If you’re not yet a rat owner, you might want to first read about choosing between male and female rats, or why two rats are better than one. Don’t let this post frighten you away from choosing rats as pets if they are otherwise suited to your lifestyle and family. Once again, even if you own 100 rats over your lifetime, chances are you’ll never have a habitual biter.

Now, on to strategies for those who already do have one.

What Causes the Biting?

Rats that bite usually do so because of fear. Some may have been injured by human hands in the past. Others may have become essentially feral due to poor breeding and neglect, and simply don’t know how to interact in a friendly way with humans. Still others are simply very nervous and easily surprised. A very few rats bite in an attempt to establish dominance or because they simply would really like just to be left alone.

If you can identify what usually happens before your rat bites, you can probably discover the cause. Analyze the 10 seconds before each bite, and look for patterns. Did you wake the rat from a sound sleep? Did you put your fingers through the cage bars smelling like hot dogs? Did you reach for a rat while he was tussling with a cagemate? Did he simply run up out of an Igloo or hammock and attack while you were playing with another rat?

Reducing or Eliminating Biting Behavior

Once you’ve found the pattern, the first step is to look after your own safety by avoiding the circumstances that precipitate biting. If the rat only nips when you reach your fingers through cage bars, the problem is easily solved: Don’t do that again. Rats have poor vision and may think that your fingers wiggling through the bars are food or an intruder.

If the biting happens in another circumstance that doesn’t involve something that you must do for the biter or other rats, try to eliminate that situation if possible. You obviously can’t stop feeding your rat if he bites when fed, but you could try feeding without reaching your hand in the cage, or putting a small pile of treats in another corner while you fill the dish.

Once you’ve done what you can to reduce or eliminate situations that lead to biting, work to build your rat’s trust in you. If you must use thick gloves to handle the rat at all, do so; but if you can handle the rat without the gloves and avoid being bitten, that’s best. You could also purchase a bonding pouch, which hangs around your neck to keep a rat in place while you move about the house or sit with the rat. Handle the biting rat gently at all times, and try to end each handling session on a good note. Feed treats by hand if you can (but never through the bars!) and make sure the rat is getting enough playtime in a rat-proofed area like a playpen.

If trust training and changing your habits to avoid situations that precipitate biting doesn’t help, some aggressive male rats may benefit from neutering. There is also the sad possibility that a very aggressive rat may be suffering from a brain tumor or hormonal defect causing this behavior. In these cases, euthanasia is often best, because the animal is not usually happy and quality of life is poor. Finally, some rats that bite really just do best being look-but-don’t-touch pets for the rest of their lives. Rats have been domesticated for centuries, if not millenia, but some individuals still seem to almost be throwbacks to wild ancestors, eschewing physical contact and biting when frightened.

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But I Got a Dog for Christmas When I Was Five and It Was the Best Present Ever…

Many people are tempted to give pets as holiday gifts because of a fond memory from their own childhood. Usually, the memory involves being surprised with the perfect pet, which of course caused the family no trouble and grew up into a well-behaved companion who will be remembered with love by all who knew him or her. But, for every such idyllic memory, there are several pets who were given as presents and soon given away again, abandoned, put to sleep (”sent to live on a nice farm”), or dumped at a shelter when it became apparent that the surprise wasn’t as wonderful when it started peeing on the rug, bit the neighbor, the kids lost interest, or it scratched the sofa.

Why Pets Given as Gifts Rarely Stay in the Same Home for Life

Only 30% of dogs in America remain in the same home for their entire lives after weaning. For dogs given as surprise gifts, the statistics are even worse. Think about it: What makes your own pet so special to you? For most people, it’s the bond between pet and owner. Other people’s pets are perfectly nice, but you just don’t feel the same connection to them that you did to Fido or Fluffy right from the first time you saw him or her, right?

When pets are given as holiday gifts, the recipient doesn’t have a chance to pick the the perfect match from a shelter or a litter bred by a reputable, responsible breeder. The match might work out, or it might not. Then there’s the matter of preparedness. A surprise gift doesn’t leave much room for acquiring supplies, researching care, preparing for the change in one’s daily routine caused by a new family member, discussing vet care, diet, vaccinations, exercise, litterbox scooping… You get the picture.

Acquiring a pet should be a decision made with the full knowledge and agreement of every member of the household, and only after sufficient study of the new pet’s needs, and discussion of who will meet each need and how it will be met.

The One Right Way to Give the Gift of Pet Parenthood

Yes, there is a right way. But it doesn’t involve a warm puppy leaping out of a wrapped box with a ribbon bow on his head on Christmas morning. If you want to give someone you love the gift of a pet this holiday season, first make sure that they truly want and are prepared for a pet. Make sure everyone in the household is on board and ready to take their share of the responsibility for a new family member.

If the potential recipient is a child, be sure that the parents (especially if you are one of the parents!) understand that, when it comes to pet care, the buck stops with grownups. If a child forgets to feed or walk a pet, the pet must not suffer in order to “teach the child a lesson.” Parents can assign pet care chores to children,  but only with the understanding that, when it comes right down to it, the pet belongs to the adults in the household.

