin (Nov 19, 2015)

My step-brother's wife absolutely hates rats. Apparently it's something to do with the fact that 'they're ugly' and she views them as pests because wild ones steal food from her horses. I'm not even allowed to mention the word 'rat' when I'm around her. She just doesn't seem to understand that wild rats and fancy rats aren't the same.

Instead, I have to call them 'The Small Things' or 'Big Mice', as per suggested by her.


My gran on the other hand has recently grown quite fond of my boys, even though they're not exactly the cuddliest of rats. She sometimes forgets what they're called though and will refer to them as the 'Wotsits' lol


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## rottengirl (Mar 16, 2016)

Fu-Inle said:


> lets call them teacup beavers


This is perf


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## Nev&Remus (Nov 4, 2015)

The wotsits hahaha! My hubby's gran sounds just like yours Gremlin! I do see some people grimace when I say 'rat' but I don't change what I call them. I show them photos of my boys and tell stories of their mischievous antics. Some people just don't get it until they've met one and seen for themselves what amazing creature they are!


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

I don't think it would matter what we called them honestly. 
I actually wanna be offended like pfft rats are awesome just as they are, if people don't like it who cares what they think? lol

It really does not bother me if people do not like them or think rats are gross or whatever. I don't take offense to it. I don't like bugs or spiders. I have no idea in the world how someone can keep a cockroach or a tarantula as a pet. It gives me the creeps. It kindof grosses me out. But so? Not the pet for me...

I might even go eww or laugh and say they are nuts. If someone says that to me about rats I don't think that is a big deal. My mom did not like my rats at all. She refused to touch them lol It didn't bother me.

but if someone is being aggressive and rude- making hurtful disrespectful comments... that has nothing to do with rats, they were never taught manners and are a jerk. I would just avoid them or the topic of rats aroudn them.


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## Andromeda (Apr 28, 2016)

Fu-Inle said:


> Or for male rats: Brodents


Hahaha, my boyfriend actually does call my rats 'the brodents'. xD

Honestly, I like telling people I have pet rats. Yeah, some people have stupid knee-jerk reactions and say that they're gross and stuff, but who cares? I just decide not to talk to those people.  The only time I get mad is when people say things like 'I'm going to hide rat poison in your house' or 'I'd step on them if I met them' etc etc. Just last week, I was telling my grandma's boyfriend about my rats and he said 'you should get a cat. That would fix your rat problem.' and then he laughed. Like, wtf? Am I honestly supposed to find the idea of murdering my pets funny?


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I have a friend from NYC who isn't too into rats, so one night he was over the cabin drinking and Fuzzy Rat was entertaining us on the table, mostly to scrounge free drinks... and suddenly my friend said... "There's something else you should call her... We shouldn't be insulting her... I mean rats are nasty, vicious and disgusting, but Fuzzy is nice and friendly and clean... There should be two different words for two different animals..."

Actually.... if you want to think about a rodent that got a name change... think Nutrea. They changed it's name to get people to want to hunt and eat it.

I have an idea, maybe we can tuck into the good PR squirrels already have and call our fancy rats "bare tail squirrels".


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## ray (Nov 4, 2015)

I dunno, I know a lot of people who hate squirrels more than rats. I like long-tailed hamsters. People like hamsters.


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## Modernstar (Jan 30, 2016)

I'll tell people I have rats, but among the people in my house and my close relatives, I just call them "the babies" and "the little ones".

So I'll ask my roommate "Hey can you make sure the little ones have water?"

Or I'll tell a story to my mom and start with "So I had the babies downstairs for playtime and..."


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

I think a large part of norway rats aka ACTUAL RATS being perceived as big ugly monsters is because of so many large rodent type animals are branded as rats when in reality most of them are more closely related to Porcupines than to rats which I'm suprised haven't been branded as "Cactus Rats" since people love to add the word rat onto any rodent with pointy teeth. And you know what bugs me? Those "omg mutant super rats found in china the world is ending" type articles. You'll notice when you read these articles they do atleast one or a combination of the following things: Include pictures of NORMAL SIZED Norway rats while talking about someone finding a giant rat. And when you finally get through all the text about mutant rats and the apocalypse, dotted with unrelated stock photos of NORMAL SIZED norway rats and in some cases, even fancy rats, you finally get to see the picture of this so called mutant rat. And its either A) A Nutria or a similar animal B) some other rodent C) a trick angle shot of a Norway rat D) no picture at all. For once I'd like to see an actual cat sized Norway Rat. No Nutria, No gambian pouches, no other rodents, no trick angles. A clear, straight on picture of a cat sized Rattus Norvegicus. Show me one and I will go outside and run down the streets, my rats in both hands, yelling "THE APOCALYPSE IS NEAR"


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

I don't ever use the R word. Mostly because my mother doesn't want to admit that we have rodents in the house, so we call them "Squeakers" or "The Squeaks."

I was thinking about this earlier. When one of my boys die, I always refer to them as dogs. You get more sympathy. But I just call them Squeaks when dealing with non-rat people.


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

Andromeda said:


> Fu-Inle said:
> 
> 
> > Or for male rats: Brodents
> ...


