Why do people say that hate rats because of their tails !!?

dogs and cats have tails - i know a rats isnt fluffy but come on it would be a squirrel in that case





i think more education on these endearing pets should be done at schools and also people who dont like them shouldnt make nasty comments on things they dont understand.Why do people say that hate rats because of their tails !!?
I totally agree with you.Even educating them wont help.Its their psychology at work.By nature humans like and adore things that are beautiful,soft,nice,good looking.And a rats tail is bare and annulated which appears to some as ugly.This is the only and sole reason for their dislike.But definitely they can be educated not to hate these poor things for their appearence.Why do people say that hate rats because of their tails !!?
It really bothers me when people react to the fact that I kept fancy rats (my last one died a few days ago). My neighbour wouldn't even come in the house for fear of catching the plague from them, even though that disease has been almost extinct in wild rats for more years than I'd care to mention.





I wonder how people would react if it was widely publicised that humans carry more transmittable diseases and bacterias on their hands than rats (wild or pet) ever have.





Then again, I much prefer rats to a lot of people I know.
';We also have squirrels, they don't breed as prolifically, live in sewers, rubbish tips, spread disease, threaten water fowl and small mammals on the canals, etc.';





DUR!!!!! try doing your homework before making idiotic statements, they may not live in sewers, but thats the only true thing youve said there squirrels are just rats with fuzzy tails





';If rats didn't have a tail I'd be fine with them.';





no theyd be hamsters then not rats





however it is true that its an inbuilt flight or fight mechanism that immediatly makes us go 'urgh'


as someone else says its to do with deep unconscious 'its a snake' thought





most people are intelligent enough to overcome it and then touch the tail, anyone who does that then finds out its not scaly or bald but covered in fine hairs that make it feel like youre stroking silk


rats use their tails much in the same way that prehinsile monkeys do


to wrap around things, to balance and to signal to others





so basically the answer to


';why do people say that hate rats because of their tails !!? ';


is


an inbuilt deep unconcious fear that only idiots allow to let prejudice their views any further than that first involuntary 'urgh'
i agree with you i think it is because they dint have any hair on there tails but they are very intelligent animals
because they dont like that their tails are sort of scaly and naked. idk why people dont like them
hey I like rats have known several super sweet ones in my days but I cant help it their tails kinda give me the creeps ...sotalike some people are grossed out my feet...you just dont like the way it looks or it instills a uneasy feeling in you you really have no control over...cant help it but it doesnt stop me from handeling them tho it might stop me from buying one
Maybe they don't like the slimy look it has but in this world there are many things each of us like or hate so wud u ? It's a matter of personal choice and liking, I like all animals even if i am scared of some I still love animals coz i understand the fact that each of us is a must on this planet to keep a natural well maintained balance of the precious nature. ( Lol maybe the humans have outgrown the normal population levels in some parts of the world ) hehehe I think u shud not worry let people hate u know u love them all the more better for the rats atleast they got somebody who cares for them as they r.
i know it is just rude i absolutly love rats but my last rat died after he got in to my bottle of motrin and ate some and the trama of watching him pass away has not subsided so i did not get another rat yet
It's not their tails that bother me, it's their teeth. That and bubonic plague....
It's true, they have cute faces, but their tails look like worms, I have a hamster, he's so cute, no tail!!
I used to be an Ewwww rats person, and of course it was because I lacked education and compared them to their wild cousins.


I was working at a pet store and discovered while working there just how intelligent and loving rats can be- began researching and eventually acquired my own rats.


I have to remember that I used to be an Ewwww rats person before I judge others of their opinions. I do however try to inform ewww rat people of the loving and affectionate nature of our pet rats.


The tail did freak me out at first- I'll admit, so did those giant cha cha cha's the males have-but I got over it quickly- When one comes to understand the purpose of the tail, and how functional it is- it's quite amazing. I like to say- people love and feed squirels, without realizing that squirels are a rat with a better hairdresser!! If they only knew!





Teej.
Everthing about a rat is gross.
un fortunatly it is because dim people think back to the black death but those unfortunate people do not realised that the plague actually caused by the flees were also carried by cats and dogs i love my long tailed friends
I completely agree with you. I have rats and work in a petstore that sells rats. Whenever someone sees me on the street with my rats or in the store with a rat on my shoulder (cause I love to carry them around) they say ';ewww a rat';.


