More than 25 rats are looking for a new home after they were surrendered to the Guelph Humane Society (GHS).
Natalie Thomas, marketing and communications manager at the GHS, said the rats were brought to the shelter on Tuesday night.
The owner, who lives outside of the Guelph area, was no longer able to care for them.
“A lot of rescues don’t take rats, so eventually they got a hold of us and we will accept rats, of course,” said Thomas.
“It was one surrender and they surrendered them all into our care.”
For the GHS, large animals surrendering like this are not uncommon. In the past, the GHS took in 105 cats, and this year 36 rabbits have been surrendered into their care in total.
“It was rabbits earlier this year and now it seems to be rats,” said Thomas, “It comes in waves, so it’s not out of the question to have large surrenders.”
With rats, Thomas mentions owners have to be careful while keeping male and females together, as the gestation period is between 21 to 28 days.
“Rats can have anywhere from, say five to 12 babies in a litter,” she said, “So she had five babies and there was already a litter of 12 babies from another mom, and we found that one other female is pregnant. She is quite big and she's going to delivery any day.”
“It can get out of control really quickly.”
On Friday, two more rats were surrendered to the GHS, bringing their total number of available rats to 32.
“We’re busy with rats for sure,” said Thomas.
When kept in same-sex pairs, or keep male and female rats in separate cages, rats can make good pets for the right home.
“I think there are a lot of misconceptions about rats,” said Thomas, “You associate them with garbage and sewers, and they’re actually exceptionally clean and they even clean themselves more than cats do.”
She adds they are easy to train, enjoy enrichment and are social creatures who can make good starter pets for families.
“If your kids want a pet, a dog or cat is a 10 to 20-year commitment, and with a rat they generally live for one to three years.”
Now, eight male rats will be available for adoption. The female rats are on a pregnancy watch, and will not yet go up for adoption. The baby rats will also need a couple more weeks with the mother before they are given away.
For those who are interested in adoption, Thomas said to do research beforehand.
“Yes, their life expectancy isn’t that long, but they do require a certain amount of care.”
