Thank you! I've been having some trouble with my landlady and my rats (who I ultimately had to get rid of); she is insistant that it is instinctual that humans are "repulsed" by them, and that "there must be a reason for that, you know?"

I'd love to meet her. My 'instincts' clearly aren't functioning properly!

I'll invite her to my future home when I move out, hehe. I'm planning on having a designated rat/pet room. I'd love to be part of a rescue someday.


In her defense – she is a really sweet person – she's allergic to them, I could not have kept them anyways. :/

Pfffft, point her to the Little Albert experiment. It's very clear that fears like that are learned, not inherited.

I'd always figured that it was instinctual for rats to be repulsed by humans. Isn't it wonderful that we can transcend such things?

Pretty much this. Way better than I could have put it.

Well said. Er, "well explained". I suppose "well done".

Well-said. (Same goes for animals that people eat, test on, use in entertainment, etc.)

Will I be banned for +faving this?

People do it to rabbit owners as well afaik. That's not even going into the creepy sexual comments on pictures of dogs.

I love you so hard for making this.

This. I hope people are paying attention to the admin's actions concerning this. On a site where all animals in theory would be offered equal respect, rat lovers and rodent lovers in general sure are treated like trash.

I hope this madness gets settled fairly in the end.

I agree, it's just rude to say things like that to a rat lover and expect them to tolerate it.

If I were an artist, this would have inspired me to do something similar about people who are OK with eating meat from some animals but not others.

This is very true, I've walked my ferret on a leash in public and had people freak out thinking at first glance he's a rat and after I correct them they are suddenly ok with him since he's not a big scary rat. I attended a Saturday Science class at my cousin's high school for over a year and brought dogs, ferrets, guinea pigs, dagus, chinchillas, and even mice with no issue, but when I brought in two little baby rats the teacher told me to keep them in their travel cage and I was instructed not to let anyone touch them. The excuse I was given for his concern was "They might bite the students" A ferret has a much nastier bite let alone a large dog which both regularly attended this event so I call bullshit.

All this rat talk made me miss the two boys I fostered a few years back http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6763334/

I wish I could have a rat the size of a ferret! That sounds like epic cuddles!

I want one the size of a raccoon!!!! Hell with guard dogs, I'd have the big softy sit on the ledge of my front yard window and let him scare away stupid people while he nibbled an apple and did nothing.

'Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist.'

Didn't think so but I with they did

its from princess bride ;3

Ever seen a Giant Cloud Rat?


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3265.....2ab5662ef7.jpg

DO WANT! *uses google to find out more*

Ugh, I know what you mean! I don't know where people get the idea that rats are just born as nasty creatures that bite unprovoked. When I told a lady I had pet rats she asked how I kept them from biting me. The best answer I could come up with was "Well...I don't abuse them. It's pretty simple. If you're nice to animals they won't bite you." 9_9 Sheesh. It's sad that I should have to explain that to an older adult.

Ugh people are SO uneducated. I've been bitten by dogs, cats, hamsters...but never rats. I have never had a rat bite me, even when my hands smelled like food. (They generally do a little "test nibble", then realize there is no food there. XD) I really hate peoples' reactions to rats. "BUT WHAT ABOUT DISEASES HUUURRR" and the biting thing. You are a million times more likely to be bitten by a fucking hamster than a rat, and people like hamsters!? FFFFFUUU-

I had a rat bite me and my boyfriend just once. Both bites occurred on our right earlobe. And it was hard enough to draw blood. We're not sure what caused it, but we keep an eye on her around our faces now. But we are certain it was a one time thing, because she hasn't even gone near our ears since.

As for the diseases, those only apply to wild rats. All pet rats are descended from laboratory rats, which did not carry diseases like rabies. And besides, the likelihood of a rat contracting rabies from a wild animal is negligible; the rat is more likely to die from the severity of the bite than to actually live to carry the disease to others. Same goes for squirrels and other small rodents. So when someone tries to use that argument, throw that in their face.

people just need to educate themselves. it's the people that refuse to educate themselves that are psychos. like the person this pic is based on. she was a nutcase who would jam her fingers in her ears and go 'LALALALALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU' every time someone bombarded her with proof that what she was saying was complete bullshit

i wrote a lot didnt i

Huh, that is strange. Good thing it was just a one time thing. =/

I also hate the misconception about rats. I believe it was a different species of rat that carried diseases? I'm not sure, but I've heard that the rats we have domesticated are completely different than the other rats that people accuse of "spreading the plague". (I don't remember if we have the brown or black rats as domesticated animals.) Also yeah, the rabies thing. An animal as small as a rat would simply die; maybe even a Chihuahua couldn't handle that as well! Ugh...people...

