Woman Brings Home Two Rats, But Then She Quickly Notices Their Strange Behavior

Kimberly couldn’t believe her eyes — and neither will you! A resident of Chicago, Illinois, she made the decision to adopt the rats in February 2021, naming them Edgar and Fergus. They were both just a couple of months old at the time, having been born in December 2020. We bet you’re curious: what exactly was it that drove her to bring these animals home?

Well, Kimberly provides an answer in a GeoBeats Animals YouTube video that was posted in April 2022. In it, she says, “I really liked having small pets. [And] just where I am in life right now, it doesn’t make sense to have a dog.” Fair enough. But we get the feeling that a lot of you are still going to be a bit puzzled. Why rats?

It could be argued that no other animal has a bigger stigma attached to them. Rats have been catching heat for centuries, dating all the way back to the 1300s. The little critters were believed to have been one of the main catalysts behind the Black Death, the plague which absolutely devastated Europe. Records indicate that around 25 million Europeans lost their lives to the disease.

Ever since then, rats have been unfairly stigmatized as disease-carrying, filthy animals by many people. But in the last few years, the assessment of their presumed role as disease-carriers has started to waver. You see, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science journal published the findings of some new research into the Black Death in 2018. It concluded that humans were the biggest spreaders — not the rodents.

So have we been misjudging rats this whole time? It certainly seems that way, especially when you look at the critters who’ve become house pets. Like most animals, there are pros and cons to welcoming them into your home. Yet the positives could really surprise you. 

Let’s start on a positive note first. Compared to other animals, rats aren’t “high maintenance.” Sure, you need to watch what they eat and keep an eye on their health, but on the whole, they’re very easy to look after. For that reason alone, you could argue that the little guys are perfect first pets. What about hygiene, though? Are they clean?

You bet! Yes, despite being labeled as dirty animals throughout the years, rats love grooming themselves. They’re much like cats in that respect, keeping their fur coats as clean as possible. Smell won’t be an issue here. Plus, you can toilet train the rodents, too, so they don’t leave any messy surprises around the house. You learn something new every day!

But as we noted, there are also some cons to owning a pet rat. One of the biggest is their tendency to nibble on… well, anything and everything! Parts of your furniture could get ruined pretty quickly if you let them roam. Oh, and cables are another issue. A few bites might take out your electronics and seriously hurt your little friend.

As for another big negative, veterinary bills can really pile up for rats. The animals are especially vulnerable to major ailments, including uterine and respiratory infections, and cancerous tumors. And the treatments don’t come cheap, regardless of the animals’ diminutive stature. So, keeping all that in mind, Kimberly had a lot to consider before adopting Edgar and Fergus.

Speaking of which, let’s head back to Chicago now. Like we mentioned earlier, Kimberly noticed that her new pets were acting quite strangely after arriving in February 2021. What were they doing? Were Fergus and Edgar unhappy with their surroundings? Well, that wasn’t the case. At all. In fact, their behavior lined up with one of the biggest positives of owning rats.

Yep, rats are incredibly friendly creatures. They aren’t afraid to be close to humans, and can get very playful. Kimberly saw that first-hand, with Edgar and Fergus taking to her home like ducks to water. The pair’s behavior resembled that of excited puppies! Plus, their overall cuteness really shone through. Who wouldn’t want to cuddle up with these guys on the sofa?

After picking up on their heartwarming behavior, Kimberly started to film Edgar and Fergus around her place. Eventually, she created an Instagram page to house all the videos and photos. It’s called silly_city_rats, and users on the social media website can’t get enough of it. At the time of writing, the cute page boasts just under 46,000 followers!

As for their personalities, Kimberly goes into a bit more detail in the GeoBeats Animals video. She says, “Edgar definitely knows his name. [He’s] a ball of energy, and now he’s more cuddly with age. But he’s still always up to no good. He likes to establish that he’s the alpha of the group. He walks like he owns the place!”

Kimberly then notes, “Fergus, ever since day one, is just full of love. He’s always making really intense eye-contact — he will stare you down until you pick him up. And he almost looks like he’s smiling, too. He wants to cuddle all the time, whereas Edgar wants to cuddle only when he’s in the mood. [They] seem to be absolute best friends, absolutely love each other.”

And guess what, folks? A third rat joined the family in the summer of 2021. His name was Bandit. This little guy was just over a year older than Edgar and Fergus. But the circumstances behind his adoption were tinged with sadness. You see, Bandit’s brother died during that spell, and it hit him hard. Concerned for his health, his original owners decided to let him go, with Kimberly taking him in.

Thankfully, Bandit had no problems integrating with Kimberly and company in Chicago. They welcomed him with open arms, and he seemed to pick up. Towards the end of 2021, though, the cute critter’s health began to deteriorate. It was discovered that he had a tumor in his chest, alongside congestive heart failure. Sadly, very little could be done for him.

But still, Bandit managed to battle on until March 2022. At that stage, Kimberly made the heartbreaking decision to have him put him to sleep. She shared the sad news in an emotional post on the silly_city_rats Instagram page. Then, a few months later, her furry family grew again, when she adopted another rat. Now, Edgar and Fergus have a younger adopted sister.

