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Strange instinct priorities Anonymous
sup /an/ons. About two weeks ago, my cats cornered a rat in the house. It was caught and I threw it into an aquarium. Probably out of curiosity more than anything. Looks exactly like in the pic, kind of a cute rat

What's surprising me is how he seems to fear humans much, much more than anything else. My cats keep circling his little jail like lazy vultures and he got used to them. But when he's outside his makeshift little house, he's obsessed by the human presence (me) and runs the fuck away if I turn my head in his general direction. From across the room. He doesn't care about cats who personally hunted him down but he treats humans like they had laser vision.

How the hell did he get that instinct?
>> Anonymous
its natural for feral animals to be afraid of humans. rats are also prey animals, so they're even more afraid of humans.
>> Anonymous
Yup, that's true, the rat is naturally afraid of both humans and cats. What baffles me a bit is the priority here. Mr Rat is obsessed with a human *looking* at him while ignoring full born killers sitting 10 centimeters away
>> Anonymous
>>214850

Have you considered the possibility that this is a former pet? Perhaps his fear is cause by abuse from a previous owner. If the rat that you caught looks just like the one in the picture (black hooded pattern), then it is not a wild rat. It is a "fancy rat," which is the domesticated version of the Norway rat.
>> Anonymous
Carnivores inflict a fear/panic instinct in rodents - if they aren't socialized, it basically puts them into a subdued "shit I'm screwed" mode. But this also stops triggering chase mode in the predator, so hopefully the predator will lose interest.

If you found a rat like the one in the picture, it is very likely a rat somebody let loose, either because they couldn't keep it or they didn't secure their cage. Domestic rats will often try to get back into houses where things are familiar and warm, and young rats can seem pretty wild in demeanor. There are pied-colored wild rats, but it's not typical.
>> Anonymous
>>214895
it could be the offspring of a former pet as well.
>> Anonymous
Naturally rats are scared of both humans and cats. Your rat may have a Toxoplasma gondii infection, which would explain why he has lost/never had a fear of your cats.
>> Anonymous
>>214895
I have considered that possibility, and because of his appearance as well, but he comes from the sewers. Soon after the rat was found, the cellar's sewer access was checked, a hole was found (those bastards) and it was fixed. At least one more rat also tried that entrance but didn't get in.

So it might look cute but it's still a sewer rat. I guess it *could* have escaped from a cruel laboratory, worked its way through the sewers and ended up in a house. But that's a bit stretched.