The Rat that Loves Cats: A Lesson to be Learned
I am a complete sucker for all animals. As a result I throw caution to the winds.
Frequently it is "love at first sight" and I get hooked quickly. I am not just talking about our common house pets such as cats and dogs, gerbils or even ferrets; I must admit I am absolutely fascinated by domestic mice and rats.
Don't tell anybody, but when we lived in upstate New York, I even went out of my way, to feed a family of little grey house mice that visited us when pickings were slim during the height of winter. My heart went out to an adorable brown mouse on our kitchen floor early one morning, while he was sitting up on his haunches staring at me with the saddest deep brown eyes. How could I refuse a meal to such a starving little critter? Of course I limited their nutritional supplementation to the kitchen, a room in our house which was off limit to our cats.
My husband was very worried about my sanity, but fortunately for the teeny mice...he did not thwart my need to nurture them. Don't worry, no harm came to any of us; they only showed up early in the morning to grab a bite and then retreated back to the outdoors once spring arrived.
So after extensive research I was delighted to learn that domesticated mice and rats make excellent pets. While their wild brethren can rank high on the list of rodents considered pests since they may carry disease, they also are an integral part of our ecosystem. However, the domestic varieties bear little resemblance to their wild counterparts. Domesticated for over a century, these diminutive darlings still are not completely accepted. They continue to be highly misunderstood species by many people who remain prejudiced against them.
With limited space in our homes, or if we reside in apartments where cats and dogs are not permitted, why can't folks consider them as an ideal substitute for more traditional pets? After all they take up little room, are inexpensive to care for, are highly intelligent and affectionate to their humans, and are entertaining to watch. They actually interact with people much in the same way as our canine and feline companions.
They rarely bite and once an owner learns the correct way to handle them, they can be trained easily. However since they are gnawing animals, they should not be permitted to roam the house freely, as wooden furniture may be just too tempting to ignore.
And if you happen to have a resident feline, with introductions made carefully and patiently, domesticated rats and cats can become the best of buddies. If you doubt the veracity of this statement, take a moment to watch this amazing video uploaded to YouTube by chibudgielvr.
What blew me away is that the video already has over 4,222,884 hits. Chibudgielvr writes, "Rat loves cat... cat tolerates rat. A really cute interspecies relationship :) My rat, Peanut, follows (my cat) Ranj around everywhere! She gives him kisses and hugs." The charming background music is "Sock Hop" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com).
Don't you wish that the world's diverse population would get along so well? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.
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Comments (6)
Vicki May 5, 2009 2:16 PM
What a heartwarming video. I wonder how the poor kitty resists the urge to have the rat for dinner.
jmuhj May 5, 2009 2:20 PM
This is one of my favorite videos! I can't get enough of it. Ranj is SO CUTE! and so are the duo. My cousin had two companion rats and they were very cute, clean, smart and playful like these guys. And yes, I love wild mice and rats, too -- as for carrying disease, humans would top the charts on that score!
Amy May 5, 2009 3:57 PM
Precious to say the least. Loved the video.
Rani May 5, 2009 6:00 PM
That cat would definitely prefer if the rat would just leave him alone. If the rat ever tries to gnaw on the cat or pesters him once too often, I am sure Ranj would think nothing of chomping on Peanut's head and I hope Chi realizes that possibility!
Some cats have exceptional patience and will bond with other species. Ranj doesn't seem to be quite 100% with the program.
BTW, I am a total cat-person and have a beautiful marmalade tabby, almost Ranj's twin, named Rao; I would not have a pet rat because I know there are limits to Rao's tolerance. As a result, I would not encourage people to try to make these two species get along without total supervision, if then.
Carol S. May 5, 2009 8:23 PM
~~~Thank you for showing that two different species can be friends...I, too, would hope there was supervision present.
Ruth May 6, 2009 1:51 AM
Yes it's lovely wnen different species get along together and I do love all animals, but I'd not really want a pet rat or mouse. We had a fund raising event for our local sanctuary and Henry the white rat came along from there with the owner,as a surprise guest,some people bravely stroked him, but most people backed off and shuddered.I do know people with pet rats but they don't have cats too.I don't think a rat would have a very long stay in our house with our 2 cats lol
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