Monday, June 26, 2017

In Comes The Babysitter

I have some great friends who went on a went on a week long trip.  They have lots of very cute pets, including cats, ferrets, and rats.  Since it was going to be rather hot out during the week they were gone & their A/C was trying to give out on them, Resha asked if I would be so kind to babysit her 3 little rat babies.  With Lee's okay, I said yes.  The week of rat sitting had begun.

Okay, to start off with, I had a pet rat when I was a teenager.  Her name was Spot and she was a beautiful rat.  Her markings are what they call a hooded rat, with the body being white and  their head another color.  Spot had a caramel colored head with one little spot of the same color in the center of her back, hence her name Spot.  She was an amazing little friend who would often be the only one I could talk to when I was going through rough times, saying rat words of comfort back to me.  It broke my heart when I had to let her go but I never forgot what a great friend and companion she was.

Now, for those of you who think that rats are dirty creatures, allow me to clarify a few things.  Yes, they do have a distinct aroma, but it isn't bad as long at you replace the bedding on a regular basis and wipe down their cage each time you do.  They are very good at keeping themselves clean.

Camilla (the dark one), Corrin (the one with the white markings on her side), and Elise(the one under Camilla)


Meet my little guests.  They cracked me up with their antics and I spoiled them rotten.  They got lots of fresh veggies & they loved the carrots the best.  Fresh green apples were okay but fresh strawberries were well received.  Since they were still young, I didn't want to pick them up but I was able to pet them from time to time.  I made friends with them quickly by giving them treats every day.   

When Resha came to pick them up, she swore that they had gotten a lot bigger and that they seemed very happy.  She even laughed when I told her that my cats didn't bother them at all.  In fact, Oscar seemed rather spooked of them and Gabby liked to watch them without approaching the cage.  Resha said that her cats liked to watch "Rat TV" as she called it.  It was a lot of fun watching after these funny, little girls and I look forward to visiting them when I visit Resha and her family.