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In November of last year, Heather adopted two male rats from Rattie Ratz. She was interested in adopting rats because she had previous experience owning them as a college student and she loved it. When her son asked if he could get his own pet rats, their family made sure to start off on the right foot with the most important step in the adoption process—research!
Linda and her husband first became interested in rats when her husband (who had kept a pet mouse years ago) thought about getting another mouse. He did some research and found that rats would actually be a better fit. They contemplated getting rats for months when Linda describes how her husband, who did radio and TV work, produced “a TV program for an independent TV station, and found Rattie Ratz and decided to do a segment on rats. Well, we came home with three rats that were eight weeks old! …Even back then we had no idea how involved we would get with rats over the years.” That was in January of 2006.
heir children, but didn't research beforehand what owning rats entails. He was a total sweetheart and very cute, but I couldn't keep him so I reached out to Rattie Ratz to help find a new home for him, one where he hopefully could have a friend or two as rats are social animals and need to live in groups.
Some people have dogs they can take on long leisurely strolls in the morning sunshine. Others have cats or birds they can have relaxing naps with while basking in the summer warmth coming in through the windows of their home.
Vito, Sal, and David were adopted in December of last year by Olivia and her husband. We caught up with them to hear how the rats have settled into their new home. "They are doing great––as I speak, they are running around causing all kinds of chaos," says Olivia. The boys were affectionately given mobster-themed names by Olivia and her husband, except for David, who apparently was named by his foster after David Bowie. Olivia says the name suited him too much to change it.
With temperatures beginning to rise as the year rolls towards summer, it’s important for pet owners to be conscious of how the heat affects the animals in their home. As a volunteer with Rattie Ratz (a domestic pet rat rescue), and living in California, I have had a few summers where the heat was too much for me and my animals and I have had to utilize some of the tips described below. Although this article is geared towards pet rats, these tips and tricks can be utilized for many different types of animals.
In February of last year, I wrote an article about my personal experience owning rats. It was sort of a memorial piece for my first official mischief (a group of rats) that really solidified my identity as a rat owner. Towards the end of the article, I stated that I was having a hard time bonding with the new boys I rescued because of the heartbreak of losing the last boy of that first mischief.
For those of you who appreciate the spirit of Valentine's Day, I invite you to join me as I reminisce with some furry Valentine's of my own. Regular readers may recognize Blue (aka Blueberry) and Raz (aka Raspberry) when they were featured in December 2022. I was sadly unaware that their brother, Grape, would pass away unexpectedly only a few short months after that feature was published.
In December 2022, Woniya and her family decided to reopen their hearts to keeping rats and adopted five baby boys: AC/DC, Cappy, Sherlock, Watson, and Ernie. However, the story of their journey as rat owners started way before then.
Today’s feature follows three rats that were rescued at different times and through different circumstances before finding their way to Rattie Ratz Rescue and, ultimately their forever home with Esther and her daughter. Rattie Ratz is a rescue located in the Bay Area of Northern California that specializes in rescuing and rehoming domestic pet rats.
