# Everyone hating rats here!



## xxTheRatChampion

Grr, everyone in this neighborhood hates rats. I wish I could go on a walk with a rat on my shoulder without be given any dirty looks. Infact the other day in school I was talking with my friends about phobias and I mentioned I was big with mysophobia (fear of germs) and then my good old pal said, "then why do you have pet rats! They are the most filthiest creatures. Really no offensive but why do people even have them as pets?" It made me so mad but it was best not start arguing with her, everyone around us would think its weird how I even try and defend the same 'creature' that started the Bubonic plague. 

And not so long ago the person who's looking after us while my Dads in Spain said, "You know I hate rats! If I see it again out of the cage you'll know I will step on it!" 

Is it bad I'm actually embarrassed now to even own rats because everyone says they're disgusting and dumb? People don't even believe me when I tell them that all my rats are litter trained and they know multiple tricks like fetch, spin or paw. Am I the only one with this problem?

PS: I know not everyone likes rats, but that doesn't mean they should judge me for having them. I walked into a pet store (pet friendly) with Ratta on my shoulder. People working at the counter stared as I looked around for some new toys for the girls when a little girl came up to me. She asked if she could pet my rat. How could I say no? Ratta is very friendly and loves people, she'll give people kisses and cuddles. But as the little girl patted Ratta, her what I presume to be mother, whisked her away and said that she wasn't allowed to touch "vermin". Rats are just like dogs. Domestic rats carry less diseases then dogs. I'm sure if a dog were to be the reason to start a plague, or run around sub stations, they wouldn't be popularized as a pet.


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## Hey-Fay

xxTheRatChampion said:


> Grr, everyone in this neighborhood hates rats. I wish I could go on a walk with a rat on my shoulder without be given any dirty looks. Infact the other day in school I was talking with my friends about phobias and I mentioned I was big with mysophobia (fear of germs) and then my good old pal said, "then why do you have pet rats! They are the most filthiest creatures. Really no offensive but why do people even have them as pets?" It made me so mad but it was best not start arguing with her, everyone around us would think its weird how I even try and defend the same 'creature' that started the Bubonic plague.
> 
> And not so long ago the person who's looking after us while my Dads in Spain said, "You know I hate rats! If I see it again out of the cage you'll know I will step on it!"
> 
> Is it bad I'm actually embarrassed now to even own rats because everyone says they're disgusting and dumb? People don't even believe me when I tell them that all my rats are litter trained and they know multiple tricks like fetch, spin or paw. Am I the only one with this problem?
> 
> PS: I know not everyone likes rats, but that doesn't mean they should judge me for having them. I walked into a pet store (pet friendly) with Ratta on my shoulder. People working at the counter stared as I looked around for some new toys for the girls when a little girl came up to me. She asked if she could pet my rat. How could I say no? Ratta is very friendly and loves people, she'll give people kisses and cuddles. But as the little girl patted Ratta, her what I presume to be mother, whisked her away and said that she wasn't allowed to touch "vermin". Rats are just like dogs. Domestic rats carry less diseases then dogs. I'm sure if a dog were to be the reason to start a plague, or run around sub stations, they wouldn't be popularized as a pet.


Wow, reading this pissed me off! You just ignore the stupid people, we all know how smart, loving, kind and awesome rats are you just tell people to go screw themselves cause rats are amazing! Don't feel embarrassed either! You show off your rats with pride! Others be d*****! I have told people how amazing my rats are and have actually turned previous ignorant rat haters into inquisitive people. All you can do is try to get them to see how awesome they are, and if that doesn't work tell em to gtfo.


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## xxTheRatChampion

That's actually quite inspirational actually. When people usually insult me for owning a rat I usually just stay quiet. Its actually how funny how friendly the people usually are here. I was in a line at a store when the lady ahead of me moved to the back of the line since I was just getting a soda. And how people that I don't even know will wave and smile on my way to school. You'll always see people helping each out and we're known as "canada's model town". But you mention any type of rodent and the people will go nuts! 

I'm sure next time someone insults my rat I'll try to ignore my social quirky'ness and tell them wrong. This may take some time but maybe I'll be wise as Rat daddy one day and I'll transfer this rat hating town into a rodent loving neighborhood xD


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## Minigeko

Don't ever be embarrassed. Rats are wonderful creatures who are a lot cleaner than most people. 

Sent from my SCH-I605


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## Minigeko

In fact now that it's irritating me.. when have rats committed genocide, started wars, went on killing sprees, or polluted everything within miles? Oh I'm sorry they have tails, oh no.

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## Grawrisher

I need to get penny shoulder trained, people in my town are so.....words I can't say on here


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## Siringo

I don't understand why people can't separate the idea of wild rats and DOMESTIC rats. They don't seem to realize that a wild cat or a wild dog is not going to be a clean and happy pet either. The plague thing is just dumb now. The fleas carried it, and fleas will infest just about any mammal. Many people these days get the plague from squirrels or cats. I don't think anyone gets it from rats anymore. They certainly don't pass more diseases/infections to humans than cats do.


