# My Strange Obsession tv show



## Misfitdolly (Feb 16, 2013)

Has anyone watched it? Tonight's show on TLC was about a woman with lots of pet rats. I haven't seen it yet as I forgot to record it but I set it to record the rerun in an hour.


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## phatdaddy (Feb 3, 2013)

yup she lost an elderly rat after a tumor removal. at three years of age, why cause any extreme stress on a poor little thing.


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## Jenzie (Dec 26, 2012)

I didn't watch because I was scared that the show would be playing up how "weird" and "gross" it is to keep rats, instead of normalizing the idea of it.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

I don't have television, so I didn't get the chance to see this, but I saw a commercial for it at my brother's house. I rolled my eyes when they mentioned a lady with a crazy rat obsession. I'm also imagining that they played the whole "ew" thing up.


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## phatdaddy (Feb 3, 2013)

it was not to bad. i expected alot worse but it wasnt bad. her husband left her because of it tho. she herself is crazy she goes into dept stores an hides rat poison or buys it to throw it away.


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## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

They did one of these on the show about hoarding about a woman who had over 50 hairless rats. For her it was really a problem--she had no room for them and was feeding them all just cooked pasta, etc. It was very sad. They didn't play up rats being gross or disgusting, just the fact that this woman was obsessed with having and getting more hairless rats to try to fill a void that she needed counseling to fill. I admit I was more worried about the strange obsession show as the very idea of the show suggests that having rats is "strange." :/


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## Jokerfest (Sep 25, 2012)

@Rumy

That episode made me both made and sad. Not just because of the lies the people in the show said about rats like them being disease ridden but the fact that the women hoarding them had like ten rats to cages so small they coudl hardly move.


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## ratazana (Jan 26, 2013)

I watched it... 
It really wasn't that bad.

They didn't make rats look disgusting. In fact, all the rats looked really cute & playful, and the womans cages were all pretty clean & it did not look like an episode of Hoarders... 

The only negative part of the show was the woman herself, not the rats. I'm not saying that she was a "bad" rat parent or anything, I just think she had some sort of emotional issues. 

I cried when her rat died though  

If anything, the Ragadey Ann obsessor was far more creepy than a woman with 19 rats!


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## ratazana (Jan 26, 2013)

That episode made me go crazy!!! So many lies & horrible living conditions! I had to keep in mind that that woman was mentally ill, but it was still very heartbreaking.


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## BlooKetchup (Apr 3, 2013)

The episode itself wasn't that bad. She didn't seem that crazy though... Her rats looked healthy and had large cages with toys, and got way more outside time then I could ever dream of giving mine. The rat poison thing was a little weird... But her intentions were good.
Idk... I mean it was only like 15 minutes so you don't really get to know her per se (perhaps she's insane in real life)... But she didn't seem to belong on this particular show. 
I'm a little offended they put the "crazy" rat lady on the same show with that doll lady... She was literally clinically insane!!


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## bbrats (Jan 21, 2013)

I just tried googling this show because I wanted to see it. Didn't come across the recent one you guys are talking about but saw the preview to the woman with 50 hairless rats. It was terrible! They were in such bad livig conditions!! Their cages were so small that there were multiple layers of rats in them! They were bird cages. Reeeally sad! ....but I did feel pretty bad about myself when they emphasized that she's so crazy that she feeds them spaghetti...sometimes my ratties get some of my spaghetti :S Didnt know that was crazy hahah (but in my defence, haha, I don't feed them spaghetti like she does, it was a crazy feeding frenzy! I've never seen so many hungry rats.)


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## trematode (Sep 8, 2012)

The show that the hairless rats were in is called "My Strange Addictions". Unfortunately, they did try to scare her out of her rats by saying they can transmit a disease to humans (rat bite fever? I cannot remember). You can be a hoarder with one rat or 50 rats. My two girls came from a 6-rat, 6-cat home. They were kept in a Habitrail with no enrichment or fresh foods. I just found out they have lice which makes sense given that one was full of scabs when purchased. No veterinary care was offered to the rats.


