My happy thought for the past two weeks has been little rat feet.
We recently took in a transfer of four baby rats at the shelter. They’re teeny and sweet and inquisitive and perfect and my heart just melts into a big puddle of syrupy joy any time I get anywhere near them.
For the general protection of the animals, we’re not allowed to take photos of them, but they basically look like this, white socks and all:
I could watch them scamper around and twitch their bitty whiskers all day. I don’t, because there are dishes to wash and litter boxes to scour and endless mounds of laundry to cycle through, but the temptation is there.
They love to lick my fingers. They nibble at my nails and my rings. And when their curiosity emboldens them enough to step onto my hand with their little rat feet- oh! those little rat feet give me life.
To anyone who’s not a fan of rats or has never handled one, this probably sounds really weird. I myself can’t even really put a finger on why it’s such a neat sensation. Maybe it’s the delicacy of their tiny toes, or the astonishing way they can grip onto nearly anything like Velcro. Maybe it’s the way their feet run slightly cool in contrast to their warm furry bodies. Whatever it is, it’s magical. 5/5, would recommend.
Sadly for me (but happily for the rats), our time together is likely to be short-lived. Two of the four have already found a home, and I’m sure the other two will follow suit in no time. They’re way too adorable not to get scooped up by someone.
I’ll miss them when they’re gone but I’m sure the kitties, who I usually spend the most time with when I’m not distracted by impossibly cute baby rodents, will be happy to have my full attention back in their absence.
And hey, little cat feet are pretty awesome too. I hear those are how the fog gets around, and we all know how I feel about fog.
Spoken Like A True Nut 
If you know anything about me, you’ll know I’m obsessed with rats. And now I’m so jealous!
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They’re definitely worthy of obsessing over!
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I don’t understand ‘for the protection of the animals’ comment. Are they famous? I can’t say I’ve ever held a rat or wanted to for that matter, but if I can hold a tarantula, I could probably enjoy your ratty friends too.
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Some of the animals we take in have been seized from unfit or abusive owners. The photo policy is to avoid any “incidents”, for lack of a better word, where such an owner sees a photo of their former pet online and shows up at the shelter to try and demand the animal back. It’s happened before and it’s never pleasant for anyone involved.
As the volunteers aren’t always informed of which animal came from which situation, the blanket policy is that no one takes/posts any photos of the animals except for official shelter staff.
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I always wanted to volunteer at a shelter but the husband forbade me. He knows I’d come home with every creature who’s time was running out and we’d have to live outside because I’d fill the house with furry ones.
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If Nutty Hubby and I weren’t still renting in a building that doesn’t allow pets, I’d probably have brought half the shelter population home with me by now for sure. I have a major weakness for the senior cats. Most of them are such cuddle monsters.
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So do I. Everyone always wants the kittens…. so I always choose the old boys.
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I’m with you when it comes to volunteering for a shelter, I would be like a kid in a candy store and want them all! Rats, mice and hamsters are so sweet when they are nibbling on food and twitching their whiskers. I never knew fog got around thanks to cats, I read that poem and thought “Yeah, why not!”
And now I can’t get that image out of my head of you running around excitedly yelling “Fog!” like a dog would do for a ball. I guess it is that perfect circumstance where the cold and warm weather collide that give you the eerie yet sensual fog. I would enjoy it more if I could just observe it with a tasty beverage on the porch but usually I’m having to travel through it and might step in something unpleasant, which kind of robs the whole moment of romance, particularly if it is animal droppings that I step in or a small hole big enough to twist my ankle.
Also, I always end up thinking about Stephen King’s The Mist and then fog immediately gives me the willies. I’m not actually anti-fog, I just think books/movies have clouded (pun intended) my perception of it 🙂
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