# Rat tails aren't gross!!



## Cookie_Rat12 (Feb 5, 2016)

How do I convince one of my best friends parents that rats aren't gross! Specifically there tails! Because she's a rat stereotype she won't even LOOK and the sweet little angles. How do I convince her (in a verbal way) that rat tails aren't gross (she seems most disgusted by them than anything else). Any thing that proves a rat needs its tail, and that the tails aren't gross? 😡


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## BlackoutCat (Jan 23, 2016)

Rats, like cats, use their wonderful whippy little tails for balance so they do need them. There's plenty of people against the breeding of Manx rats because of the balance problem but I find that an animal can adapt quite well if they never had one in the first place. (I personally find a balancing rat hilarious because the tail goes everywhere but back to the topic.)

Convincing someone is an act of delicate word play and it doesn't always work. Do you need to convince this person? Is it worth it? You, I, and a wonderful portion of the world all know that rats are pretty much the best pets ever. If you do still want to try and make an argument don't be pushy or defensive. People are more likely to push back if you get on their case strongly. Try and find a common object that feels similar to a rat tail and bring it up casually by holding it and saying something like, "You know I never noticed that x thing feels like Monty's tail until now." Leave it at that, even if she makes a snide comment, do not retort. This could potentially plant the seed of doubt in her mind. Doubt is your weapon here. Use the rats' names around the person not the word rat, names make things feel more personal and human which is less threatening or gross especially if the names are common people names. Humanizing things desensitizes the mind. 

Give those things a shot but be prepared for the worst anyway. If she's not even a little bit open minded you're likely to not get through to her. Sad fact she has to want to make an effort to see them differently and right now she seems content to not make any efforts. My husband's grandmother had a bad experience with rats as a child living on a farm but was open minded enough to visit my home and stand within two feet of my tamest male while I held and kissed him. It was good enough for me because she made an effort.


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## Amph (Apr 14, 2015)

Rats uae their tails to regulate their body temp.

http://www.ratbehavior.org/RatTails.htm


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## Kuildeous (Dec 26, 2014)

Cookie_Rat12 said:


> How do I convince one of my best friends parents that rats aren't gross! Specifically there tails!


You won't. Being grossed out by something is a personal issue, and the person will never be convinced that something isn't gross just by talking. For example, I find baby drool to be gross. Parents can tell me until they're blue in the face how adorable it is, but it's just going to be a gross thing for me. 

And it's the same thing with rat tails. It's a hairless serpentine appendage that squicks some people out. Sometimes it's the beady black (or pink) eyes that squicks them. It's irrational, but we all have a little irrational part inside of us. Maybe the person can overlook the gross tail when they see the rest of the rat, much like maybe I could overlook a baby's drool when I see a smile. Spoiler alert: There's been nothing about a baby that makes me overlook how gross baby drool is, so don't hold your breath.

So what can you do if you can't convince her that rat tails aren't gross? Roll with it. Say, "Okay, sure, you find their tails gross, but you have to admit that the face is adorable." Or "Look at those little hands!" Focus on the rest of the rat. Sure, the tail is necessary for balance, but we adopted rats for other reasons. I don't think any of us said, "Hey, cool, a whippy tail. Let's get it!" It's the rest of the rat that won us over, right? So focus on that.


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## Minky (Apr 4, 2013)

Since we're talking about tails, take a look at the marvelous way this young rat uses her tail to balance while she drinks from a jar. I was struck by the grace and elegance of this balancing act.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Some people are afraid of rats... and wild rats are in fact scary. For me the big sell is to convince people that our girls aren't "rats" like the ones in their nightmares. 

One night while walking home from the gas station/convenience store we came across an inebriated fellow who wanted to meet Fuzzy Rat (and yes, I introduced her as Fuzzy Rat)... she was over a pound and a half at the time and pretty plump... He held her and skritched her and and got his ratty kisses and finally asked what she was, when I said she was a fancy rat... he bawked... He said "I know rats! I hate rats! AND this is NOT a RAT!" Who am I to argue with a drunk at 2:00 in the morning?