Yes, Pepper was brought home in July 2022. Similarly to Bandit, she had also lost a sibling prior to the adoption, but again, it looks like she perfectly complements the existing dynamic. She seems to be getting along famously with both Fergus and Edgar, which is wonderful to see. And going forward, you’ll be able to watch their relationship develop further on Kimberly’s Instagram page.

Speaking of Kimberly, she has one more thing to say about her beloved pets in the GeoBeats Animals video. It ties back to the stigma and negativity that we discussed earlier. She doesn’t agree with it! The Chicago resident observes, “People think rats are gross or are scary, but they’re just the sweetest little creatures. They make me smile every day.”

So if you saw a baby animal all alone on the sidewalk, what would you do? Carry on with your day? Take the critter to a veterinarian, perhaps? Well, Jeff Longo didn’t go for either of those options. When he spotted a tiny ball of fluff in trouble, he vowed to nurse the poor thing back to health. But at that time, he had no idea what the creature was — or what it would turn into.

Jeff discovered the poor wretch lying on the sizzling streets of Tampa. And Jeff, a Florida native, knew that this didn’t bode well for the little one. The kind-hearted man later said the helpless creature was “half-dead” when he first saw it. So he decided to act fast. The unrelenting sunshine had to be taking its toll, so Jeff made the decision to take the creature back to his home.

Jeff christened the critter Biscuits and began to hand-rear her himself. The first order of the day? Give the adorable animal some major TLC. At that time, she was just over an inch in length — but Jeff had no idea whether she’d grow any bigger.

Jeff didn’t even know which species Biscuits belonged to! How could he help, then, if he didn’t know the best way to care for her? Well, he had an answer. This being the 21st century and all, he began to research his newfound friend online.

First stop? Reddit. But the folks on the website weren’t exactly a lot of help. Most of the responses were just from people telling him there was no way he’d raise Biscuits on his own. Jeff was undeterred, though. He continued his research — and finally discovered the answer he was looking for. Yep, now he knew what Biscuits really was!

What had Jeff brought home? Well, as it turns out, he was looking after a southern flying squirrel. Normally, these rodents live in forests and woods — not on Florida sidewalks. They also survive on a diet of nuts, seeds, fruit, and insects as well as eggs and birds. Quite a shopping list for Jeff to pick up!

But since Biscuits had somehow become separated from her family, it was down to Jeff to fill her mother’s shoes. Would she survive? Young squirrels tend to stay with their moms until they are at least two months old. This put Biscuits at a real disadvantage.

Well, Jeff did his best. For two months, he took Biscuits everywhere with him — even to work. He bottle-fed her, too, with a mix of puppy formula and heavy cream. And this method produced real results.

As each day passed, Biscuits grew bigger and stronger. Thankfully, she blossomed from a sickly baby to a healthy adult squirrel. And in addition to getting the gift of life, Biscuits had gained a new family. Because Jeff wasn’t the only one in the house — no siree.

Alongside her surrogate mom, Biscuits made some four-legged family friends in the shape of Jeff’s dogs! But given how tiny Biscuits still was, Jeff admitted that he had to keep an eye on his canines. There was the apparent risk that they might “accidentally squish her.” Perhaps, then, she would be better off in the wild?

Probably not, actually. As Biscuits was hand-reared from such an early age, she’s unlikely to have the necessary survival skills. At least she’s found plenty of things to amuse her in her new home. “She runs around me like I’m a big tree… then jumps on things and then jumps back… gets excited… starts chirping… rinse and repeat,” Jeff revealed.

And although things have run smoothly on the whole, Jeff admitted that he once thought he’d lost little Biscuits. “When she first started becoming mobile, she escaped… I found her in the bathtub in the morning,” he revealed. Yikes!

Despite the animal’s naughty nature, Jeff is still smitten with what he describes as his “little fluffball.” He explained, “She has a big cage and semi-free reign of the house when I’m available to supervise. She wouldn’t last five minutes in the wild now. She is super friendly to people and not afraid of animals.” And it looks like Biscuits has certainly made herself at home!

The adorable critter can usually be spotted hanging from her comfy hammock or chilling in her favorite spot: Jeff’s top pocket. The pair can expect to have a long and happy life together, too, as flying squirrels can live for up to a decade in captivity. But after Biscuits settled in, Jeff had a score to settle.

Yep, when Biscuits was back to full health, Jeff returned to Reddit to prove his doubters wrong. He posted a series of photographs charting the squirrel’s recovery and showing off his parenting skills.

Jeff also reminded Reddit users of the day he met Biscuits. He wrote, “I posted pictures on Reddit that day and had a bunch of know-it-alls tell me she would die, because I am not an animal rehabber.” He sure set them straight!

“Biscuits is about three months old now and is super awesome… and healthy,” Jeff continued, sticking it to the haters. “Her favorite food is pecans, and she enjoys jumping on everything and terrorizing the dogs.”

That triumphant post had some Reddit users eating their words. Others just gave Jeff a pat on the back for his amazing achievement. And a whole lot of folks couldn’t help but get excited about Biscuits’ sheer cuteness.

