# Ignorance is not bliss, it just pisses people off



## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

I'm from a small town smack dab in the Appalachians mountains in North Carolina. Down home you don't find many people with pet rats, or at least in my home town. No one in my immediate family seems to understand that PET rats do not carry disease, especially MY rats. Also everyone seems to think that my girls can get knocked up from wild rats no matter how many freakin times i tell them that unless the whole flippen house is over run and they magically figured out how to get the cage open that ain't ever gonna happen. My grandparents on my dads side of the family basically banned me from bringing the girls with me if i ever wanted to visit. They think they're dirty vermin that'll bring the plague with them. You can't reason with her either! And oh man, if you tell her that their cleaner and smarter than her cat she'll scold you an make you feel like you're three again. But that's fine, nana, I guess you won't get to see me or mine next time I'm down home. Now lets move on to my dad. He just sees them as a pest that needs to be eradicated; I don't know how many times I sprung a live trap to let a rat out as a teenager and quite frankly it wasn't enough. My mum, lord knows i love her, is happy that they make me happy but still dislikes the wild ones and asked me how to efficiently eradicate them. That was like telling me "nice puppy, how can i kill its littermates?"ಠ_ಠ Really, mom? My grandparents on my mum's side were a little different than the rest of the family. Once i explained and expelled the common myths about rats they thought that they were pretty cool which came as a great relief considering that myself and my partner in crime will more than likely be staying with them the next time we drive down and I refuse to leave my girls behind. It just aggravates me to no end when my family won't freakin listen! I've had all kinds of animals, from injured birds to baby squirrels and they listened to me when it came to them but nooo, not when it comes to rats. Apparently my knowledge and two cents don't mean diddly when it comes to the pets I love.


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## JoshDeMott2010 (Aug 25, 2007)

I love north carolina was just there a few weeks ago. Charlotte is a cool city but the nw part of the state is way prettier. Im sorry your family isn't listening to you and has already made up their minds but you have to realize that many people are set in their stubborn way of thought and you can't change that easily.


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## Daize (Jun 8, 2013)

You really can't force them to like/accept your pets. They either will or they won't. They're entitled to their feelings about rats, just as you're entitled to your feeling about rats. 

You really shouldn't try to force them to change the way they feel, just as they shouldn't try to force you to chance the way you feel. 

We lived in North Carolina for a while. The area we lived in wasn't exactly "pet friendly". Mainly, because we were so close to the wooded areas. There was a "MAJOR PROBLEM" with ticks/fleas. People that had dogs and cats had to check them daily for ticks. There was "no" topical treatment "that worked", not even Revolution, that would prevent ticks from attaching themselves. You couldn't even walk 10 feet into the wooded area without having a dozen or so ticks crawling up your pants legs. Totally GROSS!! So, the rodents that lived in the area were over run with external parasites as well. Everyone in our area did all they could to keep wild rodents away from our houses. We didn't use live traps. Mostly, because we wanted them "gone". 

So, when we lived in North Carolina, we "NEVER" would have kept a rat for a pet. At least, not in the area we were in. So, I can understand why your family doesn't want you to bring a rat into their home. 

There's nothing wrong with leaving a pet behind, for a few hours, so you can visit with those that don't like your chosen pet. If you don't want to leave your pet behind, then just don't visit the ones that don't approve of your pet/s.


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## evander (Jun 30, 2013)

My sister lives 3 hours away - my dad will not allow her rats in his house for the weekend.

She has to drive an additional half hour to my house, to drop off her rats.

Once a mind is made up about rats it is very, very difficult to change it.

I am sorry.


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## Maddie (Jan 13, 2014)

Daize said:


> You really can't force them to like/accept your pets. They either will or they won't. They're entitled to their feelings about rats, just as you're entitled to your feeling about rats. You really shouldn't try to force them to change the way they feel, just as they shouldn't try to force you to chance the way you feel. We lived in North Carolina for a while. The area we lived in wasn't exactly "pet friendly". Mainly, because we were so close to the wooded areas. There was a "MAJOR PROBLEM" with ticks/fleas. People that had dogs and cats had to check them daily for ticks. There was "no" topical treatment "that worked", not even Revolution, that would prevent ticks from attaching themselves. You couldn't even walk 10 feet into the wooded area without having a dozen or so ticks crawling up your pants legs. Totally GROSS!! So, the rodents that lived in the area were over run with external parasites as well. Everyone in our area did all they could to keep wild rodents away from our houses. We didn't use live traps. Mostly, because we wanted them "gone". So, when we lived in North Carolina, we "NEVER" would have kept a rat for a pet. At least, not in the area we were in. So, I can understand why your family doesn't want you to bring a rat into their home. There's nothing wrong with leaving a pet behind, for a few hours, so you can visit with those that don't like your chosen pet. If you don't want to leave your pet behind, then just don't visit the ones that don't approve of your pet/s.


