Rat Bands and Songs

1. Boomtown Rats

2. RatDog

3. The Rat Pack

4. "Muskrat Love," by Captain & Tennille

5. "Hot Rats," by Frank Zappa

6. Ratt

7. The Swamp Rats

8. Rat Scabies (stage name of Christopher Miller, drummer for the Damned)

9. Rock radio station WRAT in New Jersey calls itself "the Rat"

10. "Rat Music for Rat People" (compilation album of punk music by Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Bad Brains, etc)

11. "Rat On," by Swamp Dogg

12. "Ben," by Michael Jackson

13. "I Smell a Rat," by Clarence Carter

Article by the San Francisco Chronicle: http://www.sfgate.com/cgibinarticle.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/01/PK71UGer4.DTL

Steve on Film

I promised a bit of film of Steve. He was sleeping and refused to acknowledge the camera last time. This time around he is a camera ham! Enjoy.

Ghost Rat (Real Ghost Stories)

By NixDate: 2007-04-09

Country: United States

State: California

Paranormal Category: Pets / Animals

You've heard that if someone (or something) dies in your house, it can come back as a ghost? It turns out it is sometimes true. I have always had rats for a pet. I just moved recently and mine died. I was sleeping, and woke up in the middle of the night to get a drink. I came back in my room, and I saw the wheel moving in the cage. My eyes were already adjusted to the dark, and I saw nothing in the wheel. I put my hand in it, I felt nothing. It was the freakiest thing I ever saw.
Later, I saw a little foggy-like light in the wheel, moving. It was my rat! The ghost rat, of course. Then I started to see two... My parents woke up and saw it too. Then my little sister saw it and started screaming like the dickens. My parents came in AGAIN and didn't see the foggy-like substance, but they saw the wheel moving. You could imagine how creepy and weird it was. To this day, I am still seeing it. I wonder when it will stop... Sorry, no pictures, but I hope you believe me.

http://www.yourghoststories.com/real-ghost-story.php?story=642

I am a lover of the paranormal and this story was cute and creepy at the same time. As much as I love Monkey & Steve though, they do not have to come back after they die to keep me company. Thank you!

Rats On The Roof

Publisher Weekly states:

In seven illustrated stories of varying size and levels of sophistication, this Caldecott Honor artist introduces an array of lively anthropomorphized animals in amusing predicaments. Otis and Sophie Dog cannot sleep because of the cavorting rats that dance on the roof of their house. When the couple advertises for a cat to oust the intruders, a pompous, nattily dressed tomcat with some outrageous demands applies for the job. Other tales deal with a wolf who goes to great lengths to ensnare two unsuspecting sheep; a conniving cat tossed out on his ear after crashing a mouse wedding; and a vain frog who abruptly ceases to brag about his ``magnificent legs'' when he reads a recipe that calls for sauteed frogs' legs. As always, Marshall charges his text and pictures with a zany humor that will bewitch adults and children alike.

(Ages 6-10)

Even though the rats are portrayed in a negative light in this story, any rat owner can relate to the ruckus that rats make at night. It is not enough to keep you up, but they certainly love the time when the lights are out to come alive. Monkey & Steve are so silly at night and I chuckle every morning after seeing the path of destruction they leave from their wrestling and playing the night before. But they are the cutest things when they poke their noses out of the cage to wish me good morning. The mess disappears and my heart melts.

Pet Rat Information Sheet

After seeing how cute Monkey & Steve are maybe you are considering a pet rat. While getting rats for pets was not a huge transition for us there were still things that Tim and I would have liked to have known before we decided to bring Monkey and Steve home. This website is great for informing one on pet rats and giving care tips and explanation for rat behavior. If you are interested check out the following link: http://www.quite.co.uk/rats/ .

Live Action of Monkey and Steve

I wanted to give you a taste of the live action life of Monkey & Steve...actually a joke since they barely moved the whole time I filmed them. They were taking a nap when I invaded their slumber. Monkey honors the camera with his presence, but Steve is just being a bum, so hopefully next time I can get a bit of Steve running around (he is usually the hyper active one). Enjoy!

Here They Are!!! Monkey and Steve. Aren't they so cute, and no they are not doing what it looks like they are doing. They usually snuggle up like this before they sleep. They are good brothers and take care of one another. They are my babies.

Cute Story

It has been a while since I have actually written about Monkey and Steve. I have also wanted to post some pictures of the boys, since this blog is officially dedicated to them. It has been far too long.

So I would like to tell a story about this picture of Steve. I went to take some pictures of the boys and forgot to take the flash off. Steve is the curious one and once I opened the door of their cage he was instantly there. I took advantage of the opportunity to take an up-close and personal photo, but unfortunately forgot to take the flash off of my camera. What happened next was so heartbreaking and hilarious at the same time.

As you can see the camera was pretty close to the unsuspecting rat. Immediately after the picture Steve stiffened a fell over on one side. It looked almost as if he had fainted temporarily. What I probably did was temporarily blind him...the poor dear. Their eyes are already sensitive due to being pink and being that close to him while taking a picture probably shocked him near to death. I do not think that he suffered any long-term effects from this picture, but I feel so bad for the whole flash thing. I did get some great pictures after this. Look at following posts for them!

The American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association (AFRMA)

If you like a little more formal associations then AFRMA may be for you.

The American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association (AFRMA) was founded in 1983 and is a non-profit international club. Anyone that has an interest in rats or mice can be a member. The main purpose of AFRMA is to promote and encourage the breeding and exhibition of fancy rats and mice for show and pets. We also educate the public on their positive qualities as companion animals and provide information on their proper care. Competition shows are currently held 6 times a year throughout Southern California. These shows are very similar to cat, rabbit, or dog shows. Judges evaluate the animals based on official standards for each type of rat or mouse. We also have 1–2 shows each year dedicated to Pets only with fun classes for rats and mice regardless of their physical qualities. The club has information booths set up at several events around Southern California during each year, including the Orange County Fair, to educate the public on rats and mice as pets and show animals.

Monkey and Steve are not Fancy Rats and could not really kick it with the upper crust, but they are loved just the same!

The Rat Fan Club

I cannot believe that it took me this long to come across a rat fan club! Crazy...yeah I know, but I Love My Rats! This specific rat fan club can be found at http://ratfanclub.org/index.html .

It focuses on rats as companion animals and to promote them as such, instead of the common concept of disease-ridden vermin. The fan club hopes to spread information about the proper care of rats and does not cost a thing to join. If you love rats as much as I do this fan club is for you!