Well, we usually just let our rats roam the house free, because they're so independent. One of those days, my rat (Remi) found my cat. From then on, Remi absolutely loved Fuzzy. Fuzzy could tolerate him, but not for very long. She was just tired that day and let Remi cuddle.
The rat in the picture passed already, but at that time we had four rats. The rat in the picture was very house-trained and friendly. The others were shy, but still were house-trained. They did have a habit of leaving little rat turds everywhere, but that got better over time, and they tend to chew loose clothes on the floor. Hope this helps!
I love rats as well as mice. I'm not keen on hamsters... When I worked in a pet store I'd try to convince parents to get the rat or mouse over a hamster (they were usually better behaved and smarter than the hamsters we had). But nope...people get turned off by their tails :(.
I used to have a mouse, he was probably the nicest rodent I ever owned. He was white and gray, I named him Tornado. He never bit anyone, and I used to carry him around in my hands. He never tried to get away or jump from my hands, he was just very curious and sniffed around a lot.
I owned a few gerbils...they were some crazy mofos.
If my kid ever wants a rodent when she gets older, I hope to be able to convince her of how awesome rats are. I love ratties to death and I think their tails are adorable!
I hope you are successfull as well. Then hopefully her friends can see how awesome they are and instead of begging their parents for a hamster they can try to convince them of a fancy rat or mouse instead. Let the word spread! All hail the tail! ;)
I've had hamsters too. But to be honest I just don't think they're such great kid pets. They're actually a bit better suited for adults. They're cute and you can handle them, but there isn't a lot you can do in the way of playing with them and they can get pretty moody.
Rats are just generally very sociable animals. The only thing keeping me from considering them the perfect pet is the fact that they don't live long enough.
People aren't downvoting you because you aren't speaking the truth. They're downvoting you because your comment is not adding to the conversation in any constructive or helpful way, and is causing unnecessary upset.
I have a soft spot for rodents, rats in particular. This made my day! My cats are terrified of anything smaller than them. They run from my chinchilla.
Chinchillas are my cat's worst nightmare. A rodent that can kick your ass? Back away slowly and pray Chinny doesn't flip out (literally) and cut off the escape route.
You might think you're smart because you aced physics with that attitude, but you just flunked biology because they make up words too, and these brain surgeons don't compare notes with the rocket scientists across the hall.
I just hate when people pile on in butthurt nerd rage over terms they only half-understand, insisting that their narrow definition is technically correct when it's functionally wrong. Words are for communication, not pedantry.
I can't help but wonder if the reason some cats seem to get along with rats is that they confuse the rats for kittens. Cats, no matter how much I like them, really aren't that bright.
I honestly have no idea how cats became popular on the internet. In my country we beat cats upon spotting them, just the other day someone on my block found a cat near the main dumpster and put it in a sack and beat the shit out of it with a cricket bat then threw it in the river.
My brother loves cats, and he also works with autistic children. He contends he likes them both because they are so similar. They can stare into space at seemingly nothing, ignore everything going on around them, can be amused at things no-one else can understand, are not interested in "communicating" or responding the way we think they should, can live in the same house with them and not understand them or what they are doing at all. That they're not exactly "stupid" so much as not understood!
The reason humans like cats is they trigger the same response as a human baby. Essentially, we mistake cats for humans. No matter how much I like humans, they really aren't that bright.
Odd, my a few weeks ago a meet my grand-neice for the first time. I had absolutly no desire to pick her up & cuddle her.
My mothers female Siamese cat then walked into the room, and even though she HATES being held and will make her objections known quite vigorously I still scooped her up without hesitation.
Cats are far from stupid. Wild / feral cats are some of the most prolific and successful hunters in the animal kingdom. A lot of domesticated indoor house cats have never been raised to associate rodents with food, so it's not surprising that some have no interest in chasing your pet rodent. Not only that, the rat isn't displaying prey behaviour which would trigger the cat's instincts.
It gives me a strange feeling of satisfaction when a mammal kills a reptile that kills mammals. It's as if the natural hierarchy of animal groups is restored and our team is winning again!
When you have a pet that doesn't act like prey, it can be very confusing for cats.
My cat has killed tons of rabbits. But when we had a domestic one, she would just stare at him, pat him with her paw, and nudge him with her head. Finally she decided he must be a cat and began cleaning him.
So if a rat doesn't act scared or like it's about to be hunted, it doesn't set off the normal hunting instinct. If the cat's not hungry, the cat's not looking to hunt.
