When we mention the word “rat” most people’s skin crawls. We have a negative image of rats and a lot of prejudices. However, there are enormous differences between “wild” and “fancy” rats.
Wild rats live in sewers, smell, are bold and spread diseases. Fancy rats are the complete opposite. They are tame, intelligent, social and very clean themselves. Fancy rats prefer to live in group and with a ranking among them. They can easily build up a relationship with their owner and can recognize them by their smell and voice.
When your rat is socialized property and recognizes you as their keeper, they can get very attached. They will often want hugs, lick your fingers and stand at the door of their cage to be cuddled. If you have a very close bond they will even sleep with their owner while you watch TV, gnashing their teeth to let you know they like the situation. Fancy rats trust their owner with their lives and are, in fact, very much like cats when it comes to it: they can live by themselves (in a group) and are independent. But a hug or kiss should never be too far away to keep them happy!
