First page of the pet rat archive.
Posted by Big Rat on Campus on May 21, 2013 in
Rat News
Two weeks earlier we had driven from our new home in the Wye Valley to the
RSPCA centre at Newport. We had wanted a dog for years, but our lives in
London had made it impossible and we had had to be content with pet rats
instead. Rats make surprisingly clever pets, but now that we had a garden
surrounded by farmland, and woods and walks in every direction, it seemed
the ideal time to make the move from Roland to Rover.
Animal rescue centres are gloomy places. However dedicated the staff, or clean
the facilities, there is no escaping the fact that you are going to see rows
of creatures that have been abandoned, mistreated, or are simply unwanted.
We walked along the enclosures, past Staffies, rottweilers, yappy little
terriers and sad-eyed old faithfuls – dogs of every shape, size and
age. ‘It’s impossible,’ I whispered to Ludo. ‘How do you even begin to
choose?’ ‘This is your dog, right here,’ he said.
We had come to a kennel where a small, scruffy black and white mongrel was
jumping up and down repeatedly, as if to say, ‘Pick me! Pick me!’ We
stopped; he kept bouncing. ‘You’re right,’ I said, ‘he’s the one.’
Elaine, the centre manager, looked at us questioningly. ‘You’re really
interested in Junior? He’s been with us for months. No one wants him.’
‘Why not?’ I asked, imagining she was going to reveal that behind his
cartoon-cuteness lurked a savage killer. ‘Too bouncy.’ Ludo and I looked at
each other. A too-bouncy dog! Who could resist? ‘What’s his history?’ ‘Not
very happy, I’m afraid,’ Elaine said. ‘He was rescued from a flat where he
was shut in a room and, from what we can gather, was rarely fed or let out.
All the white parts of his coat were stained yellow with urine and he
weighed under half what he does now, and he’s still underweight. The officer
who went to pick him up said he was the thinnest dog he’d ever seen that was
still alive. Do you want to meet him properly?’
The day came when we could pick him up. We’d had the requisite home check,
registered with a local vet and enrolled in dog-training classes. Clutching
a brand new collar and lead I followed Elaine round to his kennel. We’d been
to visit him several times, and on Elaine’s advice, taken things from home
that would smell of us. I gathered up my old sweatshirt, a towel and a pair
of Ludo’s socks. ‘We’re going to change his name,’ I confessed. ‘That’s OK.
We don’t know what he was called before, so we just called him Junior for
our records.’ We walked to the car and I opened the boot. The dog
formerly-known-as-Junior stood looking bewildered. His bounce was gone. I
lifted him in and drove him to his new home. Over the course of the journey
he climbed from the boot to the back seat, cautiously moved to the front
seat, and then inched on to my lap, where he sat, surveying the landscape
over the top of the steering wheel. ‘Horatio!’ I said softly. Nothing.
‘Agamemnon!’ Not a stir.
‘I think we should call you Badger. It may not make you feel magnificent but
it won’t make me feel like a prat if I lose you on a walk.’
So Junior became Badger, the fourth dog with that name within three miles of
our house, we were to discover. So no marks for originality, but four years
down the line he is definitely magnificent – in a bouncy, scruffy sort of
way. katesfarm.org
Article source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/9028461/Kates-farm-The-rescue-dog.html
Tags: Pet, pet rat, pet rats, Pets, Rat..., Rats
Posted by Big Rat on Campus on May 19, 2013 in
Rat News CALGARY – Officials with the City of Calgary are trying to figure out whether a badly decomposed rat in a found in a southeast neighbourhood Friday was a pet or came into the city on a truck.
Alberta prides itself on being rat-free, and has only seen isolated cases of the rodents since the 1950s. Pet rats are forbidden under provincial law and rat sightings are treated with the utmost urgency.
The discovery comes only days after Alberta’s agriculture minister announced that more than a dozen Norway rats were discovered and killed at the dump in Medicine Hat, Alta., which is a few hours drive east of Calgary. Following his announcement, dozens more have been found and killed at the Medicine Hat region’s landfill.
“We take this as a high priority for us, so if people have any thoughts that they’ve seen a rat, call us right away,” said Greg Steinraths, acting director of City of Calgary Animal and Bylaw Services.
The city says the rodent was collected by a bylaw officer after a resident found the rat near his property.
No other evidence of rat activity has been found in the area.
The neighbourhood will be monitored on an ongoing basis until bylaw officers are satisfied there are no more rats.
“Because it is located right by a major thoroughfare, our initial thought is that it is possibly off of a truck,” said Steinraths.
It’s possible to tell the difference between a pet rat and a feral rat based on the animal’s colouring, tail length and skull size, he said.