well neither really spread the plague. it was the fleas on the black rat (which were also on dogs, cats, people, etc) that spread it, but it was the brown rat that was competition to the black rat, and so helped in driving it out of town

I already knew that, I just heard it was only one specie of rat that actually had the fleas to do that.

yeah. twas the black

Ah, okay. Thanks for clearing that up! :3

A lot of proof exists now that it was spread by humans, and not rats or fleas. There was a big thing in the news about it very recently on how neither rats nor fleas were ever to blame for the plague.

I thought you were supposed to feed killed rats to snakes because of this.

I love the little face you gave the puppy. :D

SO TRUE.
I've had two rats that were supposed to be feeders, and after that I just don't get the mentality. :|
and I've been accused of being dramatic a few times because of it.

I don't want to hear someone commenting about how they'd feed my pet to their snake. B|
No.

Two of my adopted boys were originally feeder rats. Live feeding is legal where I live, so it really makes me uncomfortable to think about how their fates might have ended if they weren't lucky.

Being a long-time pit bull advocate, I've faced this hypocritical shit on the dog front as well. *sigh* some people are just morons.

Something I found on the net, in fact, it may have been you that posted it a week or so ago, I can't remember:

"JUST A RAT..."

From time to time, people tell me, “lighten up, it’s just a rat”, or, “that’s a lot of money for just a rat”. They don’t understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for “just a rat”. Some of my proudest moments have come about with “just a rat”. Many hours have passed and my only company was “just a rat”, but I did not once feel slighted.
Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by “just a rat” and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of “just a rat” gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day. If you, too, think it’s “just a rat”, then you will probably understand phases like “just a friend”, “just a sunrise”, or “just a promise”. “Just a rat” brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. “Just a rat” brings out the compassion and patience that makes me a better person. Because of “just a rat” I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future.
So for me and folks like me, it’s not “just a rat” but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment. “Just a rat” brings out what’s good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day. I hope that someday they can understand that it’s not “just a rat” but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being “just a human.” So the next time you hear the phrase “just a rat”, just smile, because they “just don’t understand." - Unknown

Looove that quote so much. :)

This.

Stupid FA.

:/

And on the subject of rattie bites the worst I've ever gotten was from a grooming or a test nibble or when they want to taste my plugs. XD silly rats. Never drew blood though.

Luckily I've ran into.more people that like my boys then not.

My mom killed a spider about the size of a semicolon a few hours ago, and my dad and me both responded with a loud "Owwwhh!" as we had been watching its tiny heroic efforts for a few minutes.

So I can relate. Respect all life.

I remember when I was at the vet to get my rat seen to about a cancerous lump she had (it was a pre op thing. We lost her to cancer in the end. Of course.)

In the waiting room some woman asked what we had in the cage, and when I told her she said "ugh, a rat? Can you even operate on RATS?"

After my mother and I gave her a withering glare and the attitude she deserved, she said "I've got a dog that would easily see to your problem, tee hee."

How the fuck is this ever okay? I was in there with my pet, so clearly I cared about it. fucking hell, this happened like 3 years ago and I'm angry and in tears thinking about it. Let her die of a brain tumour and see how humorous it is.

this is strange because fa doesnt allow photos of feeding reptiles :S
hmmmmm

They did remove the photo of the snake and the rat, but still showed huge preferential treatment toward the instigator of the drama, the one who left offensive comments on pics of my rat, over me, who did nothing and didn't leave any comments on that person's page :/

that's fa mods for you
a long while back I reported someone admitting they fuck their dogs in my shouts. The admin went through my shouts, found them and only gave them a warning. I thought this was strange because saying that warrants a ban
The admin is no-longer an admin and in the past, has been outed for fucking a dog [im not entirely sure on the details]
The other day I saw them commenting on a secret account of the offender being buddy-buddy with them HAHAH.


some of em are backwards as hell

Jeez.
Sadly though, I'm not surprised by this :/

neither am I, really. Your post here just further proves that the mods all work by their own rules.