Obviously an escaped somehow domesticated rat. Where'd you come from, Rat?

no of course not, but i'm sure there are domesticated bats too. doesn't change that most of them are undomesticated right? I mean i'm sure there are domesticated foxes, pigs, probably many mammals (also: bats are mammals). so i don't really see the difference between thinking it's weird/not the same having a rat as a pet compared to a cat or dog, but not all of these other mammals

You can go buy a rat at any pet store. Could you do the same with a fox, bat, etc.? Are we just being a little pedantic right now

I don't think it's pedantic, it's just what people have decided is cute and cuddly but they're all mammals, your point was that rats are different because they are mammals and not liking them is speciesist was it not?

Bats are cute and cuddly but homes aren't appropriate habitats for them. Just like I can't grow an oak tree inside

Well no one said homes weren't appropriate for rats, but certainly some people might argue that. Anyway, I made my point I guess.

Rats thrive in human created habitats

rats thrive because they're vermin

Yes, wild ones are. But my neutered, docile, geriatric Tie is not. He is a pet. Feral cats are also vermin, but they are domesticated cats.

Getting pretty tired of hearing that I'm doing something wrong by keeping a mainstream (the pets and supplies are sold at big box stores) critter as a pet. Like there's always some snarky retort or potshot about the rats

nothing wrong with rats as pets, also nothing wrong with not desiring to have a rat that crawls on you for a pet i mean that's all i'm trying to say

Ok that's nice

I like how Bonnie compares a rodent to an animal like a dog.

I hate rats. I live by a rail-yard and the areas just crawling with em. Every other winter or so one manages to find it's way in my digs and I can hear it running around in the ceiling. I always make sure traps are swiftly placed and kill those fuckers.

Once I found one down lower in my jam space scuttling along and it was disgusting.

Buying one and having it enclosed is a different story, but there's no denying that they're literally pests so just because of that they're incomparable to a dog or cat.

Look at the voice of good reasoning and humanity weighing in

this is actually intolerant (although it's probably what a majority of people believe), i don't think what labelle said was fwiw

Well come on. You can't have those things running around a living space. It's a health concern.

That's why most people dislike them. They're an uninvited, unwanted nuisance.

How's it intollerant? You can't just allow wild vermin pissing and shitting in your living space. It's a health concern

"Traumatizing"

I have a different image come to mind

of course I'd rather rats not infiltrate spaces where they're unwanted and thus haved to be eterminated, but that's literally the nature of the species.

Like a cat using a litter box within my home? Yeah, it is. Pet cats spread many, many diseases. I had ring worm on my hand earlier in the year after Nougat scratched me.

of course you can't, but characterizing an entire species, one that is domesticatable, as pests that need killing and are disgusting is awfully narrow minded

That's true, outdoor cats can be pretty dirty and unsanitary too.

Dogs are where it's at

Me rn (also Tie rn)

Are you being serious with me right now?

Try not killing a rat if it finds it's way into your home and see what happens. You'll end up having an infestation of the rodents in no time.

that's awfully cute, but there's a difference from having a pet rat and ones that infiltrate homes, work spaces, restaurants ETC

and come on, generally people don't have pet rats. It's a niche market in the pet industry.

It's like guys who collect insects and shit haha

Do you know why they follow humans? Because we're slobs. We leave trash everywhere and eat highly caloric food. In a more primitive society without air tight storage pestilent critters cannot be tolerated (although I'm sure waterborne parasites and diseases had a greater impact) but today? Today rats still follow us because we leave trash everywhere

or like guys with pet snakes.

who would want a pet snake! yuck