# Please Support Mainely Rat Rescue **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 24, 2011, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-support-mainely-rat-rescue/590158 "2011-07-24T06:19:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-support-mainely-rat-rescue/590158/1 "2011-07-24T06:19:57Z")
from Craigslist: > [@](#): > > This organization is run solely by volunteers and they need help. It has been almost 4 months since MRR took in approximately 90..mostly female --rats from a hoarding situation …So far many females have given birth to over 100 babies…Yes I said over 100 babies. Before they came they already had many adults and 63 babies in the rescue and 18 more were born from the current rats they had..so MRR now has over 200 babies and growing and over 100 adults and to top it all off there was just another hoarding case in Elliot Maine so alot more rats were taken in and many of them are pregnant. They had to leave some behind because of lack of foster homes.. All are in need of permanent or foster homes as they do not have a shelter to house these rats, it is all done by volunteers. Please spread the word to fellow rat lovers. There is a wish list below and 2 links. Cash donations are needed as well and all donations are tax deductible. They are also having a raffle right now with some great prizes to support their spay/nueter program. > > The amount of food they go thru in a week is pictured below and this is only if they feed them this sparingly..that means days with getting lab blocks only..and boy the ratties arent happy about that.. I thought that this might be satire, but doesn’t look like that. Turns out this rat shelter has a pretty good website [http://www.mainelyratrescue.org/rattieblog2/](http://www.mainelyratrescue.org/rattieblog2/) Since apparently I am not the first guy to doubt the utility of saving the rats, the website provides some helpful explanations here [http://mainelyratrescue.org/rattieblog2/?p=7](http://mainelyratrescue.org/rattieblog2/?p=7) . I look forward to them branching out into saving frogs, cockroaches and trypanosoma brucei. ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-support-mainely-rat-rescue/590158/2 "2011-07-24T07:08:32Z")
Pet rats aren’t my thing, but there’s a distinction that needs to be made. I haven’t checked out the background of every rat they have listed, but it appears the rats they rescue are [“fancy rats”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fancy_rat) which have been specifically bred for the pet trade. Fancy rats are a domesticated version of the brown rat and not merely “tamed” wild rats. Also, they’re not lab rats. I don’t know about cockroach rescue, but as for [frog rescue](http://aquaticfrogs.tripod.com/id24.html)… Hope you found this info useful. Regards, ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-support-mainely-rat-rescue/590158/3 "2011-07-24T14:43:55Z")
Pet rats are smart, sweet, and cute (if you’re the type that can get past bare tails, which I can). I would seriously want some cute pet rats of my own, but a lifespan of only 2-3 years would be heartbreaking to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-support-mainely-rat-rescue/590158/4 "2011-07-24T16:23:24Z")
I couldn’t give a rats arse… ---
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-support-mainely-rat-rescue/590158/5 "2011-07-24T17:40:53Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > I couldn’t give a rats arse… don’t smell a rat here, ehh? Maybe you are right, just a bunch of “volunteers” with nothing better to do with their time. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-support-mainely-rat-rescue/590158/6 "2011-07-24T17:54:34Z")
> [@code\_grey](#): > > don’t smell a rat here, ehh? Maybe you are right, just a bunch of “volunteers” with nothing better to do with their time. It’s their time to do with as they please. Go to hell. ---
**Author:** ![Critical\_Mass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@Critical\_Mass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical_Mass)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-support-mainely-rat-rescue/590158/7 "2011-07-24T18:02:58Z")
This is a very strange thread. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-support-mainely-rat-rescue/590158/8 "2011-07-24T18:20:05Z")
I haven’t owned pet rats, but have known some. They make excellent pets - quite clean and intelligent. I’d rather own a fancy rat than a hamster. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-support-mainely-rat-rescue/590158/9 "2011-07-24T19:57:58Z")
My daughter keeps rats, and they are very nice pets. The short lifespan is a problem, however. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-support-mainely-rat-rescue/590158/10 "2011-07-24T20:12:24Z")
I have the perfect solution. Just start a joint “Cat & Snake Rescue” in the same facility. Problem solved! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Feyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/fbc32d/32.png) [@Feyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feyrat)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-support-mainely-rat-rescue/590158/11 "2011-07-24T23:18:37Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > I have the perfect solution. Just start a joint “Cat & Snake Rescue” in the same facility. Problem solved! 😃 Wow, you’re a jerk. I’m always amazed at how many people think that’s an ok sort of thing to say when they find out people have pet rats. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-support-mainely-rat-rescue/590158/12 "2011-07-25T02:38:14Z")
We have had pet rats for a few years now. (Nominally my son’s pets but guess who does the bulk of the care?) If you hand raise them they are very good clean, relatively low maintenance pets. If you get them when they are older and haven’t been socialized well they can be a bit tough to deal with. If I was nearby I would consider rescuing a pair or so of girlie rats. [Here](http://s279.photobucket.com/albums/kk145/juliefoolie/Norman%20and%20Desiree/) are a few pictures of our first girls Norma(n)\* and Desiree. \*My son named Norman after the character in Short Circuit. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-support-mainely-rat-rescue/590158/13 "2011-07-25T03:31:39Z")
> [@Feyrat](#): > > I’m always amazed at how many people think that’s an ok sort of thing to say when they find out people have pet rats. No kidding. Everyone thinks it’s funny, but if dog or cat owners got “jokes” every time about making Chinese food or the number of ways to skin a cat or something, they’d get sick of hearing it too. It’s scary how often when people learn I have pet rabbits, they have to joke about making my rabbits into dinner/fur items, or tell me terrible stories about the rabbit they/their dog killed, how they managed to kill a pet rabbit as a kid, etc., without even thinking twice. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-support-mainely-rat-rescue/590158/14 "2011-07-25T04:08:17Z")
I hear all kinds of cat jokes and make them myself. I make most of them about my own cats. (“I don’t own cats, I own a pair of future slippers”, etc) Humour doesn’t always have to be taken personally. ---
**Author:** ![Feyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/fbc32d/32.png) [@Feyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feyrat)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-support-mainely-rat-rescue/590158/15 "2011-07-25T05:29:33Z")
I’ve got cats and dogs as well - people DO make a lot of running-over-cats, I-hate-cats type of statements when you say you have cats. Some people are apparently raised by wolves and have no sense of normal politeness. Still, I have never gotten anything like the graphic, detailed descriptions that people feel it’s ok to drop on me when they hear I have rats - descriptions of rats their snake eats, rats they’ve seen killed, rats they caught on glue or snap traps, how much they HATE rats and want to poison them. It only ratchets up when they find out I actually breed and show them, when you’d think a normal person would be embarrassed about showing their ass that way. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-support-mainely-rat-rescue/590158/16 "2011-07-25T05:58:59Z")
> [@Feyrat](#): > > Wow, you’re a jerk. > > I’m always amazed at how many people think that’s an ok sort of thing to say when they find out people have pet rats. I sometimes refer to my dog as my “emergency food supply.” Lighten up. ---
**Author:** ![Feyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/fbc32d/32.png) [@Feyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feyrat)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-support-mainely-rat-rescue/590158/17 "2011-07-25T06:10:19Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I sometimes refer to my dog as my “emergency food supply.” Lighten up. That’s YOUR dog. You can say anything you want about your own pet. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-support-mainely-rat-rescue/590158/18 "2011-07-25T06:23:30Z")
I think they could solve a lot of their trouble by just feeding the rats, rats.