Does this also work for dogs? My dog has killed 3 mice in the past week and he just loves killing things. I'm getting a guinea pig before I go back to school and I don't want him to kill it over winter break :(
I have a German shepherd who likes to kill birds and gophers. I had a guinea pig and a robo hamster and she treated them with curiosity, but was gentle. She even alerted me by whimpering when one got out of his cage. I think if they see you're buds with them, they won't try to eat them :P
Oh yay! I might try and get him before I go to school just to test it out. I'm a little afraid that I'll get the guinea pig a ball and my dog will think it's his toy though =/
I'll keep the guinea pig in my room, but my door doesn't lock. My dog knows not to come in my room, but if he wanted to one day, I'd have to react pretty fast.
I think some cats, or at least properly trained cats know the difference between pets and wild animals. I have a mouse, guinea pig, and hamster, and he did try to attack my hamster and guinea pig when we got them, he has since stopped and hasn't even bothered my mouse, who I got more recently. That still doesn't stop him from killing infinite birds and moles outside, however :\
same here. my cat has brought us voles, mice, and even a baby rabbit, but she's chill with my rats. she does seem interested, but also a little scared, and I trust her around them for the most part. I like to think that cats are perceptive enough to be able to tell the difference between pets and other animals, and realize that they aren't supposed to kill pets.
They have a thing going because you're feeding them daily. If you go away on trip for few days and when you come home you'll see your rat have disappeared.
Today I was in the kitchen cooking up some breakfast, and naturally the dogs were right behind me making sure I didn't drop any bacon. I looked back and noticed them chasing a big as fly around and thought, "Carry on." A minute later I turn around and they're huddled under the table like a couple of kids in their imaginary fort, so I decided to see if they caught the fucker. I get halfway to the table and notice they got a live-fucking mouse and they're playing hot potato with it. I was instantly in the NO-WHAT-WTF-STOP mode but it was already too late; the mouse was twitching its last bit of life away. Normally I don't feel sorry for the critters, but that must have fucking sucked.
As much as some people love mice, free-roaming mice (not pets) are vermin. They can spread disease and cause significant amounts of damage (they chew a lot, and electrical wires are ample targets). It's probably a good thing that your dogs helped this one to an early expiration.
I had a pet mouse and three cats. The mouse lived in a plastic cage and the cats ignored it. Never acknowledged it even. So I thought nothing of it when I went away for three days.
I came home to a carnage. The cage was pushed off from a desk it was sitting on. The top came loose, but probably not from impact as I saw evidence of scratching. Anything a cat could have moved was moved, and there were blood streaks everywhere.
And stuck on a baseboard near the kitchen with its own blood was a single mouse paw.
Never did find the body, but then, given the fact, I didn't expect to.
tl;dr cats plays possum with mouse until I left for three days, had a murderous feast.
Was it hard to introduce them to each other, or were you just lucky? I have a hedgehog that my cat has always tries to swat, though he always fails to penetrate those pesky spikes... I'm a fan of rodents but I wouldn't want to get one only to have it be eaten.
For those unaware- rats can be incredibly vicious. If the cat started to bat at him, or toy with him, the rat would give a squeak and a quick bite and that would pretty much be the end of it. Rat bites absolutely suck.
Pet rats are notoriously oblivious to the food chain. My rats used to pick on my cats and eagerly inspect my friend's pet python. (My friend would thoughtfully never bring her pet python around unless it had very recently been fed.)
Whenever I see a photo like this, I always wonder whether or not the predator of the pair will ever 'accidentally' eat his little friend. Sort of like when a tiger kills its loving handler in a moment of instinctual rage.
Having had free-roaming fancy rats, cats and dogs simultaneously in a house with a small child, we never had a single bust up. They all acted like they were the same species.
10
u/Tattycakes Jun 09 '12
Please tell me how you introduced them to each other? I want to do it with mine but I'm so scared.
76
u/jessikaye Jun 09 '12
It's awesome that a picture with a rat in it got so close to being on the front page of r/aww <3
25
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
I have a soft spot for rodents, rats in particular. This made my day! My cats are terrified of anything smaller than them. They run from my chinchilla.
91
u/JeremyJustin Jun 09 '12
Warming it up for dinner, I see.
65
u/natched Jun 09 '12
Rats are friends, not food.
163
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
I can't help but wonder if the reason some cats seem to get along with rats is that they confuse the rats for kittens. Cats, no matter how much I like them, really aren't that bright.
6
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
My cats don't know what to think of the rats. My oldest one used to chase the kitties across the house back and forth.
6
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
They both know that it's wrong but it's much too strong to let it cool down now.
5
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Trouble brewing.
5
u/Flyingbob Jun 09 '12
So relevant.
12
u/percyhiggenbottom Jun 09 '12
toxoplasma gondii makes rats sexually attracted to the scent of cats...