Calgary gets about 200 rat reports a year, only about four to six of which end up actually being the real thing.
“The majority of those that we go and investigate are muskrats, squirrels, chipmunks — you name it,” said Steinraths.
In Medicine Hat, bylaw officers who usually relocate bull snakes will now take the reptiles to the landfill in the hopes that they will eat the rats. That’s in addition to baited traps and high-definition trail cameras to track the scurrying scavengers.
Ed Jollymore, Medicine Hat’s waste manager, has said it’s all hands on deck to tackle the infestation and believes the media attention the rat problem is getting will help.
Alberta estimates its rat control measures have prevented what would have been $1 billion in rodent-caused damage over the last 50 years.
Agricultural fieldmen, known by Albertans as the “Rat Patrol,” eliminate invading rats within a control zone 600 kilometres long and 30 kilometres wide along the province’s eastern boundary.
The province says one pair of rats can thrive and begin a chain of breeding that can produce as many as 15,000 offspring a year, as long as they are close to food and sheltered from the weather and predators.
Public education campaigns in Alberta routinely stress the importance of keeping the province rat-free. Members of the public are encouraged to learn to identify Norway rats and are urged to alert provincial officials if they spot one.
Article source: http://www.680news.com/news/national/article/393030--rataphooey-norway-rat-found-in-calgary-but-believed-to-be-pet
Tags: Pet, pet rat, pet rats, Pets, Rat..., Rats
Posted by Big Rat on Campus on May 19, 2013 in
Rat News
SAN DIEGO, May 14, 2013 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
While most people come home to curl up with their dogs or cats, an estimated 500 thousand Americans come home to pet rats. It may be surprising to learn that rats are rather social creatures and actually love to snuggle and crave company – either in the form of other rats or their lucky pet parents. To learn more about these great cuddle buddies and how to care for their physical, mental, social and emotional needs, attend any of the Petco(TM) free, family-friendly Meet the Critters events taking place nationwide May 18-19, 2013 from 1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Below are five reasons why rats make great companions:
– They’re appreciative: While spending time with their pet parents, rats may grind their teeth in something called “bruxing.” Reasons for bruxing are similar to why cats purr – they’re emotionally happy!
– They’re considerate: Rats have been known to travel in packs and like to be socially engaged. They may even take care of their sick or injured friends.
– They’re clean: Rats like to stay clean, and to keep physically fit they will comb their hair and help a friend out at the same time by using their teeth to help them stay attractive.
– They’re likely to remember pet parents: Rats have been kept as pets since the early 19th century and are considered the most intelligent rodent for being able to learn simple behaviors such as recognizing faces they see often. Attendees of the family-friendly “Meet the Critters” event can learn more about how to keep rats mentally alert.
– They’re engaging: Pet rats enjoy climbing up and down their habitats, but they also enjoy out-of-cage time. Keep rats physically fit by allowing them to run around in an exercise ball to get some energy out.
Caring for rats can be a fun and unique experience! However, parental supervision is recommended for pet parents under 12. For more information on this month’s “Meet the Critters” event visit www.petco.com/kids.
About PetcoPetco is a leading pet specialty retailer that provides the products, services and advice that make it easier for our customers to be great pet parents. Everything we do is guided by our vision for Healthier Pets. Happier People. Better World. We operate more than 1,200 stores nationwide and in Puerto Rico, including more than 50 Unleashed by Petco locations, a smaller format neighborhood shop, and www.petco.com. The Petco Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization, has raised more than $110 million since it was created in 1999 to help promote and improve the welfare of companion animals. In conjunction with the Foundation, we work with and support thousands of local animal welfare groups across the country and, through in-store adoption events, help find homes for more than 350,000 animals every year.
Contact:Monica Vigo619.501.2756mvigo@west-pr.com
SOURCE Petco
http://rt.prnewswire.com/rt.gif?NewsItemId=LA12647Transmission_Id=201305140900PR_NEWS_USPR_____LA12647DateId=20130514
Copyright (C) 2013 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
Article source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/five-reasons-why-a-rat-may-be-your-new-best-friend-2013-05-14
Tags: Pet, pet rat, pet rats, Pets, Rat..., Rats
Posted by Big Rat on Campus on May 19, 2013 in
Rat News
SAN DIEGO, May 14, 2013 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
While most people come home to curl up with their dogs or cats, an estimated 500 thousand Americans come home to pet rats. It may be surprising to learn that rats are rather social creatures and actually love to snuggle and crave company – either in the form of other rats or their lucky pet parents. To learn more about these great cuddle buddies and how to care for their physical, mental, social and emotional needs, attend any of the Petco(TM) free, family-friendly Meet the Critters events taking place nationwide May 18-19, 2013 from 1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Below are five reasons why rats make great companions:
– They’re appreciative: While spending time with their pet parents, rats may grind their teeth in something called “bruxing.” Reasons for bruxing are similar to why cats purr – they’re emotionally happy!
