My rats are the cutest beings on earth! My friends think that they are cute, but also very gross. I think is is because of rats reputation. How can I get people to stop believing those rumors?
2007-05-20 06:31:15 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Rodents
not every rat carry illnesses. My friends know that. Anyway, i don't own sewer rats, i have white albino rats.
2007-05-20 06:39:11 · update #1
plus their red eyes are not red red more red pink and their tails are beautiful.
2007-05-20 13:17:52 · update #2
Just let them get to know your rats. I had the same experience when I owned them. People didn't like the bald tails - thought they looked snakelike. My rat was the smartest animal I've ever owned though - he knew his name, he came to me, he figured out how to swing my bookshelf cabinet from my bed to a stack of books to climb down on my floor. He'd then climb the books, swing the cabinet door, and crawl on my bed when he wanted back up. He amazed people that would come over and see him in action. They got to know him and it actually convinced some of my friends to buy them, haha. Most went for the smaller rats - I had the jumbo NY city gutter rat though, haha. gosh, I miss him.
The black plague wasn't carried by rats, necessarily. The black plague was due to the combination of all the horrible conditions they lived in - the people didn't bathe regularly, their waste was recycled in rivers that would then come down stream to where they collected their water, trash was thrown every which way. Continuing research has found that it was transmitted through saliva (coughing and such) OR that it was an ebola-type virus because Iceland was severely inflicted with the black plague, but rats were never introduced to Iceland at that time so there is no way the disease had been transmitted through rats there. So, yes, people who are miseducated or not kept up with continuing research believe that it was rats who caused it.
2007-05-20 06:39:15 · answer #1 · answered by rainy_creek_blazer 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's mostly the common misconceptions of disease, illness which is really the media's fault. There are so many movies and images given to make them seem worse than they are. People are used to cats and dogs and maybe a fish. Society deemed those acceptable for pets, but because WILD SEWER rats have given the current tame ones a bad wrap. There is a difference between the tame bred ones that become pets and sewer rats, but most people don't see that. There's virtually no way to change a whole society's view of them, but maybe you can change the people's view around you. I know my mom was swayed when I had mine. They are very smart and pretty little things. They are actually intelligent and clean little buggers. People don'tt know, or care to, why would they? When they have the most acceptable answer imprinted into them.
I love rat babies. I had some wonderful ones, and I miss them sorely. I just got a mouse a few days ago, she's sweet. But she's no rat. I loved my rats, and they were my favorite pets. The sweetest, cutest little things.
* http://www.geocities.com/metalinkpets/ratfancybavmo.jpg
* http://www.geocities.com/metalinkpets/Oct1605fancyratbabyh.jpg
2007-05-20 09:53:36 · answer #2 · answered by Yeop 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rats are very clean creatures actually, and people do not know this because they are ignorant and do not bother to look it up. and it is true, because if they werent clean, would we have them as pets? or use them as snake food? then why would they live in the sewers? because rats are so smart that they live in the sewer that the majority of the sewers are predator-free. And like the person above me said, because the media is to blame, psyching everyone out about rats. Also because of the Bubonic Plague. Also, the rats weren't necessarily to blame. think about the conditions, no indoor plumbing, dirty rivers, no bathing regularly. What do you expect?
2007-05-20 07:10:08 · answer #3 · answered by Sean H 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can blame this on the "media" for the most part. Take a look at the various movies that have rats in them.... they are portrayed as "bad guys" more often then not. Even in the animated film "The Secret of Nimh" the "bad guy" was a rat.
Also, historically, they have been associated with witches, the devil, evil, disease, death, and so on.
I have been raising rats for nearly 3 decades now and have found them to be the perfect pet in nearly every way! When I first met my husband, years ago, he was a little wary of them and was more than a little nervous about handling them for fear of them biting. But now he's got his own rats and his teen-aged boys from his previous marriage also have adopted their own rats.
I'm slowly trying to get a ratty pet in every household! ;)
2007-05-20 06:54:35 · answer #4 · answered by Annie B. Mice 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
some rats do live outside but that doesn't mean their gross or because they carry diseases rats are very loving and affectionate creatures.tell people about how cute your rats are everyone you know thats how you can stop those nasty rumors.I think its mean how people spread rumors about rats like that. I've had over 16 rats and i haven't thought a single one was ugly or gross.
2007-05-20 08:59:28 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
A lot of people really don't like their tails and some rats have red I eyes and red I eye some time mean "evil"
2007-05-20 06:43:36 · answer #6 · answered by KrAze K 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah! they create illnesses and are wild animals that dig in rubbish! purely the suited puppy! Haha, I advise i like puppy rats, yet sewer rats do carry illnesses and um, they are SEWER rats they are wild and have been in the sewer, thats purely gross!
2016-10-05 10:33:41 · answer #7 · answered by heusel 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
those people are crazy and i think the only thing we can do to help our little ratties' reputations is to keep spreading the word of such wonderful pets they make.
2007-05-20 11:27:29 · answer #8 · answered by puppy_love 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rats are known to carry disease. Thats how the black pleague got started...Fleas from rats.
2007-05-20 06:36:07 · answer #9 · answered by Spooky 4 · 0⤊ 4⤋
A lot of people think that because of their tails.
They are cute!!!!
2007-05-20 06:46:05 · answer #10 · answered by SpeedyTKala 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