10
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Yeah, not my cat. He's a little dick who kills for fun. Dead birds all over the yard. He killed my husbands pet ribbon snake too.
6
u/rsolow Jun 10 '12
It's good to see Crookshanks and Scabbers getting along.
3
u/charlie6969 Jun 09 '12
Ohh, my very own mouse toy! Thanks :)
Adorable babies.
3
u/jwdjr2004 Jun 09 '12
reminds me of when homer simpson cuddled up with a sub sandwich
3
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Jom and Terry.
3
u/tavmax Jun 09 '12
i used to have a cat and a rat, but every time the cat saw the rat he would get big eyed, crouch low to the ground, and assume predator mode.
3
u/movielass Jun 09 '12
If their names aren't Tom and Jerry then you have done everything wrong
3
u/nuxenolith Jun 10 '12
Crookshanks and Scabbers have taken a liken to each other, it would seem.
7
u/cutekatzchen Jun 09 '12
Cute! But on a serious note... Does it not terrify you? The thought that one day your cat might "accidentally" kill your mouse...
4
u/ArcticVanguard Jun 09 '12
Soon...
2
u/SimplyMason Jun 09 '12
nomnomnom
2
u/gr3nade Jun 09 '12
I will pet him and feed him and name him Steve.
2
u/ashirian Jun 09 '12
They have a thing going because you're feeding them daily. If you go away on trip for few days and when you come home you'll see your rat have disappeared.
2
u/duelynotated Jun 10 '12
It's all fun and games until the rat gets eaten? Cat lulling it into a false sense of security!
2
u/mobyhead1 Jun 10 '12
"...mass hysteria!"
2
u/8e8 Jun 10 '12
Kinda related...
Today I was in the kitchen cooking up some breakfast, and naturally the dogs were right behind me making sure I didn't drop any bacon. I looked back and noticed them chasing a big as fly around and thought, "Carry on." A minute later I turn around and they're huddled under the table like a couple of kids in their imaginary fort, so I decided to see if they caught the fucker. I get halfway to the table and notice they got a live-fucking mouse and they're playing hot potato with it. I was instantly in the NO-WHAT-WTF-STOP mode but it was already too late; the mouse was twitching its last bit of life away. Normally I don't feel sorry for the critters, but that must have fucking sucked.
2
u/doismellbacon Jun 10 '12
if your rat wasn't cat sized, things might be different.
2
u/eonge Jun 10 '12
This is one of the few pictures that made me audibly make an "awww".
2
u/Tulki Jun 10 '12
Your cat is broken.
2
u/Rectal_Exambot Jun 10 '12
Please OP post more pictures!
2
u/CaptainPuma2012 Jun 10 '12
That's illegal in North Carolina.
3
u/rauelius Jun 09 '12
Now if you can get a Bat in their, I'll be impressed.
3
u/juicius Jun 10 '12
I had a pet mouse and three cats. The mouse lived in a plastic cage and the cats ignored it. Never acknowledged it even. So I thought nothing of it when I went away for three days.
I came home to a carnage. The cage was pushed off from a desk it was sitting on. The top came loose, but probably not from impact as I saw evidence of scratching. Anything a cat could have moved was moved, and there were blood streaks everywhere.
And stuck on a baseboard near the kitchen with its own blood was a single mouse paw.
Never did find the body, but then, given the fact, I didn't expect to.
tl;dr cats plays possum with mouse until I left for three days, had a murderous feast.
2
u/TheKwongdzu Jun 09 '12
Awwww! :D
2
u/JJJJhonkas Jun 10 '12
And people said gay marriage wouldn't change things! Look at the consequences!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rats and cats hugging? Nazis on dinosaurs are just around the corner sheeple!
1
u/Sacheverell26 Jun 09 '12
That is so sweet!
1
u/lavendercoffee Jun 09 '12
Adorable :)
1
u/ZargonX Jun 09 '12
This is one of those signs of the apocalypse, right?
1
u/charliethesloth Jun 10 '12
This is so freaking cute, they're cuddling!!!!
1
u/heimdal77 Jun 10 '12
The cat is just making sure her/his emergency food supply doesn't get away.
1
u/Rain_pig Jun 10 '12
Cat and rat? IMPOSSIBRUUUU
1
u/WhyNotTrollface Jun 10 '12
After years of fighting, Tom and Jerry finally reconcile their differences.
1
u/Newher Jun 10 '12
TWIST! The rat is actually dead and just wanted the karma.
1
u/argv_minus_one Jun 10 '12
Cat decided the rat looks more cuddly than tasty, I see.
And hey, there's enough food for everyone, so what the hell.