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## Grawrisher

Or dogs I mean really, you wanna talk about a dirty animal?, dogs....and I LOVE dogs, but they're filthy they rarely if ever clean themselves, and LOVE to roll in dead things and mud, and after they're good and muddy they dry by violently shaking and getting EVERYONE wet, and have your ever had a rat kill the blue jay in your backyard? Didn't think so


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## Minigeko

And what about cats? I love cats but outside cats will literally kill things for fun. Millions of small animals die a year from outdoor cats that don't then eat them. It's all perspective.

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## Siringo

Yeah... Rats being dirty and diseased is a poor excuse to hate an animal. Dogs are dirty, and cats infect humans all of the time, but everyone loves them anyway.

It's too bad rats didn't get to join in on the parade of pet hamsters, ferrets, guinea pigs, etc. I don't know how those other rodents (or whatever ferrets are) got such a good reputation as pets, but they have nothing on rats!


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## September

We had a cat give my brother cat scratch fever when he was little and we still have cats. My mom wasn't allowed to use disease as an excuse when I asked for rats lol.

I used to be terrified of rodents, like panic attack at the sight of them. Then I got pet mice and got over it. But most people aren't willing to try and push their boundaries.


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## xxTheRatChampion

Thanks for the advice guys  I don't think anybody should be ashamed now of owning anything. I'll just ignore the rat haters and walk around with pride in my rats.


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## Rat Daddy

The more rural your area, the less accepting people will be of any animal even dogs. When I was a kid in the mountains the locals found it impossible to comprehend how anyone would keep a dog inside or why they might want to. 

It takes time for people to get over their problems and get used to pet rats. Some rural folks even let their dogs come indoors now. I'm sure lots of folks don't like my shoulder rats, but most do. It will take time for people first to get curious, then interested and finally accustomed to your rat.

A friend of mine was a maintenance man in an apartment complex that has a shoulder rat in it. After meeting it's owner, he tells me the fellow wasn't crazy at all. He's obviously never met my rats.

And FYI when I was a kid our dog lived indoors with us, even if some of the locals didn't get it. Keep doing what you are doing and just be happy about it. Do what you enjoy doing and let people come around on their own. My rats will often preen when we are out in public, the idea that rats clean themselves actually freaks some people out and they seem surprised. When people ask me if I'm afraid of getting bit, I usually hand my rat to my 7 year old daughter before I explain that my rats are kiddie safe and never bite. The visual effect is priceless. Breaking myths isn't easy but most people eventually accommodate what they see with their own eyes.

Don't fault people for being ignorant.


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## WhiteWidoW

Common people hates rats but just ignore them!!... you never learn anything from common people, they do exactly the same and they go to the same places everytime. I just don't like to be common, I try to be different and I try to find different people to learn from them.

I've founded the other day a woman who looked at me in a really bad way and I looked at her with the same face but I've founded other people that asked me for handle the rat and one of them even kissed my rat... It was a bit uncomfortable to see my rat being kissed by a stranger but it was a nice guy...


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## AJ Black-Savage

Grrrrrrr, this sort of thing gets to me too  I have learnt to ignore them and hold my head high  me and my husband love our ratties  and nothing will ever change that.  xxxxxxxx


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## Hero-wuff

If anyone said they would stand on my rat if they got the chance, i'd tell them that if they do that, they will be the ones worse off when i push them out of the window and then stand on their head.
Ahem
I defend my rats whenever people question why i have them, when they sneer in my face i proudly explain how wonderful they are and how they are likely more intelligent than their puny little ignorant minds.
In the vets i wouldn't put my rat in a box to hide from people, he sat on my lap or head (his own choice) the whole time we were waiting and people decided where to sit around me, but i wasn't going to hide him, especially in a place like that.

So yah, be proud of your rats and let every one else know it!


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## xxTheRatChampion

Just an update; We were watching a video in science on cells dying and stuff and I was disgusted by the video, and my friend AGAIN said, "You have three rats! And you're disgusted by this video?" This time I snapped back at her and told her off, "Seriously? Rats aren't dirty or disgusting. Domesticated rats carry less diseases then dogs, so that's pretty bad too." She laughed at turned her back on me. An act like that just angers me. It might have not have been the appropriate way to react but it shut her up. I grabbed her turned her body to face me, "That is most likely the most rudest thing I've heard in my life. You should atleast be ashamed to judge someone for owning an animal. Just because you don't like rats doesn't mean you can jump to a conclusion. My rat is cleaner and smarter then you'll ever be, so shut up about it."


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## anawelch

I used to get a lot of hate for working at Petland because people have a lot of misconceptions. Petland isn't like PetSmart or Petco. Each Petland is privately owned and every owner is different. The one I worked at Plano was vastly different, and better in my opinion, than the one in Frisco. At the one I worked at our motto was "the animals come first". One time this lady came in and saw we had a german shepherd on sale and she was like 'oh is he on sale because hes about to be put down?' and we were like 'uh no. We don't put animals down.'. We even had these two rats that never got sold and were over three years old.


