Sometimes, I have to love living in an eccentric sort of neighborhood because of the wonderful value of...Curb Sales! Where I live, people just leave their unwanted stuff out on the corners with big FREE signs. Although some consider it trashy, I have managed to pick quite a few treasures from this trend including a vanity table, a bathroom cabinet, a plant terrarium (that looks like a Victorian house!) and the best find of all...a rat cage! I've been wanting a rat forever but the cages were very expensive. So the second I saw the cage sitting outside, I snatched it up, spent a good few days sanitizing it, and then I hopped online to the shelter website to find my new best friend. :)
Isn't she adorable?
Her name is Lydia and she is absolutely perfect! She loves to be cuddled and held (she especially likes riding on my shoulder nestled under my hair and *ahem* trying to climb into my bra). She is so soft and because of her red eyes, she prefers the darkness (just like me mwahahaha!). There are several misconceptions about rats that sometimes keep people from seeing them as good pets. However, far from being diseased (come on, we all know the Plague was the flea's fault) rats are quite clean, very smart, and very social. The lady I adopted Lydia from said they're very like miniature cats! People sometimes don't realize that small pets, including ferrets, bunnies, hamsters, gerbils and rats are widely available for adoption through shelter programs, sometimes more often than cats and dogs. So if you're considering a miniature addition of love and joy for your home, think adoption first!
Welcome home Lydia!
Fluffy says hello :)
Alaster was very curious, but apart from
some sniffing, neither of the cats seemed to
care too much. Although I'm keeping them
out of the room when I'm not there for now.
Please get a rat companion for your new friend. It is very bad for them to be kept on their own as they are social animals and will get incredibly lonely and unhappy without the company of other rats. i don't want to sound unkind, but i love rats and don't want yours to be unhappy.
I was thinking about getting another, but I'm afraid the cage is too small. The people I adopted her from said that as long as I was always interacting with her, she shouldn't be lonely. However, I am on the lookout for a bigger cage, and perhaps with a bigger cage, another friend.
She is SOOOO cute!!! Love rats, love cats, love Emilie!! :-)
Both my son and my husband (before we met) had rats as pets. They are just wonderful pets! Stuart's first one was so friendly that I used to take her out of her cage after Stuart was asleep, and let her ride around on my shoulder all evening. She loved it, and so did I! She also loved to watch TV with him, sitting on his head. ;-) The only bad part is that they have such very short lives.
I must agree with the first post, but it could a little bit hard for care if you wouldn't have enough time. And of course the food isn't cheap and sawdust(or scobs? I dunno) too. And noise, don't forget the noise! They can be impossibly noisy. But enough of discouragement.. :D Lydia is absolutely adorable! Hope that she'll be happy. :) I had a lot of hamsters which I loved, but rats are somehow.. unavailable for me, because of parents(said snake&spiderkeeper :D).
She was actually quite cheap. The adoption fees for these little guys are usually around $5 and I buy the food and bedding in bulk so its cheaper and it lasts a long time. I had a hamster too and he was my best friend. :) Funny that you can't have rats what with snakes and spiders. I would probably have lots of reptiles except that I can't abide crickets. Do you have Tarantulas? I like the ones with the pink toes. ;D
my first hamster was my bf too, but the others hm..it wasn't the same like before. And yes, I do.. I'll upload some photos on my blog soon, so you can visit it :)
She is gorgeous! I never tire of the look on peoples faces when I tell them rats are my favourite animal :-]. They are really amazing creatures, they can collapse their skeletons to fit through a hole the size of a coin. Is she named after Lydia Deetz? x
Yes, when I had her at the shelter, one lady came up and said "Is that a rat?" and then we had a conversation about how wonderful they are. Then another lady came up and said "Is that a rat? Ew..." It's weird about people's reactions.
Be-careful that your cat doesn't give the poor little thing a heart-attack. My cats have done that a few times before to many little creatures - though, mostly when I kept birds.
