ratso + rats

ratso×!rats×

ratso + rats
On Wednesday night, we discovered that Ratso (the first rat we got as a pet) had a big tumor on her side. (If you look carefully, you can see the lump on her right side). I gave her a bunch of carrots...
ratso + rats
...and a nice long ear-scratching. Her favorite two things.
ratso + rats
...you kind of have to admit that they look pretty adorable right here.
ratso + rats
Even if you think rats are terrible...
ratso + rats
I came home and found these two little vermin having a drink together.
ratso + rats
Then they took adorable photos of our rats all snuggled up in their cage.
ratso + rats
The rats came out to see what all the commotion was about!
ratso + rats
See you in a month, filth-balls!
ratso + rats
Oh, hello there! Do you want to come out and look even more adorable?
ratso + rats
She also always is taking old clothes and cutting them up and making fun little cloth "tubes" for them to enjoy. Here's Ratso enjoying life on the hammock from the inside of an old leggin.
ratso + rats
When I got home, I played with these whiskery critters.
ratso + rats
Good One: "You just watched and let that happen? WTF?"
ratso + rats
Cuddle Rat! (Meredith, you're a weird rat mom!)
ratso + rats
I got home a little past midnight and when I went over to say hi to the rats, I noticed that something was different.
ratso + rats
I can haz treat?
ratso + rats
I thought that having pet rats would be similar to having a hamster or a gerbil - that they'd just sort of be things that sat in a cage looking cute. But in the first few weeks of having them, I was amazed by how smart and friendly and genuinely interested in people they were! They're like teeny tiny dogs! Hahaha.
ratso + rats
Ratso and Roxy! Rats are so funny and smart: any time they have a treat, they're worried that the other rat is going to try to steal it from them. When we gave them both treats at the same time, they experimented with different cage positions before finally settling on the "mutual butt-touching treat-enjoyment position." They back up into each other and know that as long as they can feel the other one's butt, they can enjoy their treat in peace! Hahaha.