Why Do so many people dislike rats??

I like rats, all the rats I have met have been very friendly creatures. I would have a pet rat if my wife did not have a phobia of them.

I had two pet rats about 5 years ago. They were gorgeous - one black, one brown. They are incredible pets, very friendly and amazingly intelligent. They appeared to understand their names, and when I came in from work they would be right up at the top of their cage, noses out, squeaking excitedly. My flatmate and I would let them out to run around as much as possible as they were so intelligent it almost seemed cruel to have them in a cage. They are very clean, not smelly at all and very friendly. They would sit on our shoulders, nuzzling our necks all evening sometimes. I have never understood why people are so freaked out by them!

for me, it depends on the variety of rats/mice. i hate black ones and big ones, too. they look so yucky and disgusting. but i like white mice. they are so cute and even playful.

I think it depends on the rat, if it is a house pet then I don't see any bad reasons why to hate it. But if it destroys your house then I think the best thing is to get rid of it.

the people iv asked this question say its their tails they dont like!?! i dont understand it personally! iv had four rats now and hope to have more soon. they are the best petsyou could have. theyr easy to keep, dont smell, dont bite bt they do make you feel guilty keeing them in a cage as they like to run around and explore! somtimes they would sleep in my hair lol. i think that ppl need to think about the fact that so many ppl do keep them as pets so they really cant b as bad as they are portrayed on tv!

I have no idea why people hate rats. They are very tame and cute. I don't have a pet rat but I'd like one. They have a bad reputation, and it's unfair.

I was terrified of rats until about a year ago when my daughter teased me into holding one, and you know they are really really cute. The pet store owner also talked her out a $25 guinea pig and into a $5 rat because they are really very smart. we have 3 girl rats named Ron, Rufus and Kim and really love them. We have trouble with rufus because no matter how much we try to interact she does not want much to do with us unless we have treats, but that can occur with abotu any pet.

Many people think automatically of the plague when you mention rats or sewer rats and so expect pet rats to be dirty and smelly. Also rats are nearly always protrayed as vicious. Pet rats are nothing like this. In fact my 2 girls are the most loving, clean, intelligent animals I have ever kept yet my mum is still terrified of them because of their tail (which seems to be an issue with a lot of the people I know) My uncle and dad have a bit of a problem seeing rats as pets after growing up on a farm where a rat is classed as an enemy due to them coming into the barns and stealing food. To them rats will always be a pest. There is also the subject of Weil's disease which can be transmitted through the urine of a wild rat or mouse. It can also be transmitted through dogs and rabbits but people tend to conveniently forget that. I think it all stems back to old superstitious nonsense where only evil was out at night and rats are largely nocturnal animals

Well i know why my friends mother hates rats. the movie Willard, i have not personally seen it; but i guess its some sort of Rat horror movie. and my own mother hates the tails. i have 4 rats of my own, hairless rats, and i love them to bits! the thing i hate the most is when parents give their small children a gerbil or hamster, they are normally mean and bite, where as rats rarely bite if ever. i have seen cases where the kids do horrid things to rats, but the rats still dont bite and still love and trust humans. im amazed more people dont realize how awsome rats are. all we can do as rat lovers and owners is to teach people that rats are not the big brown foaming at the mouth evil things that movies portray them as. if you watch a movie with a dungeon or some sort of scene with a rat or two in it. i can guarantee that the rat is a fancy rat that was trained to do that job of running across the screen. if you see a movie like this, watch the extras if you get the dvd. i saw one once and the actors couldnt get over how sweet the rat really was! well thas all i got.