“From now on it is my life’s ambition to have an adorable animal living in my shirt pocket,” one Redditor wrote. Another suggested, “Everyone should have a pocket squirrel sidekick.” Who knows? It might catch on. And you don’t actually need to travel as far as Jeff to find an animal that’s looking for some TLC.

After all, loads of critters get inside people’s homes, don’t they? And, much like Jeff’s squirrel, another particular visitor was very special. There, on the bed, sat the most precious surprise hidden under a pillow: two animal babies nestled on the duvet. But what was their discoverer to do with them?

One of the babies is now known as Little Thumbelina, and she doesn’t just have a name right out of a fairy tale. She has an origin that sounds just like one, too. But her story is true, and it begins on a chilly morning in March 2016 in New York City.

It was a fight for survival right from the start. The nest belonging to Thumbelina’s mother was destroyed by a construction crew, and that left the pregnant squirrel and her babies homeless. But the expecting mommy had good survival instincts. And she finally found a surprising birthing spot.

To be more precise, the mom-to-be climbed inside a 10th-story apartment through an open window. And in the warmth and comfort of that room, she had two little pink daughters. Then she set about remaking her nest to keep the newborns safe.

The apartment’s resident was out when the mom visited, of course, but he saw her handiwork when he returned. Twigs, leaves and pine needles covered his bed, after all. Yet the biggest surprise was hiding under his pillow in the form of two baby eastern gray squirrels.

And although the anonymous man had no idea how to help the squirrels himself, he knows someone who does. So he subsequently called Christina and Michael Reyes, two animal rehabilitators working in NYC. You could say the wife-husband team have just a little past experience in squirrel care.

In fact, Christina has cared for orphan squirrels for ten years. Michael – a high school teacher by day – also assists his wife in her duties. So the pair went out to try and help the squirrel babies reunite with their mother.

But just two hours after their birth, the babies’ mother was already hesitant to reclaim them. It would seem that the rescuers’ presence – and their actions to save her offspring – frightened her. Christina explained as much to the Daily Mail on November 6, 2018.

“She kept bringing in nest building materials, but she wasn’t taking her babies back,” Christina said of the momma squirrel. This was despite the rehabilitators’ best efforts to convince her otherwise. And just hours later, the adult squirrel stopped visiting completely, and a tragedy followed.

Yes, one of the little babies unfortunately passed away in her mommy’s absence. But the Reyes couple took on the remaining sister, naming her Thumbelina after the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. The rescuers intended to raise Thumb until they could reintroduce her to nature.

“Almost all squirrels we take in are rescued and released into the wild,” Thumbelina’s official blog explains. “But Thumbelina was a special case.” It seems that the unique circumstances of the baby squirrel’s birth and the subsequent chain of events had had an effect on Thumbelina.

The blog continued, “Due to an abnormal birthing season and the passing of her sister, little Thumb grew up all by herself and did not learn to interact with other squirrels. By the time the normal birthing season had arrived, Thumbelina was already passed the point of bonding with her kind.”

Because of this, the Reyes pair took little Thumbelina to a veterinarian specializing in wild animals. The vets then determined that the squirrel’s natural habitat was too dangerous for her. Instead of opting to euthanize the baby, though, Thumbelina’s rescuers wanted to give her a chance at life.

And so the Reyes family decided to adopt Thumb as a house squirrel, and it’s probably fortunate that they did. It sounds like she would have had a potentially short life outside the safety of a human home, after all. And Thumbelina isn’t what you’d call a squirrel’s squirrel.

“When we tried to introduce her to other squirrel babies, she isolated herself,” Christina told the Daily Mail. “She curled up into a ball, and she wanted nothing to do with them.” Thumb doesn’t move like the other squirrels, either.

“She walked on the ground,” Christina continued. “She didn’t like to climb or jump.” In addition, Thumb’s blog recounts how her development was always slow compared to other squirrel babies. Instead of opening her eyes after four or five weeks, for example, it took Thumbelina closer to nine.

“She’s afraid of everything,” Christina added. “We brought her to the park, and she acted like it was a haunted house. She doesn’t like the cold. She just huddles herself into a ball. She’s not outside squirrel material.” Regardless, her human mommy and daddy think she’s perfect.

So instead of looking after Thumb doing squirrely things, her parents spend their time simply showering her with affection. And Thumb certainly enjoys cuddles with Mommy and Daddy. She even watches their TV and has a rich (if expensive-sounding) diet of arugula, sweet peas, kale and avocado.

“I love Thumbelina so much,” Christina admitted. “My husband and I knew that we never wanted children, [but] Thumbelina is our baby. She’s my little best friend; every day I look forward to spending time with her. When I’m feeling low, she comes over and snuggles with me.”

But while Thumbelina isn’t interested in the company of other squirrels, she’s still doing her part for them. “Thumbelina is now our little ambassador squirrel,” her blog explains. “She helps us to teach people how important it is to respect and be kind to all wildlife and spread the message, ‘Each little life is big to the one living it.’”