R is for Rat

By

Rr

Rat    noun

Oxford Dictionary definition:   1. large mouselike rodent.  2. colloquial unpleasant or treacherous person.  verb  1. hunt or kill rats. 2. colloquial inform on.

Our definition:

  • Rats take care of injured and sick rats in their group.
  • Without companionship rats tend to become lonely and depressed.
  • Rats have excellent memories. Once they learn a navigation route, they won’t forget it.
  • When happy, rats have been observed to chatter or grind their teeth. This is often accompanied by vibrating eyes.
  • Rats make happy “laughter” sounds when they play.
  • Rats succumb to peer-pressure, just like humans. Brown rats are prone to disregard personal experiences in order to copy the behaviour of their peers. The urge to conform is so strong that they will even choose to eat unpalatable food if they are in the company of other rats who are eating it.
  • Although very curious animals, rats are also shy, and prefer to run away than confront a potential threat.
  • Rats are extremely clean animals, spending several hours every day grooming themselves and their group members. They are less likely than cats or dogs to catch and transmit parasites and viruses.
  • A rat can go longer than a camel without having a drink of water.
  • Rats’ tails help them to balance, communicate and regulate their body temperature.

Click here for the rest of the Rr page, click here, or go to the sidebar on the right, for the whole dictionary 😀

20 thoughts on “R is for Rat”

  1. I love rats, not quite as much as cats, but I had two as pets, and yes they are very clean animals, more so than a lot of humans I know and very friendly.

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  2. I love rats and if I could, I would go and clean up their space and get rid of the garbage laying around (humans are disgusting) and put lovely food closer to their door. We have always had rats and they are so clean and fun to play with. They are super intelligent and loving. I like them better than most people. 🙂 Lovely video

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    • I love this info which I found on the OneKind website (linked to on the post) because it made me realise that we have to override our inclination to be repulsed by rats. They are intelligent, clean, wild animals whose species has been demonised by humans since the plague. The only reason rats would be dirty is if they are forced to live in a dirty environment created by human littering and contamination. Not their fault. 😀

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  4. These rats are very cute and I’ve met pet rats that I like, but I am still grossed out when I see them scurrying across the alley in my headlights. It might make a good story, though–the city rat and the country rat. Hmmm….

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    • Yes but I think we react like that because of how they’ve been demonised by humans since the plague. After all, they’re just wild animals like hedgehogs and rabbits and sparrows, just trying to live their natural lives. They keep themselves clean and are intelligent, sentient beings. It’s humans that make things dirty, forcing some animals to live in contaminated habitats. That’s not their fault.

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