# "Rats the size of cats" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 27, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rats-the-size-of-cats/607528 "2011-12-27T16:23:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rats-the-size-of-cats/607528/101 "2012-01-09T18:17:39Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Colibri - any chance that these were R.N. x R.R. hybrids? Sometimes hybrids produce giants don’t they? While it is true that hybrids are sometimes larger than either parent, _Rattus rattus_ and _Rattus norvegicus_ are not known to produce viable hybrids. There is [one anecdotal account of young being born alive](http://www.ratbehavior.org/Hybridization.htm), but the young either died or were killed shortly after birth. > [@](#): > > What I saw would definitely not compare to “large squirrel” they were more cat-sized. It was also Winter and very cold, so there may have been some fur fluffage affecting my size estimate. > > Another question: Does size = weight in this case? Equal weights of Pomeranian v. Bulldog give you completely different sizes, afterall. What is the relative torso length to a 2# rat v. a 3# cat? The cat certainly has more leg height than a rat, how much weight does that take up? A cat certainly has proportionately more of its weight in its legs, and a rat would have a proportionately larger body for any given weight. However, a 3 pound cat is still much smaller than the average house cat. All I can do is reiterate that size is very difficult to estimate accurately for an untrained observer, and not that easy for even a trained observer. The animals you saw may have been unusually large for rats, and that “surprise” factor may have caused you to estimate their size as even larger than they were. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rats-the-size-of-cats/607528/102 "2012-01-10T16:14:39Z")
News in the rat world: > **[LOOK: Picture Of HUGE Rat Allegedly Found In New York Foot Locker Goes Viral](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/giant-rat-found-bronx-new-york-foot-locker_n_1190141)** > > LOOK: Picture Of HUGE Rat Allegedly Found In New York Foot Locker Goes Viral ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rats-the-size-of-cats/607528/103 "2012-01-10T16:26:48Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > News in the rat world: > [Picture Of Giant Rat Allegedly Found In Bronx, New York Foot Locker Goes Viral (PHOTO) | HuffPost New York](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/06/giant-rat-found-bronx-new-york-foot-locker_n_1190141.html) The photo indicates it is clearly another Gambian Giant Pouched Rat, not a _Rattus_ rat. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rats-the-size-of-cats/607528/104 "2012-01-10T16:36:40Z")
The giant rats I’ve seen, as early as 70s in Chicago, are not as fit as that African pouched rat. All of them were way obese with distended overall girth and have funny gait from carrying such a huge torso. Also they always have the distinctive hairless rat tail. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rats-the-size-of-cats/607528/105 "2012-01-10T16:56:58Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The photo indicates it is clearly another Gambian Giant Pouched Rat, not a _Rattus_ rat. Indeed. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rats-the-size-of-cats/607528/106 "2012-01-10T17:55:48Z")
> [@brittekland](#): > > The giant rats I’ve seen, as early as 70s in Chicago, are not as fit as that African pouched rat. All of them were\*\* way obese with distended overall girth\*\* and have funny gait from carrying such a huge torso. Also they always have the distinctive hairless rat tail. I’d say that fits the ones I saw. Much rounder than I woudl have expected. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rats-the-size-of-cats/607528/107 "2012-01-10T18:54:05Z")
Yes, and that matches my very fat rat. He was more football shaped. Trust me, your first reaction would not be “a rat the size of a (very small) cat!” but “man, what a fat rat!”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rats-the-size-of-cats/607528.md?page=5)