YEAR OF THE RAT: 40 RATS UP FOR ADOPTION THROUGH HUMANE SOCIETY

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version Share this

Source: County News Service

January 23, 2020 ((San Diego)-- As we enter the Chinese Year of the Rat, San Diego Humane Society still has more than 40 rats available for adoption across its three campuses in Escondido, Oceanside and San Diego.

On Oct. 8, 2019, a woman contacted SDHS for help. Her pet rat population had gotten out of control and she wished to relinquish all of her animals so they could find good homes. SDHS took in more than 300 rats. Many of the rats were pregnant, so the number of rats quickly rose to more than 600. The majority of those rats have been adopted, but there are still dozens waiting to find homes.

Although rats are not as common as other small rodents, they make great pets, according to the Humane Society. Domestic rats are physiologically and psychologically different from their wild counterparts. They are very social, smart and affectionate with humans. Rats eat pellets, veggies and fruit. Domestic rats stay clean by grooming themselves like a cat several times per day. They are very popular as classroom pets, because they like to interact with people.

Because rats are social animals, SDHS requires rats be adopted in same-gender pairs, unless you already have a resident rat. The adoption fee for a pair is $5. Rats are available for adoption at SDHS campuses in Escondido, Oceanside and San Diego.

Photos of the intake of rats, and rats available for adoption, are available here: http://bit.ly/2tW1kfY.

Serving San Diego County since 1880, San Diego Humane Society has campuses located in Escondido, Oceanside and San Diego. For more information; please visit sdhumane.org.


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.