My Furry Gang

[VanessaS]

My House Tiger, Cassius

My House Panther, Nigel.

My little half blind boy, Jack.

My ratty boy, Elliot (please don't tell me about feeding them to other animals... please).

My hamster, Nero.

 

[Kymura]

Aww great furkids, and about Elliot, Nope, not from me ever, rats are amazing pets

 

[Enn49]

A lovely bunch of furries and great pics too.

 

[VanessaS]

I love that story @LC72 - 'doing the Gimee Gimee' made me burst out laughing. That is just so them!
I found Elliot a couple of months ago in a carrier beside the garbage bin at my building. Just before we went into a really bad cold snap that would have killed him. Luckily I had some recycling to throw away and came across him in time. I just don't understand some people sometimes.

 

[Fuzzball79]

Me and my Daughter , when she was younger, 23 now, we had 6 rats, great personalities all of them . Lost all of them To cancer.
I would love more Rats, but I can`t take the loss of them anymore , it devastates you when they go
I remember when ever we used to come home with a Mc D`s, all 6 of them would go mad, because they all used to get 1 fry each, their little arms would be going mad grabbing through the bars, we used to call it doing the Gimee Gimee. They are so intelligent , Rats can understand words same as that of a 2 year old child can . Before we used to get them out of their cages, we would say Tickle, Tickle , they new there was no food then, even when the Microwave used to go ding, they would be all up at the bars , ready to see what you got, I miss having Rats.

Me too . I had 3 girls, 2 Dumbo Rats half sisters, both died of congenital heart failure at 1 1/2 and 1 Black Berkshire Top Eared (who was a little runt with chronic breathing problems from the pet shop).
They'd come when you called them, sat for treats and were suck a close-knit pack. I'm not ready to have rats again, because they're so smart and you get such a strong bond, but before you know it they're gone. I still dream of them occasionally, is that weird lol?

@VanessaS : Great gang! They're gorgeous animals. Your "Panther" looks very regal (I had a Black tom when I grew up and we used to refer to him as our house panther. I also had a Steiff' stuffed Panther and my gran used to try to chase it off my bed, because she thought it was my cat, lol. Obviously I would allow the cat to sleep on my bed at night anyway)

 

[Enn49]

My son used to keep rats and they really are great pets. We talked about getting some again but decided it wouldn't be a good idea as 2 of my cats couldn't be trusted near them. I have to feed my snake (defrost frozen) when they're fastened out of the room and next morning they go straight to the viv to see if he's left it.

 

[Fuzzball79]

My son used to keep rats and they really are great pets. We talked about getting some again but decided it wouldn't be a good idea as 2 of my cats couldn't be trusted near them. I have to feed my snake (defrost frozen) when they're fastened out of the room and next morning they go straight to the viv to see if he's left it.

My Husky cross can't be trusted around them neither. Every time she was near their cage, she'd whine and try to get to them and when we let them run on the couch, we had to lock her out of the living room.
The rats must have also sense the danger coming from her, because they would jump against the bars and bare their teeth when she was there and would try to snap if she put her nose near them.
My shepherd learned really quickly that they were pack members and my alpha rat Nibbles used to give him kisses (she wasn't scared of anything, used to run by my snakes' vivariums lol). When we had to have them pts and I brought the bodies home, I let him smell and say goodbye each time .
My friends have 3 rats again and they let them run in the living room including the window sill. I was talking to them outside their house and Trigger spotted them at the window and his face looked like he recognized them as pets, but not prey.

 

[Fuzzball79]

In our old house mine were able to jump from the couch onto the computer desk. They'd steal anything that wasn't bolted on, like pens, rubbers, etc. Nibbles (who was roan colour and got nearly all white when she was older) managed to climb into my printer twice and chewed through the toner. She was a little rascal lol.

 

[VanessaS]

Nice to see all the rat lovers! I have had many over the years and I can understand how everyone feels about them leaving too soon. Heart issues have been very prevalent over the last few years, unfortunately. I wasn't looking to get more, but there he was... homeless! He is a very sweet little boy and as cheeky and mischievous as can be! Elliot certainly lives up to their reputation of being smart and up to no good all the time.
Thank you for all your kind comments - it means a lot to me. They are a motley bunch of strays and rejects and I couldn't love them more than I do.
xoxo

 

[leaveittoweaver]

Agh. Another rat lover here. I really miss having rats. I probably had 12 rats over the course of my teen years. Lost some to getting respiratory issues multiple times to the point of lung scarring and getting pneumonia. Eventually it would kill them. Some of them died of cancer. And I had maybe one or two die from old age. I so miss having rats and like someone else stated, the only reason I don't anymore is due to how fast they die, they are so easy to become attached to, it is heart breaking to lose them. The last one I had, I took in because he was a senior who essentially needed a comfy home to live out the rest of his short lived days. He was a sweet boy, I miss him.

I miss my first rat Herbie the most though, big double rex boy. I manage a pet store and we get rats in pretty frequently, I'm glad I get the opportunity to play with them and interact but I don't think I could own them again. Wonderfully smart little creatures. One of mine knew how to stand on his back feet for treats. They all knew their names. Simply amazing.

PS.

Your cats and hamster are cute too!!!