– They’re considerate: Rats have been known to travel in packs and like to be socially engaged. They may even take care of their sick or injured friends.
– They’re clean: Rats like to stay clean, and to keep physically fit they will comb their hair and help a friend out at the same time by using their teeth to help them stay attractive.
– They’re likely to remember pet parents: Rats have been kept as pets since the early 19th century and are considered the most intelligent rodent for being able to learn simple behaviors such as recognizing faces they see often. Attendees of the family-friendly “Meet the Critters” event can learn more about how to keep rats mentally alert.
– They’re engaging: Pet rats enjoy climbing up and down their habitats, but they also enjoy out-of-cage time. Keep rats physically fit by allowing them to run around in an exercise ball to get some energy out.
Caring for rats can be a fun and unique experience! However, parental supervision is recommended for pet parents under 12. For more information on this month’s “Meet the Critters” event visit www.petco.com/kids.
About PetcoPetco is a leading pet specialty retailer that provides the products, services and advice that make it easier for our customers to be great pet parents. Everything we do is guided by our vision for Healthier Pets. Happier People. Better World. We operate more than 1,200 stores nationwide and in Puerto Rico, including more than 50 Unleashed by Petco locations, a smaller format neighborhood shop, and www.petco.com. The Petco Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization, has raised more than $110 million since it was created in 1999 to help promote and improve the welfare of companion animals. In conjunction with the Foundation, we work with and support thousands of local animal welfare groups across the country and, through in-store adoption events, help find homes for more than 350,000 animals every year.
Contact:Monica Vigo619.501.2756mvigo@west-pr.com
SOURCE Petco
http://rt.prnewswire.com/rt.gif?NewsItemId=LA12647Transmission_Id=201305140900PR_NEWS_USPR_____LA12647DateId=20130514
Copyright (C) 2013 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
Article source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/five-reasons-why-a-rat-may-be-your-new-best-friend-2013-05-14
Tags: Pet, pet rat, pet rats, Pets, Rat..., Rats
Posted by Big Rat on Campus on May 18, 2013 in
Rat News
Find Out More About These Surprisingly Cuddly, Social Animals at Petco(TM)'s Free, Family-Friendly "Meet the Critters" Event
SAN DIEGO, May 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — While most people come home to curl up with their dogs or cats, an estimated 500 thousand Americans come home to pet rats. It may be surprising to learn that rats are rather social creatures and actually love to snuggle and crave company — either in the form of other rats or their lucky pet parents. To learn more about these great cuddle buddies and how to care for their physical, mental, social and emotional needs, attend any of the Petco(TM) free, family-friendly Meet the Critters events taking place nationwide May 18-19, 2013 from 1 p.m. — 2 p.m.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130429/MM03037)
Below are five reasons why rats make great companions:
-- They're appreciative: While spending time with their pet parents, rats
may grind their teeth in something called "bruxing." Reasons for bruxing
are similar to why cats purr -- they're emotionally happy!
-- They're considerate: Rats have been known to travel in packs and like to
be socially engaged. They may even take care of their sick or injured
friends.
-- They're clean: Rats like to stay clean, and to keep physically fit they
will comb their hair and help a friend out at the same time by using
their teeth to help them stay attractive.
-- They're likely to remember pet parents: Rats have been kept as pets since
the early 19th century and are considered the most intelligent rodent for
being able to learn simple behaviors such as recognizing faces they see
often. Attendees of the family-friendly "Meet the Critters" event can
learn more about how to keep rats mentally alert.
-- They're engaging: Pet rats enjoy climbing up and down their habitats, but
they also enjoy out-of-cage time. Keep rats physically fit by allowing
them to run around in an exercise ball to get some energy out.
Caring for rats can be a fun and unique experience! However, parental supervision is recommended for pet parents under 12. For more information on this month’s “Meet the Critters” event visit www.petco.com/kids.
About Petco
Petco is a leading pet specialty retailer that provides the products, services and advice that make it easier for our customers to be great pet parents. Everything we do is guided by our vision for Healthier Pets. Happier People. Better World. We operate more than 1,200 stores nationwide and in Puerto Rico, including more than 50 Unleashed by Petco locations, a smaller format neighborhood shop, and www.petco.com. The Petco Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization, has raised more than $110 million since it was created in 1999 to help promote and improve the welfare of companion animals. In conjunction with the Foundation, we work with and support thousands of local animal welfare groups across the country and, through in-store adoption events, help find homes for more than 350,000 animals every year.
