A rat is not just for Christmas...

Here I am, studying abroad, in London and not in cold, snowy, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Why aren’t I thrilled and having "the time of my life." It’s not really that I’m homesick. I mean I miss the friends, and the boy, but I’m dealing with that just fine. I think it’s the pet rat that I really miss.

That’s right: pet rat.

As we moved into our dorm room this fall, my roommate, Miki asked me, "Can we get a pet rat?" I gave her my please-come-back-down-to-planet earth look. She simply responded with, "I saw this cute punk guy this summer with one—it was really cool." Still thinking she was a little off her rocker, I went to work the next day and discovered, on the front page of the leisure section a story on the local Pennsylvania Pet Rat Society.

So I gave Miki the benefit of the doubt and my life has not been the same since Owen (the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen) came along. He’s an amazing pet, not the typical hamster or bunny—he’s much more sociable and a very interesting little fellow. And now that I’m in London, I miss him like mad.

Before I go on about him anymore, I want to make sure you don’t get the wrong idea about the states. This is not that common of a thing. The reaction this fall when I bounced up to my friends, exclaiming "Guess What! I got a pet rat today!" was followed by confused looks and inquires about the Bubonic Plague. (There was one exception, something along the lines of "Really, you can bring him over to meet my rat!" from my friend Eric)

Along with the plague comments, people are in disbelief that I have a pet rat, asking, "Doesn’t he bite?" and "Aren’t you scared of getting some disease?" Miki’s normal reply to this is "What do you think—that we found him one day while we were playing in the sewer?" I tend to take a more direct response, explaining that Owen is a clean, healthy, domesticated animal who was bought at a pet store; saved from becoming snake food.

I think that it’s clear that pet rats are more suited to a college student’s lifestyle than any other sort of pet. I mean, rats function almost exactly like students. Nocturnal by nature, Owen is most active around 9 p.m. at night. But he naps all the time, day and night, and is always ready to come out and play. He loves to eat; his favourite foods are dry cereals and bagels (the staples of most American college students). He lives in a regular size aquarium (hmm, remind anyone of a dorm room?) that fits easily under the bed or cabinets, where ever the Dorm Advisor won’t notice it.

But the reason Owen makes such a great pet is that rats are incredibly social animals. Unlike many of his rodent relatives Owen does not look at you reaching into his house to pick him up, turn his back to you and go to sleep. Nope, that’s not a rat. Before you even get to the cage, Owen is jumping up and down or climbing around eager to greet you, soon he’ll be scrambling onto your hand to be lifted out of his tank.

Depending on what sort of mood he’s in, Owen will then run around with me following him to keep him out of too much mischief but most often he simply clambers up to the back of my neck and just hangs out there, checking everything out as I go about the room, cleaning or doing homework. Other times, after all that excitement over coming out, he simply curls up in the crook of my arm and goes to sleep. Silly rat.

Owen is always eager to go outside or visiting people. I’m pretty sure he thinks the hoods of sweatshirts were put there just for him. Eric’s pet rat seems to have the same attitude about the arm of Eric’s jacket. If we are going to a crowded area or a longer distance Owen likes riding around in an old purse of mine, as long as you give him a handful of carrot slivers. Unbeknown to my boss (one of the "Oh my goodness, are you sure you won’t get a disease from it?" crew) Owen came along with me to my library job quite a few times, enjoying himself thoroughly as he’d curl up on my lap under the desk and go to sleep as I’d pet him. Eric takes his rat to class with him. They are wonderful company and more.

I swear that pet rats do something to their owners. I went from not having said the word cute since junior high into using it on a daily basis, in such phrases directed at Owen such as "Hey there cutie!" and exclamations of "Owen, you are just so damn cute!" It’s hilarious to watch Eric and his ‘tough punk’ friends imitate his rat, scrunching their faces up and waving their hands like whiskers. I’ve seen aloof ravers break into giggles as they played with the baby rats that "popped out of" the rat the Eric’s roommate went and got because he liked Eric’s so much. And all of those people started immediately laying claims on one of the baby rats for themselves.

So it’s kind of embarrassing, the way a pet rat makes you act, yet it makes you happy and it’s so much fun. I can just sit around for hours and watch Owen running around on my bed exploring. (Of course it’s an old bedcover and I keep tissues handy although most of the time you can tell when he’s just about to you-know-what and run him back to his tank.) He just pokes around and washes himself but it’s amazing and warms your heart when he comes running back to you after getting a little to close to the edge. But then he decides he’ll be super-rat again, and runs off to check out that corner.

Like all animals, a happy rat like this does require care and a little training. You need to change his cage filling twice a week or whenever it starts to smell. It’s best to get the rat when he’s a baby, so that it is easier for him to adjust to you, although any age can make a good pet. (Careful if you are getting an older female - if she’s been in a mixed group of rats there’s a chance you might have babies on your hands in a few weeks!) The first few times, he won’t want to come out but pick him up anyway (carefully!) and give him a treat. Cuddle him and carry him around a lot and you’ll soon have a good buddy like Owen who can’t wait to come out and see you.

Make sure he gets a good balanced diet—many pet stores have lab pellets/ chunks for rodent pets such as hamsters and gerbils. They contain all the nutrients he’ll need and have to be gnawed so their teeth will stay in good shape. And if he’s like Owen and doesn’t care for the taste of them very much, saving them to eat until everything else is gone, he uses them as toys; carrying them around and stacking them.

Oh, Owen, that’s definitely what I’m missing here in England. A furry creature who’s the best company around. I think I’ll call Miki now to see how my little buddy’s doing. And try to forgive London over- the fact that Owen’s in Pittsburgh. He’ll want me to be enjoying myself