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## Booder81 (Mar 4, 2013)

I recorded the show in hopes of watching it later. 


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## drownsoda (Mar 8, 2013)

Yikes!

I haven't seen either show but I did see commercials for the "strange obsession" lady with lots of rats. I agree, from what I saw(which wasn't much!) her rats looked happy, healthy and well-cared for. 

As for the other TV show(with 50 hairless rats), your guys' descriptions of the living conditions sounds very much like the place where I got my 2 little girls from. My 2 rats were kept along with at least 12 other young rats in a teensy little rubbermaid-type box that measured perhaps 11 x 16 inches and about 3 - 4 inches deep on a good day. She had a bunch more boxes, just the same as this one, stacked all over the place. She had a ton of other animals too.... It was sad. 

She told me that my 1 little girl was a runt and that's why she's so small but honestly, now that I've had her on some decent food in a nice, roomy cage for awhile I'm thinking that she was having what small amount of food they were fed stolen from her. She's bigger than her older sister at the moment.


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## Eden10 (Aug 11, 2012)

I don't think I got to see the whole episode part with her, I got to the part where her rat died from surgery then my sis' friend showed up with the bearded dragon I'm taking in. I honestly think the show made the rats look SO cute...it seemed more about how insane the woman was. I don't think it made the rats look bad...its 'strange' because I guess there not your everyday pet & she has SO many of them! The show actually made me want to get more ratties coz hers were all adorable haha  I loved the fat ones! But idk if I saw the whole section on her, I shall have to see if they have it on demand.


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## ratazana (Jan 26, 2013)

I really don't think the woman on My Crazy Obsession is "insane"... 

I think she's just unstable and is using the company of rats to fill the void in her life... I think she was a very lovely lady. I'd love to be her friend!!! I just feel sorry for her. Her marriage is over because of the rats  

I myself adopted my rats because I was going through a depression & needed some company. So I understand when she said "I like rats more than I like people"... because I feel that way too..

Can we talk about how adorable that brown fat rat was? That rat is seen multiple times throughout the episode riding on her shoulder... IT WAS MASSIVE!!!


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## ratazana (Jan 26, 2013)

You pretty much saw the whole episode if you got to the part where her hairless rat dies... It was about a 15 min segment in total.


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## BlooKetchup (Apr 3, 2013)

Haha ratazana I was saying that to my boyfriend the entire episode... I just wanted to give the enormous squishy rat a hug!!


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## ratazana (Jan 26, 2013)

It was like a football with whiskers!


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## Eden10 (Aug 11, 2012)

Maybe 'insane' wasn't the right term for her...I didn't mean it in a hurtful way. I can understand why shes the way she is, was sad about her marriage tho...not sure why she chose the rats over her husband. He probably just didn't want that many in the house, I know my fiance wouldn't allow it! Lol. But there could be a lot more to the situation than the segment showed.
& yes that rat was SO cute ;D


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## Eden10 (Aug 11, 2012)

& she shouldn't buy the rat poison as thats just adding to the problem she was trying to solve by the company & store making profit off of it. If the product is selling they will just order more in....but I know in her mind she was doing something good for the rats =/


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## preciouscreature (Feb 13, 2013)

Seeing her little baby Blossom pass was so sad......totally know the feeling 

But it didn't portray rats as gross so that was nice and refreshing!


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

The outdoor scene with the shoulder rats was very telling for me. I know what it takes to raise one, outdoors your rats need to absolutely trust you and feel that they so belong to your pack that there are no other options. This mean lots of bonding and love and attention. 

That's not what rat hoarding looks like.

I hope you all caught the creepy rat sound effects, lighting and music that made everything seem so abnormal. 

Still with the kind of time and attention 19 rats this well behaved take I can see why her marriage hit the skids. It's surprising she still has a job.


