# How well do rats remember?



## liesel (Feb 13, 2013)

I always wondered and I don't know if anyone knows but how well do rats remember things that happened in the past? I was just wondering the other day for example does my 2 year old still remember her sisters that passed on last year? Anyone know if there's been research on that sort of thing?


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## Mball77 (Jul 3, 2013)

Rats are really good at mapping their environment to the tee, they are also very good learners when it comes to remembering which foods are good, which foods make them sick. Which experiances were good, which were bad. When Nimbus hds his stroke he remembered every place in the apt,even though he didn't remember some tricks or comand or even us. I'm sure its a survival thing. I can't say if they remember a specific rat or person years ago. I'm sure they must build an internal library to behaviors from other rats and rememeber experiances and interactions. Its how they learn to act with new rats. I'm not sure if they think on the past like we do, but if they ran into an unfrienly rat once, then ran into it a year later they would know to avoid that rat.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I know that rats regret, which shows memory. Apparently they can repay favors, which is memory. As mentioned, they're good with what/where/when in memory when in regards to food and loction. They also seem to remember good/bad guys, as rats will help out rats they know and rats that look like the ones they know.


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## liesel (Feb 13, 2013)

that's all so interesting, rats are consistently amazing me. I can't believe people think they aren't as smart as dogs or cats I'm actually pretty convinced my ratties are smarter than my cat who still manages to lock herself in the kitchen cupboard all the time....


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## Minky (Apr 4, 2013)

Lol about your cat! I have one cat who's not too bright - getting trapped in the cabinet is something she might do. 

And yes, rats are wonderfully smart, which is why I like having them around


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## Mball77 (Jul 3, 2013)

That study on rat Empathy was amazing! While I think rat owners have always known how sweet rats are it was nice to see it in actions. Now they are doing a strange study about the appeal of sexy underwear with male rats and lady rats wearing vests. Apparently rats too like sexy underwear, but it has to do with memory. If male rat meets female for the first time who happens to be wearing a vest that male rat prefers the company of vested ladies afterward.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Amelia recognized her former mom after being with us for several months... Fuzzy Rat seemed to remember people she hadn't seen over winter... but she was generally friendly, so I can't provide hard evidence on that. With the size and complexity of a rat's brain, I can't say for sure how much of it is dedicated towards long term social memory, I'd say like us they remember their important contacts and forget the lesser ones over time... But a rat's life is pretty short, so how much long term memory storage is really required? After 40 years would I really still recognize my first girlfriend if we passed each other on the street... even if we hadn't changed? Maybe... but the guy or girl that sat behind me in high school geometry... I don't even recall who that was. Overall, my experience working with rats tells me their brains work very much like ours, they are more likely to remember significant individuals, places and events. It might make for an interesting experiment. We might be getting a new rat from the same breeder we got Cloud from, maybe we'll see if she still remembers him...


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## lemonandlime (Mar 5, 2015)

Out of all the animals I have owned, rats have been the smartest. I had a rat who learned to spin around for food, he learned it in less than 20 minutes. He used to spin around naturally on his own a lot, so i decided to say his name every time he did it and then give him a treat. From then on, whenever i said his name he spun around. They have a fantastic memory in my opinion and they are very quick to learn. I've never had a cat do something like that.


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## erinsweeney (Nov 13, 2014)

You always hear about labratory rats doing things like forsaking extra treats to save a fellow rat from pain. I think they must be much, much smarter than we give them credit for. It's sad, because animals like cows and pigs are miles smarter than rats and yet none have a problem with viewing them as objects and actually eating them.....


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