Thank you for making me feel better about our time in our old victorian house - I "set free" all the mice my cat would catch.  He rarely killed them, he often just brought them to me & I would take them to the field behind our house.  Many people couldn't understand my need to do this, but it wasn't even a decision in my head.  I was not killing any mice.

Wow.  I've met a couple very nice pet rats over the years (I'd take a rat over a ferret any day, were I to have a rodent as a pet, which is unlikely), but never seen anything like that video.

I loooove rats and mice, but unfortunately I don't think I'll ever be able to adopt any - not with my dogs and cat, anyway. We had some mice in our last place, and Ozzy (the cat) managed to kill a few. And several of my dogs have kill records too - rabbits, moles and birds, mostly.

By the way, if anyone ever has a mouse "problem," the green humane 'smart' traps work wonderfully. We caught quite a few mice with them, which allowed me to indulge in my mouse-ternal instincts, if only for a few days at a time. (If I happened to catch them during a cold snap, I'd hang onto them until it got warmer out. Don't worry, I always set them free!)

I like that movie Ratatouille... but I couldn't but notice, after going vegan, that the star rat wanted to be essentially human-like. Clearly, this was an attempt to "educate" young children in how to be proper humans, not be "dirty" and so on, but you know... it made rats look bad except when they were cooperating with humans by cooking food for them.

I think it's a great movie nonetheless.

LOVE the vid. I wonder if there is a difference between how cats will behave towards domesticated rats vs wild ones. My cat has the hunter in him...

I am always infuriated when scientists exclaim "most of the animals we use are rats and mice" as if that makes things more tolerable or when people will kill rodents in their homes when trapping and preventing is completely possible.

When we bought our house, we had pests galore (the lovely inspector missed them, which is probably good for their sakes that I moved in). We had to kill carpenter ants unfortunately due to all of my humane attempts going awry. But, BOTH (yes both) species of mice that decided to visit my home were successfully captured and relocated to an area where there was food and abandoned buildings. My cat helped me catch a couple, despite him killing one he killed one :-( and I also trapped three others.

We have not had mouse problems since knock on wood. So, it is possible to deal with mammalian pests in a humane way.

What an adorable video - a real eye opener that species can get along... I wonder if they were all raised together as babies?  And how does cat feel about other rats that aren't "his"? 

Don't they have the cutest little feet? :) 

I hate RATS, and mice and I'm not to fond of cats. BUT if our cat tries to kill a mouse or bird I always try to stop it. I know it's nature but the cat isn't starving. I have a thing about life and death and feel ALL life is precious so I gave up meat about ten years ago, then about 5 years ago stopped buying or wearing leather. About the same time I stopped killing insects too. My rational is where do we draw the line? And who sets the bar? If we set the bar at zero then we we will never have to justify the killing of anything. All living things want to go on living (except some people) On the other hand if we kill an insect, or a mouse or rat why not the cat, elephant or each other? The answer is we do. Someone set the bar higher.

Don't they have the cutest little feet? :)

YES! So tiny and stubby!

*squeals*

I seem to recall watching a documentary about how apes evolved from rodents who began to live in trees. So... rodents are our ancestors in the not-too-distant past. We should revere them!

I'm not able to watch the video because of a slow internet connection at home and a firewall at work. 

When we moved into our 100+ year old house, it had been vacant for about a year and was loaded with mice and rats.  Mice would run around in the open at night, and we would often hear rats running above the ceiling.  Silverware had to be washed before each use because the mice seemed to think the drawers were their toilet.  Once we awoke to the sound of a rat dragging a coconut shell down the stairs during the night.

I tried using humane traps to catch mice and take them to the woods, but after a while the mice stopped going in them.  I've transported several rats the same way.  A few years ago some wildlife people told me that relocating wild animals such as rats and mice disrupts the community where they're taken, and that the refugees would probably die fairly soon after it's moved due to several disadvantages.