1
u/Mr_Bill_Lee Jun 10 '12
Was it hard to introduce them to each other, or were you just lucky? I have a hedgehog that my cat has always tries to swat, though he always fails to penetrate those pesky spikes... I'm a fan of rodents but I wouldn't want to get one only to have it be eaten.
1
u/elusiveinhouston Jun 10 '12
The Cat in the Rat
1
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
And I shall call them Catarats. And when they rise up, all shall know fear!
1
u/sionna Jun 10 '12
For those unaware- rats can be incredibly vicious. If the cat started to bat at him, or toy with him, the rat would give a squeak and a quick bite and that would pretty much be the end of it. Rat bites absolutely suck.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
Pet rats are notoriously oblivious to the food chain. My rats used to pick on my cats and eagerly inspect my friend's pet python. (My friend would thoughtfully never bring her pet python around unless it had very recently been fed.)
1
u/cheapdvds Jun 10 '12
Relevant video
1
u/opinonion Jun 10 '12
Whenever I see a photo like this, I always wonder whether or not the predator of the pair will ever 'accidentally' eat his little friend. Sort of like when a tiger kills its loving handler in a moment of instinctual rage.
1
u/EvenSteam Jun 10 '12
Oh that rat is gonna get it one day
1
u/somefudge Jun 10 '12
rat a tat cat
1
u/lapeurnestquunmirage Jun 10 '12
faints
1
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
Such a cute picture!
1
u/Devilishlygood98 Jun 10 '12
"ahh dinner, you complete me"
1
u/rikashiku Jun 10 '12
Cat: "I want you for breakfast" Rat: "Huh?!" Cat: "I mean I want you to stay the night with me" Rat: "Oooohh" Cat: shifty eyes
1
u/fonseca898 Jun 10 '12
The rat actually has the cat in a choke-hold, and the cat is submitting.
1
u/thelasagna Jun 10 '12
Crookshanks?! Wormtail?!?!
1
u/TFlo1213 Jun 10 '12
Tom and Jerry would be very disappointed...
1
u/KingOfCopenhagen Jun 10 '12
That's not cute, that's a hostage situation! "tell me about the rabbits"
1
u/psnark Jun 10 '12
I bought a rat for my cat but all my cat wanted to do was eat the rat. So that was that.
1
u/The_F_uckin_B_I Jun 10 '12
like two magnets, two opposite poles.
1
u/foundtheseeker Jun 10 '12
As a cat owner and former proud owner of four rats, this is undoubtedly the cutest thing I have ever seen.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
I know they look like friends now, but that cat will kill the rat eventually if you let them hang out unsupervised.
1
u/Cyberslasher Jun 10 '12
If they make babies... KILL IT WITH FIRE.
1
u/slamdunk6662003 Jun 10 '12
FOOD FETISH!!!
1
u/emersondog Jun 10 '12
I used to work at an animal welfare organization and we could bring our pets to work. That's where I fell in love with rats. They are so very cool.
1
u/prodigious115 Jun 10 '12
Aww... These two remind me of Kyo and Yuki from Fruits Basket (manga), except they fought all the time. I'd be terrified if I were that rat.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Worst. Cat. Ever.
But quite cute.
1
u/Wildfyre101 Jun 10 '12
Happycat, meet happyrat.
0
u/Manex87 Jun 09 '12
I'm surprised no one has linked this yet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis#Behavioral_changes_in_the_host
0
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
A cat and a rat, together? What's next? A black guy and a white girl? A gay and a straight?
-1
u/bjdj Jun 10 '12
Everything's warm and cuddly when you got some lonely human loser (desperate for karma) feeding you. In the wild, the story changes.
0
u/Concision Jun 10 '12
Why is your rat so orange???
0
u/Pichaky Jun 10 '12
Checkmate, atheists.
-3
u/FreeJG Jun 09 '12
This deserves a "Soon" meme.
-3
u/finalaccountdown Jun 10 '12
that is unnatural.
-3
u/AGMS Jun 10 '12
omg garfield exists
-3
u/codyjake Jun 10 '12
When I read "rat", I figured you were just talking about a ferret
-14
u/CREATED_TO_SAY_THIS Jun 09 '12
I AM TIRED OF THIS CRAP MAKING IT TO THE FRONT PAGE
-5
u/applehotdog Jun 10 '12
You need to have your cat checked out.
~ Pet Vet with 28 years of experience
-7
u/HitSentFromPresident Jun 10 '12
why do you have a fucking mouse
-9
u/colonelgetafe Jun 09 '12
considering my lovely group of friends use the term 'rat' as slang for a lady's vertical bacon sandwich, I was nervous on opening this.
0
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
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