Contact:
Monica Vigo
619.501.2756
mvigo@west-pr.com
SOURCE Petco
Article source: http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130514-909024.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Tags: Pet, pet rat, pet rats, Pets, Rat..., Rats
Posted by Big Rat on Campus on May 18, 2013 in
Rat News COCONINO COUNTY – Animal hoarding is on the rise in Arizona and while it’s usually dogs or cats that people collect in large numbers, one woman’s love for rats led her to keeping thousands of them in her home.
It happened in Coconino County and while health officials won’t name the woman involved, they say she had thousands of pet rats in her home, each one with its own special name.
“She knew that it had gotten out of control but she could not bring herself to deal with it,” Marlene Gaither says.
She is talking about thousands of rats a Coconino County woman called family. Gaither is with the Coconino County Public Health Services District and talked about the unusual case at a seminar at Arizona State University Wednesday.
“That many rats would go through several 50-pounds dog foods a night. Fifty-pound bags of dog food a night,” Gaither says.
She says the rats weren’t the only creatures the woman hoarded. She also kept large numbers of tarantulas and hissing cockroaches as roommates and her neighbors finally had enough.
“The homeowner’s association was having a problem with the smell from the house and this is a very respectable, nice neighborhood,” Gaither says.
She says a number of agencies had no choice but to join forces in getting rid of many of the rats, spiders and cockroaches and cleaning up the smelly, damaged home.
The home the woman shared with the rats, cockroaches and tarantulas was lost to foreclosure and Gaither says it was gutted and thoroughly cleaned.
She also says if animal hoarders don’t get help, in 100 percent of the cases they go back to collecting animals.
This woman in Coconino County may be doing that now in another state.
Article source: http://www.azfamily.com/news/Woman-lived-with-hundreds-of-rats-gave-126291088.html
Tags: Pet, pet rat, pet rats, Pets, Rat..., Rats
Posted by Big Rat on Campus on May 17, 2013 in
Rat Answers BEIJING, China — Chinese police have broken up a criminal ring accused of taking meat from rats and foxes and selling it as lamb in the country’s latest food safety scandal.
The Ministry of Public Security released results of a three-month crackdown on food safety violators, saying in a statement that authorities investigated more than 380 cases and arrested 904 suspects.
Among those arrested were 63 people who allegedly ran an operation in Shanghai and the coastal city of Wuxi that bought fox, mink, rat and other meat that had not been tested for quality and safety, processed it with additives like gelatin and passed it off as lamb.
The meat was sold to farmers’ markets in Jiangsu province and Shanghai, it said.
Despite years of food scandals — from milk contaminated with an industrial chemical to the use of industrial dyes in eggs — China has been unable to clean up its food supply chain.
The announcement came as China’s top court on Friday issued guidelines calling for harsher punishment for making and selling unsafe food products in the latest response to tainted food scandals that have angered the public.
The Supreme People’s Court said the guidelines will list as crimes specific acts such as the sale of food excessively laced with chemicals or made from animals that have died from disease or unknown causes.
China’s penal code, which forbids unsafe and poisonous food, does not specify what acts are considered in violation of the law.
Adulterating baby food so that it severely lacks nutrition is also punishable as a crime under the guidelines. Negligent government food inspectors are also targeted for criminal punishment.
The supreme court said 2,088 people have been prosecuted in 2010-2012 in 1,533 food safety cases. It said the number of such cases has grown exponentially in the past several years. For example, Chinese courts prosecuted 861 cases of poisonous food in 2012, compared to 80 cases in 2010.
“The situation is really grave and has indeed caused great harm to the people,” Pei Xianding, a supreme court judge, told a news conference.
“We cannot tolerate it any longer. We must punish the criminals severely, or we cannot answer to our people,” Pei said.
Article source: http://www.theprovince.com/news/asia-pacific/meat+ring+busted+China+selling+rodents+foxes+lamb/8333484/story.html
Tags: Pet, pet rat, pet rats, Pets, Rat..., Rats
Posted by Big Rat on Campus on May 17, 2013 in
Rat News
Add to My News
Story by Stephany Nunneley
Fri, May 17, 2013 | 14:35 BST
Infinite Crisis has revealed Gaslight Joker as its latest champion. The fella “butchers his opponents” with a bloody cleaver and swarms of rats who he hasn’t fed very well. This is what you will have to contend with when fighting the fella in the arena. Hit up the break for a look at his abilities in action. Infinite Crisis is out later this year on PC.
