How do people react when they find out you have rats?

Question

Is it the long tail that puts them off. The black death didn't help their public image much as well.

I have had good reaction to my rats even when I take them on public transport. No one has ever complained.

Rats are inteligent and clean - yes clean

Answer 1

My pet rats have miniature baseball bats and are forming a team called the L.A. Rodents.....

Answer 2

well my mam was totally against me getting rats as pets, but ive had my 2 for 2 months, and she loves them, the only thing she doesnt like about them are their tails, she rekons they are like a whip.

i know some people say that male rats smell alot, but my 2 males dont smell one bit. they smell alot better than my dogs

Answer 3

well there are different kinds of rats.  some do make good pets.  ever get a hold of a muskrat.  try that on for size.

Answer 4

I've heard from a lot of people who have owned rats as pets, and they have always been very positive about them, saying just as you have, they are intelligent and clean.  

I think some people only think of them as they do their wild counterparts, living in dirty sewers, spreading disease and breeding like wildfire!  They haven't a very nice press image that's for sure.  

I have even considered having them as pets myself, and may do in the future.  I'd consider them the best rodent pets around.  Just my humble semi-educated opinion though.  :)

Answer 5

I would be like this.(:'D)

Answer 6

I've never had a rat, but people thought I was crazy for having mice. I got "eeewww, that is so nasty" & "omg, keep them away". So when she brought her dog IN my house I said "omg, keep it away". She doesn't complain anymore :)

There is someone out there who hates rats, someone hates dogs, someone hates birds (me)...they have that right, but I do think they have better things to do than stare and make ugly comments. I don't tell everyone with birds that I hate their birds. I just think "so annoying".

Answer 7

When I got my gerbils, i told some of my friends and these other girls on my class were like "gerbils they are so for little kids" and others were like ughhhhhhhh. I think that all rodents are fine but they have just been given a bad name.

Answer 8

All My Friennds Just Scream & Run Away lol... Or Some Wil Play With My Rat Eva

Answer 9

Well...idk why but Rat's are misunderstood because they are sweet, i never had a Rat before but i want one!

My grandma hates Rat's but i have 4 Hamsters and she will not touch them or anything they have touched but she dosn't b  itch about them!

Answer 10

my friends and stuff laugh at me... haha but i dont care i like mine, well i have mice not rats. lol

Answer 11

Rats I FREAK me out there nasty, I would not go into someones house if they had any

Answer 12

I have 4 rats, and feel that they are really not appreciated enough.

I am very surprised if I have a positive reaction when I mention that I have pet rats, it often results in people turning up their nose, and then looking at me as if I am filth.

I wish people would be more open-minded, as they really are such great pets!

Answer 13

when i tell someone i have rats they say eww but as soon as they meet them its aww and they fal in love with them - i take my rats out on my shoulders when i go for a walk but i often get a coupe people ask to say hello lol but i get some looks i think they are gawguss creatures that deserve as much respect aslo other animals they are a popular pet and live quite long and plus they are smarter then some dogs!  good luck :D

Answer 14

I have 3 rats had 4 but the other died of old age he was 7. but I am in love with my rats and some poeple kind of shy away at first until I let them touch them then they are kind of interested and want one but I warn them they are little trouble makes and like to steal stuff (mainly food Lol.)

Answer 15

i hate these stero-types people relate to rats like the tail and the black death. i have to friends who have rats and the rest of my friends are terrified of them, they wont go near them because they think my rats have the bubonic plague! the plague was caused by fleas not rats, so theoreticly dogs or cats could possibly have carried the bubonic plague?? but the biggest thing is the tail, everyone thinks they would be adorable without the tail but for me the tail is the best part! i love the tail, it separates them from most other rodents (aside from mice) and when the walk down your arm, my young one (5 months old) whips her tail around like a helicopter for balance. for me rats wouldn't be rats without their tail. they are incredibly smart and have a hygiene obession. they are meerly misunderstood.

Answer 16

Like I'm some kind of freak!  I will admit, I never would have thought I would have a rat; I was uneducated and misinformed.  

I saved one from my ex's snake several years ago and have had one (at least, if not 2) since.  They are wonderful pets and very misunderstood!  I grew up w/ hamsters, I would take a rat over a hamster any day!

Answer 17

My best friend used to hate my rats RED eyes....she thought he was evil....well anyway she had nothing to worry about where he was concerned....it was me she had to worry about, because whenever she stayed over at my house I would put my rat in the bed with her just before she woke up lolol shed wake up with his beady little eyes staring back at her! lol

....so i didn't do anything to bring up the image of rats in her eyes....

im not to bothered cos he was beautiful and sweet to me!

Answer 18

person: egh you have rats egh they are mank eh the smell and live in sewers i hate rats

you: not they are really sweet and like to walk up your arm and are really cuddley

person: err thats horrible

you:but they had babies aww they were so cute i first saw them a few days old they were soo tiny

person:ewww

(they see the baby rats)

person:aww they are sooo sweet are aren't they cute i want one

you:(smug smile)

Answer 19

In the wild they carry diseases thats why.

Answer 20

I think rats are OK and I'd like some but your right- not many people appreciate them

Answer 21

I depends....do you have them in your house or as a pet?

yea everybody rats are the cleanest rodents out there!!

Answer 22

it depends ifthey are pets or not

if they are pet rats then i think they are ok

if they are stray i dont like them because i dont know what diseases they have

Answer 23

well kids are always cool when they meet my rats,it's the adults who have a problem with them,like they stereotype all rats as being pests and carriers of diseases.it's really unfair,kinda being racist.in ancient egypt,rats were worshipped and honored.i can see why because they are very loveable and their sweet litttle tails are really important ,they help regulate their temperature.people really shouldn't talk c**p about rats ,i wouldn't talk like that about their child even if i found it ugly and repulsive .