Then I explain to them that rats make great pets (better than any hamster), don't bite (unless unsocialized or has babies), and aren't gross. They're really very clean animals. I tell them to touch the tail and they realize that it's not scaly, it actually has little hairs on it and is soft, especially on babies.





My friend is a student teacher and wanted to get a class pet for her science class. I told her what great pets rats make and how good they are with children. She got two females and the kids loved them! They went home and told their families that they have pet rats in the classroom and got the word out how nice and gentle they are.





I love educating people on rats and changing their point of view.
read some of the answers before and thought ';dude, look at the animal racism';


I've never had one but I don't think they'd be a bad pet. Everyone who has actually had one say that there lovely. I can not count how many times I've heard that,and honestly it's only their opinions that matter.Why listen to someone who has no experience with rodents and says something ignorant like the plague or everything about rats is gross if they know nothing about it. LOL don't worry as a hamster/guinea pig owner i get the ';eww you have a rat'; thing all the time. If you haven't noticed I feel quite strongly about it L*. all in all don't let it bother you.


The tail is just new and strange I believe and the fact it's scaly ..... People are scared of odd things(blood,thunder etc.) and I think a lot of it is blamed on the tail when they're really just scared of rodents. My Mom always said she was scared of the tail and she hates guinea pigs=tailless LOL, she despises my poor Jack because he's as she puts it ';a rat.'; Don't get me wrong she went and got him it's just she really does dislike him.
It's human nature to hate or fear things we don't understand.Pet rats get a bad rap cus of sewer rats. people don't like possums either and they make great pets they are very loving. I love all animals although snakes scare me.
i like rats, and mices, but i think people di like them because they are dirty and carries dieases. they used to steal food. most people dont see them as pets. and socity as a whole always give them a bad rap. look at carttons, and images of rats, so at a yound age we see them as ';bad'; animals. i think its a good idea to educate people on rats, but no one id going to fund that kind of program
I'm guessing your new to having rats as pets?





You'll get used to this stuff.People either seem to love rats or hate them.Very few folk just think they're OK.





Ignore people who mention the plague.That was caused by the fleas of the black rat.The rats that are kept as pets are domesticated brown rats-different species etc-just tell them that.
I know its so annoying, my Grandma hates it when my couisns are over here and they want to see my pet rat, she shivers just thinking about it, and then she judges the rat by its tail saying its ugly, wen she's beautiful! She even shivers when someone has a loose tooth and wiggles it. Its so annoying, and without thier tails they'ed be Gerbils or hamsters.
Ahh, good question. I think it is because of the ';scales';. It seems an inbuilt thing to fear somthing snake-like (was research done on gorillas, ill try find the link for you).





From personal experience, I loooove ferrets (cept they stink), but hate rats. And I think its the difference in the tail. Ferret tails are fluffy, but rat tails are too snake-like for me. If rats didn't have a tail I'd be fine with them.





Actually, could be the fact that i've dissected rats before, but not ferrets... maybe I wouldn't be so keen on ferrets if I'd seen their insides...
I agree but I have never heard anything about people hating rats tails. So I also think we should learn more about animals in schools.
I live in London, where they say your never more than 6 foot from a rat. The reality is the sewer rat is a pest.


We also have squirrels, they don't breed as prolifically, live in sewers, rubbish tips, spread disease, threaten water fowl and small mammals on the canals, etc.


I'm sure that those that have them as pets find them most rewarding, they are without doubt highly resourceful and intelligent in their own right.


But not in my backyard thank you.
Maybe because they think it's scaly and gross?


I don't know... I have rats and I love their tails, so fuzzy and adorable. =]
i like a bit a tail myself
i think people just dnt like the feel of it or something coz there long as well, but i don't understand how people can like hamsters and squirrels but not a rat,








i think rats are a great pet to have.





i have 2 =]
Yeah, I don't know. I like rats' tails. I don't mind if they have fur or not. I also however like my cats' tails, it's fun to swirl their tail around your finger while they're moving it around. Haha, strange, but whatever :D





It's also strange that people tend to only like animals with fur, and are against the hairless ones (even though people don't have fur). Take a worm for example. Nobody thinks warms are 'cute' and nobody plays with them when they find them, but many people absolutely love caterpillars! Now I know those are slightly different, but they're equally long, skinny, and flimsy (;.





EDIT: okay okay I admit worms are kinda slimey, but still! Most people prefer animals with fur.. I guess because they want to get all warm and cuddly with them. The ones without fur cannot give you warmth :P
sorry but I think they are ugly looking creatures and not just for their tails