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## Mouse

> In fact now that it's irritating me.. when have rats committed genocide, started wars, went on killing sprees, or polluted everything within miles? Oh I'm sorry they have tails, oh no.


SO true! I think you should walk around with your rat more, show cute pics to everyone who says "ew! Rats!" I actually enjoy surprising people when I tell them that I have rats. Then, I show them a pic on Maple with front paws on my leg, staring cutely at the camera, and I've never met anyone who still hates them after that.


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## Rat Daddy

Tonight we stopped by a diner for prime rib night, they asked us to leave our rat outside. I said sure and we took out rat back outside, Their decision cost them a $35.00 ticket and a $5.00 tip. We went to the rat friendly restaurant next door and saved about $20.00 and had a pizza instead. No hard feelings.... People that don't want our business, don't need our money. With just about every other food establishment in town being rat friendly, we won't starve!


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## ilovescience

The thing is, rats *can* carry diseases. Just like stray/wild animals can carry rabies and stuff.. With domestic dogs and cats, you can get them vaccinated, and thereby be insured they won't carry specific diseases.. but I don't think there's any vaccinations for rats, which is a crying shame.


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## LeStan82

Rat Daddy said:


> Tonight we stopped by a diner for prime rib night, they asked us to leave our rat outside. I said sure and we took out rat back outside, Their decision cost them a $35.00 ticket and a $5.00 tip. We went to the rat friendly restaurant next door and saved about $20.00 and had a pizza instead. No hard feelings.... People that don't want our business, don't need our money. With just about every other food establishment in town being rat friendly, we won't starve!


That is awesome that restaurants will let you bring your rat in to dine. I dont think any place would let a rat be brought in here regardless of what kind of store it is, other than a pet store.


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## Rat Daddy

Our state has health code laws that require a restaurant construct their building so as to keep rats and other "pests" out. Pet rats in a restaurant are a strange quandary, in as much as the law doesn't actually recognize rats as pets, they are wildlife in my state or pests as they enter food establishments... But one can easily argue that the lawmakers weren't trying to keep shoulder rats out when they wrote the law...

I spoke with my local health official, basically he said he would likely have to side against pet rats in restaurants but that it's a legal battle that no one would really want to fight. In short he said he goes home at 5:00 PM. So basically it depends on the place of business and what they want. If someone asks me to leave, I do. I don't argue and I don't make a fuss. I don't want to set a precedent either. And I don't want to go where I'm not welcome. On the other hand when I have to decide where to spend my money, I'd happily give one business a few cents more than to give another that doesn't want me there anything.

When I was traveling with my rats on a hot day I stopped into a post office to mail a letter, my local post office is rat friendly, and the post office even ships rats, but this particular postmaster was rude and asked us to take the rats outside where it was over 90 degrees while I waited in line for her slower than slow service.... Every month our office spent over $200.00 in postage to sent out our statements after that all statements started going out via e-mail. I'm sure the little dictator feels good about her little victory, but it cost the post office over $1200.00 per year and guess what, my rats don't have to wait outside either, it's a win - win. We also save in paper envelopes and toner and no more stuffing envelopes. 

I don't shoot myself in the foot over businesses that don't allow rats, if I need something there I buy it, but I do try to spend my money in places where my entire family is welcome. On the route to the mountains there are two convenience stores from the same chain, one is rat friendly one isn't, guess who gets our business...

You can't take it too personally, basically you have to try and see what happens, the worst anyone is likely to do is ask you to leave. So why not give it a try? If you don't try you wouldn't be taking your rats in anyway so you didn't lose anything by trying.

Naturally really large high volume food businesses like supermarkets are likely to not allow rats. Smaller pizza places and such that need your business are more likely to be happy to see you. 

Keep in mind much depends on your rat too, if your rat looks or acts like a wild rat, or is out of control, expect trouble.


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## Perocore

I run into a lot of people who don't like rats. Most of them, I show them a picture of my boys sitting on my shoulders or just being especially adorable and they immidiatly admit that they're not scary like wild rats. Or I get the people who see the pictures and say; "Oh, what cute little mice you have!" And I correct them, then they say; "Ew! Rats?!" And I just have to laugh at that. There's just one person I've met so far who insisted that I'm insane and rats are nasty, filthy animals. The photos didn't work, but I'm bringing one boy in for a presentation sometime this week, so maybe she'll get the chance to realize he's actually quite the polite little creature.

It usually isn't worth arguing though. If they don't want to acknowledge rats as being the great companions they are, then they're simply missing out on the joy of rats


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## xColdBones

I live in an apartment building, and I love to take my rats on my shoulder for a walk if I go get the mail, or just walking around to let them see around. I don't do it much anymore because almost every person who sees them is disgusted. I was in the elevator, and some lady had her child and pointed at one of my rats and said, "Look at that hamster.. or what is it?" Something along that line, I told her it was a rat, and she had a disturbed look on her face and said, "Oh..." It made me so mad.

There was a kind lady who adored my babies, petting them and cooing at them. I wish more people were accepting of rats. They are such sweet pets. People just don't understand that domestic rats and wild rats are so different.


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