do rats really like cheese?

Question

or is it just a myth?

Answer 1

Rats will eat anything. The idea of using cheese or peanutbutter is that they are two very aromatic foods, so the smells travel further and draw the rats to a trap or whatever you are drawing them too.

Answer 2

No, they don't really like cheese as a rule. Some will eat cheese but it must be given sparingly, as a treat. Give hard cheeses, as cream cheese is a choking hazard, right up there with peanut butter. Cheese is high in calories which can cause obesity. It's very constipating for the digestive tract, and because rats can be lactose intolerant....it can give them gas.

So where did that myth come from?
It started out with the myth that mice liked cheese
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=myth+that+mice+like+cheese&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks-ans&ico-yahoo-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAqFmYLsucJ9Ju1A_wytuo5cazKIX%2FSIG%3D111gjvvgj%2F*-http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch&ico-wikipedia-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAjrR1DDgyctRMOV346dKZz4azKIX%2FSIG%3D11ia1qo58%2F**http%253a%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%253aSearch&p=myth+that+mice+like+cheese, being an accessable food found in the kitchens of old, and because to some people rats look like big mice, the myth just got transferred over to include the rat.

FYI: Old and sick rats who are not lactose intolerant will accept cottage cheese as a nutritional soft food.

spazrats
"my life has gone to the rats"

Answer 3

My rats don't really like cheese and I read that it really isn't good for them. The pet store has cheese flavored yogurt drops (yucky sounding) but they enjoy them.

Answer 4

I t is fine to give your rats cheese and yes they like it.

The foods you need to stay away from are sweets. including things like sugar puffs, fruit loops etc. NO SUGAR. Sugars cause rats to become Diabetics their kidneys will slowly shut down resulting in death. Everything else is cool.

Answer 5

My rats eat everything! Cheese, people food, cat food...everything except store bought rat food!

Answer 6

Many rats like cheese but its not good for them. Gives them digestive problems and can make them really fat and unhealthy.
Try give them something plant based instead. Bread, nuts, fruit - all tasty treats for your cutie.

Answer 7

they scavengers they eat anything and unhealthy poop and tinkle all over everything, and hang out in dumpsters' bottoms and eat rotten unsanitary stuff (even stray dogs and cats don't eat such) (maybe urs a pet don't know lol), you know it is funny, we have an open field behind our house and sometimes get field mice (got cats, but don't always catch, sometimes do!), and have this live catch (doesn't kill them) mouse catching thing, catches multiple sometimes (can hold multiple), one time one was dead in there (they ate the bait), but they didn't eat the dead mouse, will eat meat bait, fascinating how not cannibalistic, you notice even ants pick up their dead and carry them away and put in piles, but don't eat, interesting, guess doesn't apply to Hannibal the Cannibal LOL, but Jodie Foster was cute LOL

Answer 8

Well, if you remenber the New York story a few weeks ago, they also seem to like chicken and tacos. :)

Answer 9

yes. their fave is sharp cheddar. they really like wine with it too. some soft quiet music. a lit candle. rye bread. mice dancing nude in the background.

Answer 10

they will accept almost anything you offer them but it's really not good for them in large amounts.