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## ratazana (Jan 26, 2013)

Eden10 said:


> & she shouldn't buy the rat poison as thats just adding to the problem she was trying to solve by the company & store making profit off of it. If the product is selling they will just order more in....but I know in her mind she was doing something good for the rats =/


I agree!!! I was thinking the same thing while I was watching! By buying the products she's directly giving the company money to produce more rat poison.


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## ratazana (Jan 26, 2013)

Rat Daddy said:


> I hope you all caught the creepy rat sound effects, lighting and music that made everything seem so abnormal.


You mean in the opening scene? I thought that was cute... I think it was a silly way to dispel the myth of "scary" rats... showing scenes of the creepy crawling rats roaming around her apartment, then in the next scene, she's cuddling & kissing them! I thought it was adorable.


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## kathy1898 (Feb 25, 2013)

Made me cry when Blossom died  Would never have put an old rat through that


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

ratazana said:


> You mean in the opening scene? I thought that was cute... I think it was a silly way to dispel the myth of "scary" rats... showing scenes of the creepy crawling rats roaming around her apartment, then in the next scene, she's cuddling & kissing them! I thought it was adorable.


That's the way I took it too, but that music and those scenes would have sent my rat phobic wife not only out of the room but to a different floor in the house. For non rat owners, I believe they were looking for the creep factor to make the lady's obsession seem even more strange. And focusing on a naked rat with a tumor, yes it broke my heart, but I doubt it made anyone run out and buy a rat.


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## ratazana (Jan 26, 2013)

Rat Daddy said:


> That's the way I took it too, but that music and those scenes would have sent my rat phobic wife not only out of the room but to a different floor in the house. For non rat owners, I believe they were looking for the creep factor to make the lady's obsession seem even more strange. And focusing on a naked rat with a tumor, yes it broke my heart, but I doubt it made anyone run out and buy a rat.


Ah, I see what you mean. I guess you're right. 

And yes, poor Blossom, she was so lovely. RIP.


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## TobyRat (May 24, 2011)

I was very shocked the vet sent the rat home without being fully recovered from anesthesia and observed for a while. 

She does seem a bit emotionally unstable, but is nothing compared to most the people on that series. At least her rats are happy and well cared for!


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## 3 ratties (Apr 6, 2013)

Yep i watched it even recorded it! Shame it was only a 15 minute segment, wish it could of been alot longer! 
I thought it was pretty depressing how the last half was about her losing a rat, kind of a downer.. I liked the first half which was more happy, but i guess death is a part of life. I think that lady is awesome! Wish i could hang with her and her rats!


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## Jackie (Jan 31, 2013)

I had planned to watch this and then post about it, but I'm glad someone else did. Haven't seen it yet though. I love that show and My Strange Addiction. Haha!
The lady on my strange addiction with the like 40 something hairless rats was gross. Way too many and in bad conditions!
This lady sounds cool.

Watching it now and the opening sequence is hilarious.


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## Hephaestion (Jan 27, 2013)

I really liked the lady in this. She seemed really down to earth. Just making her way the best she can. A little eccentric but certainly not crazy. I would have her over for dinner!


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## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

Hephaestion said:


> I really liked the lady in this. She seemed really down to earth. Just making her way the best she can. A little eccentric but certainly not crazy. I would have her over for dinner!


I bet you would!  You people are making me want to watch this episode now. Ah well, I guess I know what I'm doing tonight.


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## Rat Princess (Jan 28, 2013)

My brother told me about it because I'd never heard of it. The first thing I asked was if the little rattie babies were okay and had enough room and food, and he said yes so I was okay with it lol. I want to see this episode to see all the cute little ratties!! My fiance would never leave me because of my rats because he has a puffer fish obsession and he loves my babies too. I already told him that after college, when we get a house, I am going to have a ratty room he doesn't care lol. It'll be amazing!!!<3. Ooo I just found it on netflix so I'm going to watch it with my fiance!


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