Another night we ran across a group of teenagers out harassing people... and their leader, a young african american fellow decided to fixate on Fuzzy Rat... I just smiled and calmly reassured his friends that their leader was just afraid of rats, but that was perfectly fine because lots of people are afraid of rats.... Which put him in a difficult position. So he asked to meet Fuzzy Rat and she turned on the charm and in a matter of seconds he was holding her getting kissed and the kids was genuinely charmed. He gave her back to me and as he lead his group off he shouted back.... "I hate rats! I kill rats! They should all die BUT YOURS IS OK!" I don't back down from teenagers, I was a rowdy teen myself and it helps that I'm 6' 2" and was about 235 lbs at the time, but still it was nice to know Fuzzy Rat was OK. Even people who think they hate rats can learn to like one individual rat. Fuzzy Rat was strangely charismatic, we've trained three other true shoulder rats, but none came close in changing hearts and minds. She even charmed a chapter of a motor cycle organization we met during our travels... Charisma is a bazaar thing when you see it up close. People just fall in love on sight... it's something I wish I had more of.

People hate rat tails, rat whiskers, rat fur, rat ears and any part of a rat... because they don't like rats... once they don't see your rats as the rats of their nightmares they become more accepting of their component parts.


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## Cookie_Rat12 (Feb 5, 2016)

Rat Daddy said:


> Some people are afraid of rats... and wild rats are in fact scary. For me the big sell is to convince people that our girls aren't "rats" like the ones in their nightmares. One night while walking home from the gas station/convenience store we came across an inebriated fellow who wanted to meet Fuzzy Rat (and yes, I introduced her as Fuzzy Rat)... she was over a pound and a half at the time and pretty plump... He held her and skritched her and and got his ratty kisses and finally asked what she was, when I said she was a fancy rat... he bawked... He said "I know rats! I hate rats! AND this is NOT a RAT!" Who am I to argue with a drunk at 2:00 in the morning?Another night we ran across a group of teenagers out harassing people... and their leader, a young african american fellow decided to fixate on Fuzzy Rat... I just smiled and calmly reassured his friends that their leader was just afraid of rats, but that was perfectly fine because lots of people are afraid of rats.... Which put him in a difficult position. So he asked to meet Fuzzy Rat and she turned on the charm and in a matter of seconds he was holding her getting kissed and the kids was genuinely charmed. He gave her back to me and as he lead his group off he shouted back.... "I hate rats! I kill rats! They should all die BUT YOURS IS OK!" I don't back down from teenagers, I was a rowdy teen myself and it helps that I'm 6' 2" and was about 235 lbs at the time, but still it was nice to know Fuzzy Rat was OK. Even people who think they hate rats can learn to like one individual rat. Fuzzy Rat was strangely charismatic, we've trained three other true shoulder rats, but none came close in changing hearts and minds. She even charmed a chapter of a motor cycle organization we met during our travels... Charisma is a bazaar thing when you see it up close. People just fall in love on sight... it's something I wish I had more of.People hate rat tails, rat whiskers, rat fur, rat ears and any part of a rat... because they don't like rats... once they don't see your rats as the rats of their nightmares they become more accepting of their component parts.


Do u bring your rats outside and wherever? No offense but I wouldn't let complete strangers hold my baby's. 😄


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## iloveme88999 (Aug 5, 2015)

I think that if rats didn't have these tails, a lot more people will adopt them. That's what is wrong with the world. These are amazing, interesting animals that too many people think are gross because of a tail. It's a challenge to change someone's mind after they've decided something. Good friends of mine have said "Oh they're so cute!" and then seen their tales and been like, "Oh, nevermind..." It's awful. I love my ratties and it just makes me so sad that people don't like them just because of their tails. I tell people about all the other amazing qualities that rats have. Good luck!


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

No offense taken! We train and test our rats to be true shoulder rats....

Fuzzy Rat was special, if we didn't introduce her to people she wanted to meet she would just go up to them and say hi on her own... Fuzzy Rat especially liked little girls and teenagers. I thought this was cute... she had never met a rat before and looked so lost as to what to do...










