Rock ‘n’ Rodent
Schoolboy Oliver Moulton is tickled pink about rats – and wants animal lovers to think of adopting them because they make such amazing pets.
Oliver, 12, got two a year ago from an RSPCA rehoming centre and called them Sybil and Polly in a nod to telly’s Fawlty Towers. The youngster from Haywards Heath, West Sussex, said: “We named them after the characters because of the rat in one of the episodes.
“My favourite things about them is that they sit on my shoulder and whisper in my ear and their whiskers tickle my face.
“Rats are very smart and can make good pets because they are so clever and friendly. We have to check they haven’t hidden in our blazer pockets before we leave for school.”
Oliver, who got his pets from the RSPCA centre in South Godstone, Surrey, is backing the charity’s #loverats campaign to show animal lovers that rodents make great pets. They laugh when they are tickled, enjoy a tummy rub and dream in their sleep.
They are highly intelligent and have such acute smell they have even been used to locate landmines in war zones.
RSPCA rabbit and rodent welfare expert Dr Jane Tyson said: “They really are an extraordinary group of animals. “Sometimes rats in particular can have a negative stereotype but actually they make loving and affectionate pets.
“They laugh when tickled and show empathy with other rats as they will try to help each other in distress.”
Last year the RSPCA took in 228 rats and 200 mice for adoption, compared to 160 in and 147 in 2015.
Dr Tyson added: “We would urge anyone thinking of getting rats or mice to check out the RSPCA’s Find a Pet webpage to see if they can offer a rescue rodent animal a loving home.”
antonia.paget@ trinitymirror.co.uk