# Felt for Rats?



## Rusty7 (May 25, 2018)

Hello Ratforum,

I was wondering if using felt for rat cages is safe. I have a lot of colored felt sheets left over from old craft projects (they look a little like these: https://www.dickblick.com/products/...R_D8nMEkNwGvGov4IogFl9rhdw0cLarBoCmm0QAvD_BwE) and I've seen Shadow the Rat on Youtube use felt occasionally, but I was wondering if rat paws or anything could get caught in it and if it was safe to digest in case it got chewed. Also, is it absorbent with rat urine or does it "bead" like new fleece? Do rats think felt is comfy?


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## Vampiric Conure (Aug 17, 2018)

I've seen Shadow the Rat use felt, too. I don't see why it couldn't be used even though I've never used it myself.


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## Shadow <3 (Jan 25, 2017)

I guess I can't really be unbiased because, well, like you said I use felt in my rats cage. Personally I think its perfectly safe, there is no more of a chance of the rats getting a nail caught than with regular fleece. Felt doesn't unravel and like fleece its easy to wash and dry. Its soft on their paws and lets them sleep comfortably and best of all the pre-cut rectangles are easy to make into instant hammocks. 

It does, however, absorb urine. Urine won't bead on top like fleece, rather it soaks through and you'll see urine stains if they pee on it (which is nice odor wise as I find felt smells less than fleece even after being soiled). But the great thing is that felt is so easy to get urine out of, you just need to wash it with soapy water and squeeze it clean and its pretty much done. I've never had felt take more than 10 minutes to dry (even in winter - and I hand wash all the rats fabric) because when you squeeze it most of the water comes right out leaving with you a perfectly clean piece of fabric.

As for if rats think felt is comfy, I can't say for sure (I mean I'm not a rat after all ) but my girls like sleeping on it. I'll often give them bits of fleece and felt and I use these interchangeably to cover my plastic bowl hammocks in the cage. The rats don't seem to have a preference and will happily sleep on both, and in the case of scraps they also drag both felt and fleece into their nests along with tissues and such so they really don't seem to distinguish between them.


Overall I think its a comfy and safe alternative to more work-intensive fabrics like fleece


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