I might add that Fuzzy Rat was about as competent outdoors as most dogs and didn't require much supervision... she always knew where the car was or her way home so she wouldn't get lost....

Video of Fuzzy Rat
https://vid.me/BzNQ


This was Max (Maxi Rat) doing a meet and greet, we got mobbed at the town fair and she had just passed her final shoulder rat test and was euphoric... She spent half an hour riding around on the bar tender taking in the crowd and just having a blast getting to know people...














Max was very bright and could turn on the charm when she wanted, but she became very introverted when she got older preferring to avoid most human contact. She still liked crowds, but for the most part preferred to hang out in the car or in a tree or in tall grass or shrubs where she felt safer when things got quiet. Towards the end of her life, she pretty much became a recluse... 

Cloud (Cloudy Rat) and Misty (Misty Rat) are our current true shoulder rats...









Video of Misty on one of her first times out during training away from the safe site...
https://vid.me/SgmU

Cloud is old but is very outdoor competent while Misty has black ruby eyes so she stays pretty close to us... Cloud likes to meet strangers while Misty is the shy one. Due to health problems I haven't been able to take Misty our much so I don't blame her too much for her inexperience in crowds. She's perfectly safe to travel with... but nothing like Fuzzy Rat.


Do keep in mind our true shoulder rats are highly trained and skilled, taking 'normal' rats outside is a great way of getting them lost or killed.


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## cookiebear<3 (Aug 2, 2013)

@minky -aww is the dumbo yours? Too precious

I simply adore rat tails, they fascinate me and I just want to pet them for hours. Also ears. The texture is so wonderful

Perhaps show a really adorable picture of one of yours without a tail in it, then one curled up that you can see a tail in. It's harder to be grossed out by something when you see all the charming qualities. Despite this, some people cannot be convinced and there is likely no reason for your best friends' mother to really care. That being said, my parents came around when I had my first rats in their house. After feeding them treats and watching me walk around, snuggle and play with them they quite like them. They didn't particularly want to hold them and they would absolutely not have rats as pets, but they became fond of my all my rats anyway


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## Cookie_Rat12 (Feb 5, 2016)

Rat Daddy said:


> No offense taken! We train and test our rats to be true shoulder rats....Fuzzy Rat was special, if we didn't introduce her to people she wanted to meet she would just go up to them and say hi on her own... Fuzzy Rat especially liked little girls and teenagers. I thought this was cute... she had never met a rat before and looked so lost as to what to do...
> View attachment 240673
> I might add that Fuzzy Rat was about as competent outdoors as most dogs and didn't require much supervision... she always knew where the car was or her way home so she wouldn't get lost....Video of Fuzzy Rathttps://vid.me/BzNQThis was Max (Maxi Rat) doing a meet and greet, we got mobbed at the town fair and she had just passed her final shoulder rat test and was euphoric... She spent half an hour riding around on the bar tender taking in the crowd and just having a blast getting to know people...
> View attachment 240681
> ...


Aww how cute! How do you train them? (🎼Maby make a video on it? 🎼😀?)


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I wrote this thread on the subject of training rats to become true shoulder rats.

http://www.ratforum.com/showthread.php?51718-Shoulder-Rats-and-all-out-of-home-rat-activities

It's actually not an easy trick to video your first training sessions. You're working with a rat that isn't tested and is largely operating at or near it's absolute stress level in an environment without walls... It's all eyes on the rat and all hands on deck for the trainers... mostly it's 100% attention on the rat you are training. Standing around taking pictures is just another way of getting a rat killed or lost.

This morning I took Misty Rat along when I drove my daughter to school. It was bitter cold so she stayed under my jacket until the car warmed up a little then she explored around in the car. I took her into the post office and she pretty much stayed under my coat peeking out to look around. She explored the car on the way home and then came inside with me.... She's a very easy rat to manage as she prefers to stay attached to her humans. Fuzzy Rat was the opposite, she was super confident and competent and needed to be on the ground exploring everything. After we realized that Fuzzy Rat always came back and never got lost, it was something we almost got used to... but there's a certain queasiness you feel in the pit of your stomach when you haven't a clue where your rat is outdoors... Knowing she's coming back isn't the same as knowing where she is.