Otherwise, adorable! I want a little rat of my own. :3
I am a little worried about the cats around her. They don't seem to mind, but she seems to get a little anxious, so I'm keeping them under close supervision and closing my room when I'm not around. You should definitely get a rat!
Oooh, she´s so cute. ♥And Lydia is a nice name :) I love rats, I wanted one since I saw them in shop, but my mother didn´t allow to buy (yeah, but I could have hamsters :D ). Well, I will have to wait till I´ll be living on my own :)
Please get a rat companion for your new friend. It is very bad for them to be kept on their own as they are social animals and will get incredibly lonely and unhappy without the company of other rats. i don't want to sound unkind, but i love rats and don't want yours to be unhappy.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about getting another, but I'm afraid the cage is too small. The people I adopted her from said that as long as I was always interacting with her, she shouldn't be lonely. However, I am on the lookout for a bigger cage, and perhaps with a bigger cage, another friend.
DeleteShe is SOOOO cute!!! Love rats, love cats, love Emilie!! :-)
ReplyDeleteBoth my son and my husband (before we met) had rats as pets. They are just wonderful pets! Stuart's first one was so friendly that I used to take her out of her cage after Stuart was asleep, and let her ride around on my shoulder all evening. She loved it, and so did I! She also loved to watch TV with him, sitting on his head. ;-) The only bad part is that they have such very short lives.
Lydia loves to ride on my shoulder too :) She hasn't shown any signs of wanting to climb on my head though! :D
DeleteI must agree with the first post, but it could a little bit hard for care if you wouldn't have enough time. And of course the food isn't cheap and sawdust(or scobs? I dunno) too. And noise, don't forget the noise! They can be impossibly noisy. But enough of discouragement.. :D
ReplyDeleteLydia is absolutely adorable! Hope that she'll be happy. :) I had a lot of hamsters which I loved, but rats are somehow.. unavailable for me, because of parents(said snake&spiderkeeper :D).
She was actually quite cheap. The adoption fees for these little guys are usually around $5 and I buy the food and bedding in bulk so its cheaper and it lasts a long time. I had a hamster too and he was my best friend. :) Funny that you can't have rats what with snakes and spiders. I would probably have lots of reptiles except that I can't abide crickets. Do you have Tarantulas? I like the ones with the pink toes. ;D
Deletemy first hamster was my bf too, but the others hm..it wasn't the same like before.
DeleteAnd yes, I do.. I'll upload some photos on my blog soon, so you can visit it :)
She is gorgeous! I never tire of the look on peoples faces when I tell them rats are my favourite animal :-]. They are really amazing creatures, they can collapse their skeletons to fit through a hole the size of a coin. Is she named after Lydia Deetz? x
ReplyDeleteYes, when I had her at the shelter, one lady came up and said "Is that a rat?" and then we had a conversation about how wonderful they are. Then another lady came up and said "Is that a rat? Ew..." It's weird about people's reactions.
DeleteYes, she is named after Lydia Deetz. :)
DeleteBe-careful that your cat doesn't give the poor little thing a heart-attack. My cats have done that a few times before to many little creatures - though, mostly when I kept birds.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, adorable! I want a little rat of my own. :3
I am a little worried about the cats around her. They don't seem to mind, but she seems to get a little anxious, so I'm keeping them under close supervision and closing my room when I'm not around. You should definitely get a rat!
DeleteOooh, she´s so cute. ♥And Lydia is a nice name :)
ReplyDeleteI love rats, I wanted one since I saw them in shop, but my mother didn´t allow to buy (yeah, but I could have hamsters :D ). Well, I will have to wait till I´ll be living on my own :)
Hopefully you will get one one day. It's very strange, the aversion to rats when most people think hamsters and mice are cute. :/
DeleteI want rats so badly, they're adorable. It sucks how often people think they're gross, when really they're such friendly, loving animals.
ReplyDeleteYes, they really are very sweet. People's misconceptions baffle me sometimes...
Delete