# Rat or mouse? N.A.F. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 18, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489 "2010-02-18T17:24:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/21 "2010-02-19T14:33:28Z")
Looks like a rat to me. Big feet, big nose. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/22 "2010-02-19T16:25:07Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > That’s a mouse. Agree, mouse. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/23 "2010-02-19T17:09:43Z")
Seems pretty divided. This should have been a poll. 😃 It’s a rat: 6 votes It’s a mouse: 5 votes It’s a rodent: 1 vote ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/24 "2010-02-19T18:05:39Z")
Looks like a mouse to me. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/25 "2010-02-19T18:50:44Z")
I too immediately thought mouse when I saw it. But upon googling pics of both, I’m now unsure. ---
**Author:** ![aawilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e495f1/32.png) [@aawilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aawilson)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/26 "2010-02-19T20:01:33Z")
This is a mouse. Rats are huge. Way bigger than what I see in the picture. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/27 "2010-02-19T20:23:15Z")
> [@aawilson](#): > > This is a mouse. Rats are huge. Way bigger than what I see in the picture. But rats don’t start out huge. I’m inclined to side with the young rat people (as I mentioned above.) ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/28 "2010-02-19T20:25:41Z")
Baby kangaroo. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/29 "2010-02-19T20:45:30Z")
R.O.U.S. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/30 "2010-02-19T20:52:12Z")
Mouse fur tends to be shorter and denser, it would help if we had some scale, is this a small or large cat? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/31 "2010-02-19T20:52:36Z")
Super-intelligent pan-dimensional being that wants to remove and examine my brain in order to secure a lifetime gig on the talk-show circuit. ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/32 "2010-02-19T21:35:14Z")
its a strange foto, but salazarrr(sisters kat) is now 4.5 kilograms [picture from a few years ago](http://s1016.photobucket.com/albums/af283/willthekitten/sdmb/?action=view¤t=salazarrr.jpg) e.t.a. yes you may put captions on both foto’s if you want to ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/33 "2010-02-19T21:48:55Z")
Check his wallet. If his or her name starts with an “M” (Mickey, Mortimer, Minnie, etc.), it’s a mouse. Otherwise, it’s a rat. ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/34 "2010-02-19T21:50:43Z")
wasn’t Moriarty a Rat in some cartoon? ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/35 "2010-02-19T22:51:40Z")
> [@AWB](#): > > Check his wallet. If his or her name starts with an “M” (Mickey, Mortimer, Minnie, etc.), it’s a mouse. Otherwise, it’s a rat. Hullo? Um…[Jerry](http://www.mccnet.com.au/web_images/jerry.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/36 "2010-02-19T23:22:12Z")
And of course there’s Pinky and the Brain - both mice if I recall. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/37 "2010-02-20T00:01:20Z")
And Fievel and his family as well. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/38 "2010-02-20T00:05:30Z")
That is clearly photoshopped. The shadows are all wrong. It is a goldfish. You can still see the gills near the neck. ---
**Author:** ![Visual\_Purple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5daacb/32.png) [@Visual\_Purple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Visual_Purple)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/39 "2010-02-20T01:57:52Z")
I’ve handled a lot of lab rats and some lab mice. Mice have distinctly thin tails and distinctly big ears–somehow a more delicate look. The photo is consistent with an immature rat. I guess if someone said it was some sort of rat relative, and not \* rattus rattus\* or _rattus norvegicus_ (blanking on common names) I’d believe them, but just too chunky for a mouse. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/40 "2010-02-20T02:12:06Z")
Clearly it’s a mroust. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489.md?page=3)