why do people hate rats , they are great anamals.?

Question

I own rats so I know how great they are but I allso know how much people hate them.

Answer 1

I don't hate rats. I have dedicated the last 11 years of my life to promoting rats as the best rodent pet.

But I know, through study and research, how people have come to hate rats. Every form of media has made the rat out to be disgusting, vermin-ridden, plague-driven, bloody-fanged, evil creatures. If you let me, I'll just babble on in dispelling the myths and misinformation about wild rats.

So why do people hate rats? I found 5 words in the dictionary that best sums up these feelings of repulsion.
* Prejudism: An opinion for or against something without adequate basis.
* Paranoia: A psychosis marked by delusions and irrational suspicion.
* Ignorance: Lacking knowledge, uneducated, unaware, uninformed.
* Stereotyping: An idea that many people have about a thing or a group and that may often be untrue, or only partially true.
* Hysteria: Uncontrollable fear or emotions.

RAT is a four-letter word. Congures up all kinds of horror images. Those of us who have had rats for a long time have come up with some pretty cute names that we would rather call them: Ratties, Norwegian Whip-tailed Squirrels, Palm Dogs, Rittens, all in an attempt to put good images into peoples' heads.

And it's the tails and beady eyes that freak people out the most. I have a friend who calls their tails, parsnips. I call their eyes, dark little buttons.

Respectfully, I'm known as the "Rat Lady" where I live. It's because I adore pet rats and help other rat-keepers care for their pets. Unrespectfully, I'm the crazy lady who lives with rats

It's been tough work breaking down these barriers that people have put up to avoid learning the truth about rats, but I'll keep on trying. Since you love your rats so much, you can help me by telling everyone you meet how wonderful rats are as pets.

Edit:
Hey, "Ready" I'm flattered that you like my explanation. Thanks for spreading the word :) I added one more word to that list since I last answered your question.

spazrats
"my life has gone to the rats"

Answer 2

Because people hear about the giant disease-ridden sewer rats and what not in large cities, or because some people don't like how they look, or because they're just scared of rats in general. If these people would take the time to research domestic rats, they'd realize that domestic rats are virtually disease free, easy to take care of, and wonderful pets.

Answer 3

lots of persons relate rats and mice to illnesses, dirt, etc. Its in straight forward terms one among those stereotypes that animals get by way of the years. they only are not as basic a puppy as canines, cats, or hamsters, and so anybody is many times uneducated approximately them. I keep in mind bringing my 3 rats interior the automobile to the vet's workplace, and on the way i ended at a gasoline station. I enable them to out for some sparkling air and the seems I have been given from human beings have been hilarious. some human beings do exactly no longer comprehend that they make superb pets :)

Answer 4

Before I got my rats, my parents had the misunderstanding that all rats are diseased and dangerous. I think the history of the rat and all the bad press it received gave rats a bad name for a lot of people.

When in reality, even wild rats are not as diseased as people think. The bubonic plague can from the fleas, not the rats.

But anyway, I love rats to death. There is no other rodent as lovable, smart, and human oriented as them!

Answer 5

who knows why people hate rats. I say the people who hate them have obviously never owned them. I cant picture having a rat as a pet and still hating them. they must think when we say "pet rats" we went and caught one in the sewer or something. I have 3 rats right now (one bald, 2 black and white) and theyre like my little babies. (I call them my boys). Theyre smart, cuddley, and loads of fun. I think if the rat haters spent one afternoon with a tamed rat, lots of them would change their minds.

Answer 6

Personal preference,for instance,why are some people dog people and some are cat people? Then of course there is the association with disease. I don't own a rat,nor have I ever,but the one I was exposed to seemed quite gentle and pleasant to be around.

Answer 7

I work with rats and they are great creatures. Very gentle and loveable. Before I actually handled rats, I was afraid of them.

I thought they were mean - that they would bite. And I was weirded out by their long tails.

Of course they also have had a bad wrap throughout history for carrying terrible disease - such as the Bubonic plague. I think people associate disease/illness/uncleanliness with rats.

Answer 8

I am sure your pet rats are all clean and nice and disease free. Try living around rats that are not pets, not kept clean, not fed from a dish. They carry diseases, or they carry the parasites that carry diseases. They will invade homes and eat food that people cannot afford to lose, because it may be the only food they get that day. And their bites and scratches when they come for you while you are asleep can become infected. I don't hate your pet rats. I just don't like walking down a street and have a 12-24 inch long rat, plus tail come scurrying by my feet while he looks for his next meal.

Answer 9

People hate rats because they think they bite and have nasty hairy tails... Some people just don't like the way rats look and how they react.

Answer 10

People who are anti-rat suffer from:

Prejudism, definition: An opinion for or against something without adequate basis.

Paranoia, definition: A psychosis marked by delusions and irrational suspicion.

Ignorance, definition: Lacking knowledge, uneducated, unaware, uninformed.

Stereotyping, definition: An idea that many people have about a thing or a group and that may often be untrue, or only partially true.

Please see this question, as i asked a similar one.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AigSSVA08eEjG5eKfcMJILcAAAAA?qid=20070124155815AAqVxCH