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In October 2023, Haley and her daughter Hanna, then eight years old, embarked on a journey to become small animal owners. Haley says that Hanna really wanted a small pet, and when they began researching different options for their family, they discovered that rats would be a perfect addition. The family had no prior experience with rat ownership, but after reading how sweet and intelligent rats can be, they made their decision.
Some adopters embody everything the Rattie Ratz Rescue volunteers hope to find in a loving home for our foster rats. Jenny Holland is one such adopter. After they read the touching story she has shared, I know our readers will feel the same. Jenny adopted three baby girls from Rattie Ratz in July 2023. Here she tells how rats have made her life richer, through both love and loss.
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In October of 2023, Kelly and her family adopted two rats from Rattie Ratz. Kelly had limited experience with small animals but her husband had grown up with hamsters, so they were somewhat familiar with the idea of pocket pets. Kelly says that they had heard plenty of good things about rats as pets—particularly their intelligence, sweet nature, and suitability for children on the autism spectrum, and were curious to learn more.
Today we look back on five adopted sisters who are living the type of life that every volunteer at Rattie Ratz Rescue hopes for. A life of joy, love, and fun with their family - with a healthy dose of spoiling mixed in! Rattie Ratz is a Non-Profit in Northern California dedicated the rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming of domestic pet rats. The ultimate goal at Rattie Ratz is to find safe and loving homes for each animal that passes through the organization, and the five sisters featured here have done just that.
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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.
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.
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.