We have a second order stream running through our yard, and one winter when it was at maximum flow I caught a mouse and released it to the opposite side of the stream, thinking that it would serve as a barrier.  The mouse went straight for the creek, jumped in, and swam across all in about five seconds, then ran about 80 yards across the snow straight back to the house.  I wondered how many times I had caught and released that same mouse.

Eventually we got a kitten to help, and but the day we went to take her to get spayed, she escaped and got pregnant though she should've been too young.  So now we have five sterilized cats instead of one.  This still didn't get the mice out of the house, since they just hid in the walls most of the time.  (We'd be happy to have mice if they didn't eat holes in bags of stored food, pass stool and urine indiscriminately in the kitchen drawers and cabinets, etc., but we just can't live like that.)  Last summer while turning the compost and manure piles on separate occasions, I found two black rat snakes and brought them to our attic, where they could have free access to everywhere the cats can't go.  I don't know if the snakes stayed or left, but the mice and rats seem to have left.

It's a dilemma. I think though there is some type of device that plugs in to an outlet and sonically drives them out. Have you tried it?

Rats are cool.. and a lot smarter than I thought they were. I befriended one at the shelter I work at, and when I had to leave him he would watch me leave, and continue to watch me through the window in the door as I stood in the hallway.
I also used to hold him, and he liked to cuddle in my hands. It was fun bringing him different treats every day to see what he liked. He was a real sweet little guy...I hope he got a home; I never wanted to find out what happened to him.

I have shared my life with domesticated rats for over a decade now and they are one of the most agreeable creatures on the planet.  It is amazing to me how uneducated people are about them and how willing they are to accept the stereotypes that the media dish out.

Rats are extremely clean, extremely intelligent, and have a vast capacity for love, affection, caring and forgiving.  I have taken in many a neglected or abused rat and every time I can't help but be surprised at how loving they become and how forgiving of people they are - even though people have been unkind to them.

They absolutely ADORE their humans, and will develop lifelong bonds with their cagemates.  They thrive in groups of their own kind which makes it horrific if they are kept alone.  They grieve horribly when they lose a companion and that alone makes what we do to them unforgivable.

And just as a footnote, domesticated rats who are companions and who are used for laboratory testing are the exact same species as their wild counterparts.  They are all Rattus norvegicus and display the same emotional capabilities in the wild as they do in captivity.

Rats Have Rights!

