Rats!

No, really, rats! These are my two boys, Butler and Leo. I mentioned them a few posts back. I need to find a good pic of their bro, Nyoka. He is no longer with us. He was also VERY camera shy, which is unfortunate as I don't have as many pics as I'd like to have. Now I know that rats aren't for everyone and I respect that. It's a shame that so many myths and negative press have created fear and dread when people think of rats. Oh, I've experienced everything with these guys, from, "Where's the cat?" to, well, yes, screams from adults when I take them to school (have learned to cover the cage well before taking them in.) Course the kids love them. they haven't been predjudiced with poor information just yet.

Don't get me wrong, you're not supposed to go out and catch a wild rat for a pet any more than you are supposed to take a wolf from the wild to be your dog. A wild animal is a wild animal and should not be taken in as a pet. However, the local humane society, reptile centers (who would otherwise feed the little guys to their snakes. Don't get me started. There is NOTHING natural about putting a prey species in with a predator when there is no chance of escape! My personal opinion. Course I believe that snakes are wild animals and should be left alone as well, but I won't get into that.) I even daresay that there are actually reputable breeders out there for rats, but as with dogs only a very small percentage actually cares about the health and temperment of the rat. Most breed carelessly to make a fast buck.

Anyhoo! So these guys are just as important to me as my poochies! Tomorrow, the little red eyed boy is going in to have a tumor removed from his abdomen. I've been superiorly lucky with these two. They will be 2 years old in a week and have been healthy their whole lives. Rats are amazing pets, as smart as any dog I've come across (and a few people, *ahem*I digress yet again:-(
When I first brought rats into my house, it amazed me how social and intelligent they are. It also amazed me that they have many of the same illnesses and take many of the same medications as humans to treat these illnesses. Hence the tumor removal. Rats are quite prone to tumors unfortunately. 2 -3 years is a good lifespan for a pet rat (they're lucky to live a year in the wild.) but just like our other pets, it is heartbreaking to lose them. So I'm hoping for good thoughts for my little guy as he goes in to have his tumor removed. I've had several rats that had surgery and do just fine, but I still worry about him. Leo has been my buddy since the day I brought him home. He's the only one out of the three (all are biological siblings by the way) who would come to the cage door every single time I opened it and he would practically beg to bt picked up! Believe it or not, they smell really good! They also have the softest fur. You'd never think that from a creature who is known for scavanging and freaking everyone out. If you think about it, you would smell and look bad too if you spent all your time outside foraging for food whereever humans left it lying around! Guess we all better count our blessings, eh?