Fuzzy Rat was the co-founder of immersion and the most remarkable true shoulder rat that likely ever lived. Life with her was something I wouldn't trade for the world... She did things every day no rat in it's right mind should do and no rat trainer should ever permit... but she proved what was possible. I know most people think of their rats as semi-helpless little animals, but she taught us that they really are anything but. Very, very few rats are likely to survive a life like Fuzzy Rat lead, but for the most part they can do and be a whole lot more than their humans give them credit for.



"Look Daddy! No hands!"







And yes... she's way up in a tree... just swinging in the breeze... just another normal day for a very exceptional rat... 


Fuzzy Rat was rescued from a feeder bin at 3 weeks old. She died of mammary tumors and old age at 2 1/4 years old, safe in her cage. We had fully accepted the likelihood she was going to get herself killed doing something extreme. But that was who she was and who she had to be. We couldn't imagine her languishing in a cage while her life slipped by.... We never prepared ourselves for her getting old and passing away from "natural causes". But all rats have to die eventually and maybe that was her final achievement. To prove she could live life on her own terms and overcome any obstacle she encountered, to meet every challenge and succeed and to leave the world with a perfect score for never having been bested by a world that isn't very kind to rats.

We've trained 3 more shoulder rats since Fuzzy Rat, none like her... but because we knew her, we challenge each of our rats to become exceptional. And we give them the opportunity to become as competent as they can and live the best life they can... 

Perhaps, in the end... this might look a little more familiar to most rat owners... 


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Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
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Fuzzy Rat could emit a hyper-sonic whistle that would freeze all of the dogs in the vets office, she drew huge crowds of people, she walked at heel, she swam in the lake and she even car surfed on the side view mirror of my car on the NJ Turnpike... but the most amazing thing Fuzzy Rat could do was to love her little girl and to be loved. That's what really made her special. 

No one needs to take their rats outside and most people shouldn't, but no rat owner should ever forget how special their furry friends really are.


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## dguizzy (Jun 9, 2014)

It's funny because I used to be someone who absolutely HATED rats. I thought they were like the stereotypical rats that everyone believes they are to be - huge new york city sewer rats that have rabies.
A few of my friends had gotten rats, and at first I wouldn't dare hold them. Eventually I started to warm up to them, and then realised I was being prejudiced since I had a hamster in middle school years ago, although hamsters are nowhere near rats, they're still rodents. 

The tails were the biggest thing for me, and then my friend explained to me that they felt like velvet almost, and then I didn't mind it so much anymore. Your friend is just going to have to be open if you want her to accept your furbabies. It also helps to show how amazing they can be, I always Youtube "Amazing Rat Tricks" and show it to everyone when I tell them how amazing they are. My girls are also super friendly and love giving kisses, so that also helps win the charm over when it comes to new people meeting them.


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## Augustine (Nov 14, 2011)

My mom used to hate rat tails. She is deathly afraid of snakes and their tails (and tail movements) remind her of one.

Ironically, they ended up becoming one of her favorite pets. Once she started handling them, her fears grew less and less until they just didn't bother her anymore.

I imagine that the exact "cure" will vary from person to person, but being patient with them, and ensuring that they keep an open mind are two of the biggest factors. Some people will never get over it, not because they can't, but because they simply don't want to.


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## raindear (Mar 3, 2015)

Up until about 10 years ago, I thought rats were "Eeewwwww. Then I saw a program about rats and part of the program showed Siamese and hairless rats. I got curious about fancy rat colors and trying to find out what colors rats come in I learned so much about rats that I was open to meeting some and when I did I was hooked. Since then I convinced my husband, sister and a few others that they aren't "Eeewwwww" at all. Most recently after several phone conversations that just ended with my brother telling me "If you think rats are cute, you're nuts." he actually listened to me and we had a great conversation about what I find appealing about them. I may convince him, yet. I find, though, that they have to start with an open mind. If they aren't willing to listen and be open to the possibility that there is something to learn, they won't change their minds.


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