I ADORE RATS AND MICE. I'V HAD 5 RATS IN MY LIVE AND THEY HAVE NOW ALL GONE TO HEAVEN,AND I MISS THEM ALL SOOOOO... VERY MUCH. THEY MADE MY LIVE SO HAPPY AND ALL OF THEM SHOWED SO MUCH LOVE FOR ME EACH AND EVERY DAY THEY WHERE A LIVE. THEY ARE LIKE A DOG OR CAT. ALL RATS AND MICE DO DESERVE AFFECTION,LOVE,KINDNESS AND FAIR TREATMENT. AND I ALSO HAVE HAD MICE FOR PETS TO AND THEY TO MAKE GOOD PETS. I DON'T KILL ANY MICE OR RATS THAT COMES TO MY HOME FROM THE WILD. I JUST USE A LIVE TRAP AND THEN RELEASE THEM BACK IN THE WILD FAR AWAY FROM HUMANS AS POSSIBLE SO THEY DON'T END UP BACK IN SOME ONES HOUSE TO BE KILLED IN A GLUE TRAP TO STARVE AND SUFFER TO DEATH OR TO CHEW THEIR LEGS OFF TO GET OUT OF THE TRAPS THAT UNKIND HUMANS PUT OUT FOR THEM.HOW HORRIBLE IS THAT. DOESN'T LIVE MATTER TO YOU PEOPLE OUT THERE ? ALL OF GOD'S CREATURES, AND THAT MEANS US HUMANS TO, ARE ALL CREATURES OF THIS EARTH AND WE ALL SHOULD TREAT EACH OTHER WITH THE MOST COMPASSION IN OUR EVERY DAY LIVES AND THAT DOES INCLUDE ALL ANIMALS BIG OR SMALL OR VERY SMALL LIKE THESE PRECIOUS, INNOCENT, LOVING,SENSITIVE AND VERY INTELLIGENT RATS AND MICE.  " I HOLD THAT THE MORE HELPLESS A CREATURE, THE MORE ENTITLED IT IS TO PROTECTION BY MAN FROM THE CRUELTY OF MAN " AND THIS IS SO TRUE.  SO IF THERE IS ANYONE OUT THERE THAT REALLY WANTS TO HELP THE RATS AND ALL OTHER SMALL RODENTS. DON'T BUY..... MARS CANDY..... OF ANY KIND CAUSE MARS CANDY KILLS!!! WITH EVERY MARS CANDY BAR OR BAG THEY USE THAT MOENY TO DO UNCIVILIZED PAINFUL AND DEADLY EXPERIMENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA FUNDED BY MARS CANDY INC.  TO KILL INNOCENT ANIMALS. PLEASE REMEMBER EVERY TIME YOU EAT A MARS M&M'S, SNICKERS, TWIX, SKITTLES,STARBURST,MILKY WAY AND 3 MUSKETEERS YOU WOULD BE ALLOWING THE DEATHS OF INNOCENT LOVING ANIMALS THAT COULD BE A PET FOR SOME ONE WHO CARES. PLEASE LETS ALL BE LIKE THE VIDEO ABOVE AND LOVE ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL. LETS PLEASE SAVE THEM ALL FROM SUCH PAINFUL AND LONELY DEATHS. IF THE RATS AND CAT IN THE VIDEO CAN LOVE ONE ANOTHER AND GET ALONG ... THEN WHY CAN'T WE ? PLEASE LOOK INTO YOUR HEART AND PLEASE DO THE RIGHT THING AND LETS SAVE GOD'S GIFTS TO US. ALL THE ANIMALS EVEN ALL RATS AND MICE.  MAY GOD BE IN ALL OUR HEARTS AND I WISH YOU ALL MUCH PEACE AND LOVE.  PLEASE BE KIND!!!!

THIS COMMENT ABOVE IS IN LOVING MEMORY OF MY BELOVED PET RATS AND MOUSE AND DOG . I LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH. UNTIL I SEE YOU ALL ONCE AGAIN IN HEAVEN,THAT WELL BE THE HAPPIEST DAY EVER, I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU ALL AND BE TOGETHER FOR ETERNITY.  WITH ALL MY LOVE TO  MICKY, DYNA, SNOOPY, CHASE, RASCAL AND SCRAPPY MY RATS AND MOUSE AND MY DOG, LANCE MY VERY LOYAL COMPANION. YOU ALL ARE HEAVENS ANGELS, WATCHING OVER ME NOW. AND TO MY DOG I HAVE NOW IDYLL. I'LL LOVE HIM SO MUCH TOO. MY LOVE WELL NEVER EVER END FOR ANY ONE OF YOU EVER . THAT'S MY PROMISE TO EACH OF MY PRECIOUS LOVING PETS. LOVE YOU ALL ALWAYS AND FOREVER. MOMMY

My university student senate is now discussing ways to kill the "rat menace plaguing campus." I often see rats roaming around campus and wave at them. I just think, "Cuuute!" So when I found a Facebook group some of my friends had joined called "HOYAS against rats on campus!" which says "Kill the rats!" and where one of my friends posted how she sees rat families running around and just thinks it's "so disgusting," I was really disappointed. I can't believe people actually consider this an issue, what with the fact that our mass slaughter of pigs has led to a human epidemic... the rats haven't caused any problems other than the fact that people don't like seeing rats. Someone mentioned setting lose some feral cats on campus.... why are feral cats superior to feral rats?

Also, over the summer, I lived in a student house, and my vegetarian roommate discovered a rat on the porch. She immediately was like, "We have to get rid of him." Then the other housemates came in, and they were all talking about killing, poisoning, trapping the rat. And my roommate, who always talks about how much she loves animals, was not objecting at all. I was on the phone, but I walked over and said, "You can't kill the rat."

Some people amaze me. My one housemate who got me was going to help me set up a humane rat trap, but he apparently got away without that being necessary.