Posted in: MOBA, PC, Videos, Warner Bros.
Tags: Gaslight Joker, Infinite Crisis, turbine
Article source: http://www.vg247.com/2013/05/17/infinite-crisis-video-stars-gaslight-joker-a-cleaver-wielding-maniac-with-pet-rats/
Tags: Pet, pet rat, pet rats, Pets, Rat..., Rats
Posted by Big Rat on Campus on May 16, 2013 in
Rat Answers The mere rumor of a mountain lion sighting in the suburbs merits front-page news. Pet owners fret about coyotes and birds of prey. But what’s worse than having a skunk living under your front porch?
How about a mama skunk and her litter of a half-dozen little stinkers? Not that the additional smell makes much difference.
“One skunk usually is sufficient,” subtly notes Laura Kammin, manager of the Living With Wildlife in Illinois website run by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. From now until maybe the middle of June, skunks give birth to between four and 10 members of the next generation of skunks, and some do so from a comfy spot around your house. While many critters are picky about where they make their homes, skunks are “habitat generalists” and not too persnickety, Kammin says.
Or maybe skunks are just lazy, suggests Brandon Kulosa, president of Animal Trackers Wildlife Co. of Hoffman Estates, which removes nuisance animals throughout the suburbs and has a contract with the village of Hoffman Estates.
“A groundhog will make the equivalent of a three-quarters-of-a-million-dollar mansion with two or three rooms,” Kulosa says. “The skunk will stop after three shovelfuls.”
Skunks often move into a groundhog’s abandoned burrow, Kammin says. But this spring has increased the real estate options for skunks, or Mephitis mephitis, a species so ripe they named it twice.
“All the rain we’ve had makes the ground softer, and it’s easier for them to dig a burrow,” Kammin says.
Our lush suburban yards serve as delicatessens for the odoriferous omnivores, which eat grubs, grasshoppers, beetles, bees, some plants and even mice, rats, baby rabbits, bird eggs and birds.
“In the urban environments, you may very well find them eating on garbage and pet food,” Kammin says. “They especially like the canned cat food.”
A decade ago, a rabies epidemic knocked down the skunk population, but “over the past two or three years or so, the skunk populations have been higher,” says Tim Preuss, wildlife biologist with the Lake County Forest Preserve District. “We typically get more skunk calls.”
While government agencies provide tips to make homes less attractive to skunks, they don’t offer removal services.
In the wild, the skunk’s predators include great horned owls, coyotes, badgers, foxes and bobcats. In the suburbs, skunks are most likely to be done in by a Toyota Camry, a Ford Escape or some animal-control service. It is illegal to trap a skunk or other fur-bearing animal in the suburbs without qualifying for a Nuisance Animal Removal Permit from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which recommends that you hire a professional instead. “People are hesitant to deal with skunks on their own,” Preuss says.
As required by law in this state, where permitted trappers can sell skunk pelts, all commercial trappers must euthanize the skunks, which are still thought to be possible rabies carriers.
Animal Trackers Wildlife Co. uses cage traps to catch skunks alive as they leave their burrows. To limit the range of a trapped skunk’s spray, the cages are lined with cardboard. “Political signs are perfect,” Kulosa says. But not foolproof. About half the caught skunks try to spray their stink on Kulosa, his partner Tony Miltz, or the inside of their truck. Does that make their truck stink?
“Yes, but it also has an odor of feces and urine,” quips Kulosa, who adds that thorough cleanings are frequent.
The best way to remove the skunk spray from a vehicle, your deck or a once-curious family pet is a mixture of one quart of hydrogen peroxide, one-quarter cup of baking soda and one teaspoon of liquid soap with no water, Kammin says.
“The fur might lighten up a little bit because of the peroxide, but you probably don’t care as much if he doesn’t stink anymore,” Kammin says.
“I’ve been sprayed many times,” admits Kulosa, who says stories that a skunk won’t spray if it can’t see you or can’t lift its tail are myths. The best way to get rid of the stink is just to put the sprayed items (or pet) in direct sunlight, which works better that smell-removing products, Kulosa says.
Euthanizing the skunks may sound cruel, but those deaths (usually by toxic gas) are considered a humane alternative to the cruel fate of wild animals relocated in strange new areas filled with new predators and other surprises.
In a few more weeks, skunks will be finished nesting with their litters. That’s when the real busy season for skunk trapping begins, Kulosa says.
“Once the forest preserves are full of skunks, the young skunks have to move out,” Kammin says. “So where they move is our backyard.”
Unless they are eaten by a suburban mountain lion.
Article source: http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130516/news/705169949
Tags: Pet, pet rat, pet rats, Pets, Rat..., Rats