See I live in a hay field beside the woods. I don't want wild mice and rats overrunning my home, so yes we have things set for the wild ones. I don't want to release them or have to handle them just to have them in my house again. SorryI do agree, you cannot force people to love them. My uncle thinks inside dogs are nasty, so I don't take my dogs to his house and he doesn't complain when at my house. It can be frustrating but everyone is entitled to their own opinion and rules for their house. Sorry your family doesn't like them.


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

Daize said:


> There's nothing wrong with leaving a pet behind, for a few hours, so you can visit with those that don't like your chosen pet. If you don't want to leave your pet behind, then just don't visit the ones that don't approve of your pet/s.


 I wish I could leave them at home but I live in Michigan and that's a 12-14 hour drive. I only get to see them once a year and i don't have anyone up here that i trust to take care of them. I don't want them to do a complete 360 with their views, I just would like my dad to stop threatening to kill my girls, my mum to quit asking me how to best kill the wild ones and my grandma to stop threatening to feed them to her cat. It's kinda really upsetting. I didn't mean to come off hateful, i was just really frustrated. I mean, who wouldn't be upset if this happened to them every time they talked to family. As for the external parasites, my family has always had dogs and cats. They get fleas every spring, ticks too. If a stray comes along they take it in. I don't expect them to change their views, just to quit threatening my girls. They're not vermin, they're my pets, my family. If i didn't live 900 miles away i wouldn't have to take the girls with me and this wouldn't be a problem.


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## Mike&Sully'sMummy (Sep 1, 2012)

I personally don't think you're coming off as hateful. I think your justified in being upset and I would be too. I'm lucky I guess. My mum likes my rats and is even going to take care of my boys when I start university this year. I'll only be able to see them on weekends when I come home so it's going to be difficult but I'll manage. My dad and his side of the family don't mind them either. My step mum doesn't have pets in the house so I can't take them to there's as she is OCD and worries about cleanliness, but she doesn't hate them and my dad is always offering to drive me to the vet etc. He was the one that took me to the mans house where we got my last pair of boys. So they're accepting of them. My nan is frightened if them but accepts I have them as long as they don't come near them. My grandad loves animals and thinks they're lovely. He actually argues with my mum that he should be the one to look after them even I go away and if it wasn't for my nans fear, I think he'd definitely do it. So my fakily are actually really accepting, which means I'm a lot luckier than some, which I'm very thankful for.In regards to your family, If it were me I wouldn't bother with the ones they are going to be hateful. I can understand them not wanting them in their house as that is their rules and they're entitled to that, as unfair as that may be. But to be purposefully spiteful and threaten them is horrid and bullying behaviour when they know how you feel about them. It's sad but I guess that some people just won't see past myths and their own ignorance.


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## ElleBelinski (Mar 8, 2014)

i can understand where you're coming from. at the end of the day people can have thier own feelings about rats but when thier threating to harm your animals thats down right wrong. explian to your nan how she would feel if some one threatend her cat ? just ask her how she would feel and then explian thats how she makes you feel. i didnt go out for new years eve last year cause my little brother (16) wanted a house party. he did go out in the end and i dont think he would ever hurt my rats but i dont know his friends. i could vision some drunk teenagers putting them in the micro wave or something as a joke. i wasnt risking it. my rats safety come before anything. its our responibilties as owners. i think its really unfair that your family are treating your animals this way because thier rats. i hope one day they will come to thier senses. i actually feel sorry for people who dont like rats tbh cause they are really missing out. oh well more rats for the rat lovers )))


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

Thanks you guys, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks it's crap the way they talk about them to me. I love them all, even my dad (we had a rather grim relationship growing up but now that i live 900 miles away we get along great) but dang I really wish they'd stop all the threats. I'm happy, they make me happy and I take excellent care of them. The way i see it, i could have much much worse hobbies. Like drugs.


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