How Rats Changed My Life (yes, seriously.)

I just watched Trujillo Rat # 15, more commonly known as Leland (named after the news caster of our dreams, Leland Vittert), cross the bridge. I have become more numb to watching the little fellas die, but I can't say it ever gets easy. It's an odd thing to say that rats changed my life, but it's a very true statement and I'd be lying not to acknowledge it.

Just to give you an example, I would not be a Master Herbalist without having loved rats. My first rat, Nosi, died after only six months with me from a respiratory infection. Having very little "rat experience" at the time, I didn't do a whole lot to help her. I actually didn't even realize she was sick at all until one day I noticed she wasn't breathing well. I pulled her out of the cage and held her close to me, quickly coming to the understanding that she was dying in my arms. My 14 year old heart broke that day. After Nostalgia's death, I scoured the internet for information on what happened to my sweet friend.

The next time I had a sick rat I took her, Jumper (can you guess why we chose her name?), to the vet. I quickly found that vets know very little about rats. For some reason there's not really a high demand for rat health care. So I studied home remedies and became quite successful at putting together little "potions" to ward off respiratory infections, shrink tumors, and give over all good health to rats who were bred as nothing more than "snake food". As I got older, I wondered why the same types of remedies could not be applied to humans to give a better quality of life at a lower cost using natural remedies. Thus the MH and FH certifications. All for the love of a rat named Nosi, who died too soon.

For six years now I have been proud of my eccentric little pets. How many people actually have pet rats? As with many things in my life, I seemed to have a difficult time not becoming obsessed with my interest in rats. My little pets became a huge part of my identity. I studied rat health, rat training, rat nutrition, rat fashion, rat breeding, rat standards, and so on. My senior project was on rat health, care, and nutrition. I marketed my very own base rat diet. I designed my own rat hammock pattern and modified it for the more sophisticated rats who enjoy pockets. My persuasive speech in high school was about rats as pets. Notti, my first hooded lady, sat politely on my shoulder the entire speech- further proving my point.

I distinctly remember going through a stage of being enthralled by the thought of rescuing rats, to the point of driving my family crazy. I had dreams of opening "Nostalgia Rat Sanctuary" and adopting rats out to good homes. Every empty building I saw was the PERFECT rat shelter, if only my parents would buy it for me. Several of my rats came from "feeder" tanks anyway, but I was looking for actual rescues. I saw an ad in the thrifty nickel for a free rat and I begged my dad to take me to get him. Dad drove me across town on a dark rainy night to pick up the scariest, most gigantic, dare I say it... ugliest rat in the world. This was the kind of rat you expect to see beating up an alley cat in a New York City sewer. His name was Bartholomew Bogey, and I fell in love with him. He was from a tiny, dirty apartment where he was constantly harassed by cats and dogs. His diet was mediocre and he had very little human interaction. I quickly discovered that Bart needed very little to begin bruxing as if he was in Heaven. He needed Classical music, a corn cob, and a yogurt drop. He lived out his life in his mega black cage listening to Bach and chewing on corn.

Fifteen rats and I remember each distinctly because there is something very special about rats: they have personality. I quickly saw that each rat was very different. They had unique likes and dislikes. Some were quiet, some were loud. Nosi loved to cuddle. Margie didn't like being held, but she loved hanging out in her little pirate ship for hours and hours. Francie never stopped moving. Jumper... jumped. Mysty was in love with my brother (She would spend all day in her pocket hammock ignoring us. But if Karl walked by, her little head would pop out immediately.) Bart loved his Bach.

We spent hours watching pairs of rats run on their wheel, doing flips and all kinds of tricks. We watched rats run up and down the levels of their cage with mouths full of paper towels to add to their bed. We watched healthy rats take care of sick rats. We saw rats bruxing and eye boggling- signs of contentment. Our nails and hair have been groomed by rats. We cheered as our boy rats presented us with boxing matches.

I sought every opportunity to convert people to "rattism". Even the local newspaper took notice. I was immediately successful with my dad, who would watch TV at night while Nosi sat on his shoulder wrapped in a blanket. It took a little longer with my sister, since Notti saw fit to stick her tail in Sarah's mouth the first time they met. Notti was one of the rats that I will remember the most because of her constant antics. She strove to live up to her name. Daily. Disappearing into the couch, screaming during baths, jumping several feet onto my mother, chewing holes in computer cords, sticking her tail in unsuspecting mouths... After Nosi died, Notti showed a definite decline in her naughty habits and became quite the calm cuddly girl.

Through owning rats (truly being owned BY rats) I learned many things. I saw how excited baby rats get when they are introduced to new foods, given a cage of their own, and covered with a fleece blanket. I experienced bonding with tiny little beings who depended on me entirely, loved me unconditionally, and worshiped me willingly. I gained great debating skills through defending animals who are so misunderstood thanks to their wild relatives. I learned about providing for those I was responsible for by spending over half of my fast food pay checks on bigger cages, better bedding, hammock materials, natural remedies, healthy food, and lots of yogurt drops. I saw the connection rats make with each other, and how sad they became when a friend died. I helped them fight for their lives when needed. I had the difficult responsibility of deciding when we should stop fighting even though my rats couldn't tell me when they were through with the fight. And I learned to help my best friends cross over to Rainbow Bridge with as much love as I could. I saw the value of life even in these tiny animals.

Now that I'm a little older, I understand that I can't actually save the rats of the world by opening a shelter. But I can help everyone understand what amazing little creatures they are. Everyone, that is, except for the mail lady.

It's the end of the rattie era for me. So goodbye Nosi, Notti, Jumper, Mysty, Francie, Margie, Nilla, Wafer, Donovan, Bart, Scout, Opal, Zebedee, Forney, and Leland.