I was meeting an adopter at a pizza place. We get people from all over New England, so sometimes I just meet them halfway. We were doing intros in the back of the car and had the carrier out. So this woman in her minivan swings by and sees the tiny cat carrier, and she points at it and asks what's inside.

I guess, given the size, she was expecting a kitten or something.

So the adopter and I look at each other, then back at her, chuckle a little, and say in unison, "Rats."

And this woman's face turns from a curious smile into a pale look of _horror._ She grabs her kid, who is trying to get out to see us, slams the door, and then does a mad dash out of the parking lot at about 30mph. And the adopter and I are just standing there laughing our butts off.

So hide your kids, hide your wife, because there's a couple people in the parking lot rescuing homeless rats.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

You know, sometimes we forget who our little friends really are... or at least who their cousins are... Wild rats are super smart and highly competent animals. No, they aren't aggressive, but they are more than capable of defending themselves from animals many times their size. And they have successfully competed with humans for food and resources for a very long time... and they take advantage of every opportunity we offer them... And they are active under the cover of darkness...

Wild rats, or as I sometimes call them Rat Rats can be pretty scary animals... And in that is the problem... there are different words for dogs and wolves, but only one word for rats... If someone told you there was a wolf in your yard you might be apprehensive but a dog might not frighten you at all. The words wolf and rat connote fear in many people and there actually is a good reason for it.


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## Modernstar (Jan 30, 2016)

RatAtat2693 said:


> So hide your kids, hide your wife, because there's a couple people in the parking lot rescuing homeless rats.


I'm laughing so hard, that's hilarious. 

Oh god no! Rat adoption! Honey, don't look!


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## Veileddreamer (Sep 21, 2015)

My long term bf and I developed our relationship quite, uh, quickly, so when he walked into my apartment 12 hours after our first date, I somehow hadn't mentioned the rats yet. He played it cool but has since said it shocked him and he had never heard of it and briefly wondered if he'd gone home with a lunatic. Now he's completely repented and loves them almost as much as I do.

I always start off with "domestic rats" but some people are still rude. Was going to show pics of my sweeties once at a social event and was asked by the organizer not to! Fine -- your loss if you don't want to see an adorable creature sitting on my shoulder eating part of a Poptart.


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## raindear (Mar 3, 2015)

I like Scandinavian Long Tailed Hamsters.


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## Kokorobosoi (Jan 14, 2016)

I've successfully passed a rat off as a ferret to my severely phobic friend. 

Pretty sure I called it a Norwegian long tailed ferret or some such nonsense. 

Funny part was she was actually standing next to a ferret cage and didn't catch on.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Actually, I'm not sure if people can't wrap their heads around fancy rats or if they just don't want to insult us.... We always get "Is that a mouse, gerbil, hamster, ferret or guinea pig?" One mommy was particularly funny... She was holding a toddler and we were carefully letting the child pet Cloud. And mom said "Pet the nice mousy very gently" I told her Cloud was a fancy rat and mom continued asking her child... "Can you say mousy?" It was actually a little bit funny and a little bit bazaar... she could let her toddler pet Cloud, but couldn't teach her child the word "rat".

Another favorite was an intoxicated fellow we met one evening, who met Fuzzy Rat. He pet her and even held her... and despite the name and the tail... he insisted "I know rats! And this is NOT a rat!" We finally conceded that we might be wrong before he got too agitated.

And perhaps the all time funniest was when we had Max at the park and a little Hispanic boy called out... "Look daddy, it's a Chihuahua!" 

I think in some people's minds a fancy rat is as strange a concept as a snugly squid.


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

raindear said:


> I like Scandinavian Long Tailed Hamsters.


I'm down with that.


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

Wouldn't Asian Long Tailed Hamster make more sense, since they originated from Asia? And they traveled on ships with settlers so I think good name would be: Asian Hitchhiking Hamster. Asian freeloading Hamster. Asian Pirate Hamster. Asian Responsible For The Deaths Of Two Million Europeans Hamster.


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

Fu-Inle said:


> ...Asian Responsible For The Deaths Of Two Million Europeans Hamster.


That's was the fleas, and we're trying to make them more acceptable - not run people off, lol. But I like the Pirate Hamster.


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## gin (Sep 11, 2015)

Asian Pirate Hamster gets my vote lol


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## jlhummel (Oct 23, 2014)

Heh. I know exactly what you're talking about. i actually, on purpose talk about "my fuzzies" and tell people about all the fun and adorable things they do. And when it comes to the point in the conversation where I reveal what kind of animal they are I usually show them this adorable picture. 









Their shock is less revulsion and replaced by..."wow. Huh, I didn't know rats were such awesome pets! LOL So I kinda trick them into forgetting their gut reaction even though I think it's rather silly to begin with.


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

jlhummel said:


> Heh. I know exactly what you're talking about. i actually, on purpose talk about "my fuzzies" and tell people about all the fun and adorable things they do. And when it comes to the point in the conversation where I reveal what kind of animal they are I usually show them this adorable picture.
> 
> [iurl="http://www.ratforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=254978&d=1463420087"]
> 
> ...


I have dogs and a cat and now six rats, and I just refer to all of them as fuzzbutts or stinkers, and my family is none the wiser. Am I referring to a dog? Is it a cat? Did she get an alligator this week? The world may never know.


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