If you’ve determined that the recipient is ready to care for a pet and that the gift won’t make unpleasant waves in the household, it’s time to give the perfect present: Present your loved one with a wrapped package of pet supplies. As they puzzle over the contents of their package (”What? But I don’t have a dog!”), hand over an envelope containing a handmade gift certificate entitling the bearer to choose a pet available for adoption at their favorite animal rescue or shelter, with the understanding that you, the gift-giver, will pay all fees associated with the adoption.

This method is responsible, easy, and lets the new pet parent find their perfect new companion themselves, rather than leaving you to guess which available pet would be the best fit. As a bonus, it guarantees the recipient will be saving a life by adopting. Happy giving!

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Envision this: the birds are landing on the Christmas tree and pecking at the shiny ornaments. Meanwhile, one cat is trying to climb the Christmas tree, while another is mauling the Christmas lights on the banister. And then there’s the dog, who’s found a whole bunch of new chew toys – wrapped gifts – under the tree and he’s discovered what a wonderful ripping and crinkling sound the wrapping paper makes as he unceremoniously tears the paper to shreds. That’s what the holidays were like at my house when I tried to get festive a few years ago. Needless to say, we’ve had to “pet-proof” the house in a big way during the holidays to avoid putting our pets in danger.

So here’s a few of my own holiday pet proofing tips, to avoid placing your dog, cat, bird or other pets in harms way this holiday season:

Tether the Christmas Tree – If you have dogs or cats, it’s really a good idea to secure your Christmas tree with a couple of wires attached to eye hooks. This will prevent the pets from knocking over the Christmas tree. It creates a huge mess. Take my word on this one. I’ve written a step-by-step guide for tethering the Christmas tree for anyone who’s interested.

Use a Dog Gate Around the Christmas Tree – If you have a young, energetic dog who likes to play and run in the house, you may want to buy one of those dog pens to put around the Christmas tree. Tethering the Christmas tree will prevent the dog from knocking it over, but it won’t prevent him from knocking off the ornaments and pine needles! This is also a great solution for dogs who like to chew on the Christmas tree – it’s a recipe for a very upset stomach and a vomiting dog. Again, take my word on this one!

Avoid Garland and “Icicles” – Garland and those strands of shiny “icicle” are a recipe for disaster, especially for cats and birds. If a pet eats icicles or garland, it can cause intestinal obstructions, so avoid these decorations at all costs.

Don’t Put Gifts Under the Tree – Some pets will rip apart gifts just to hear the crinkle of the wrapping paper, but this problem can be largely avoided if you put a dog pen around the tree. If you do put gifts under the Christmas tree, be sure they don’t contain any food items – your dog will smell the food from a mile away and it could lead to a pet poisoning incident if the gift contains gourmet chocolates or coffee beans.

Unplug Christmas Lights – Some cats will really enjoy chewing, batting and clawing strings of Christmas lights, so unplug them when they’re not in use and inspect the string of lights for chewing or clawing damage before plugging them in again.

Avoid Toxic Plants – Many holiday plants are toxic to pets. So before you bring a plant into the home for the holidays, check to be sure that the plant is not toxic. Some common holiday plants that are toxic to pets include mistletoe, poinsettia, holly berries and even cedar Christmas trees.

Avoid Glass Ornaments and Decorations – Glass ornaments and decorations will pose a huge holiday pet hazard if a pet breaks the ornament or decoration, sending shards of glass everywhere (and I mean everywhere – you’ll find bits of ornament well into July).

One easy way to keep glass and other breakable decorations intact involves using a bit of poster putty to secure a decoration on the coffee table or other hard surface – this will help keep the breakable decoration in place if a dog or cat bumps into the decoration or the table that it’s situated on. If your cat is walking on tables, mantles and other places where holiday decorations are situated, get a cat alarm that’s triggered by motion. It’ll buzz every time the cat jumps onto the surface, sending him running. Cat training alarms work wonders during the holidays and the rest of the year too.

No matter how cautious you are as a pet owner, accidents do sometimes happen. So just be ready to swing into action if your pet is injured or sickened as the result of a holiday hazard. Keep the ASPCA Poison Control Hotline number (888-426-4435) on-hand and know where the nearest 24-hour emergency veterinary clinic is located – just in case.

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You can help homeless pets and rescue organizations have more things for which to be thankful this holiday. Here are a few suggestions.

Adopt!

If your family is weathering the economic crisis well, and if you have room in your home and family for another pet, there’s never been a better time to adopt. Increased surrender rates mean increased euthanasia rates at shelters. Pets that would ordinarily be considered highly adoptable may be put to sleep this winter due for lack of space.

Remember, if you perceive adoption as a poor option for your family, you may simply have fallen for one of the many common myths about pet adoption. If you’re looking for another pet, whether it’s a ferret or a purebred Boston Terrier, you can probably find the right match available for adoption at a shelter near you.

Do Some Holiday Shopping for a Shelter

If you’ll be joining the doorbuster-fueled retail frenzy on Black Friday, consider meeting some of your favorite animal welfare organization’s needs. Some retailers have great specials on items that are useful to animal shelters. For example, Ace Hardware will be offering a large pet bed for $9.99. Other retailers might have useful items like blankets, dog toys, or paper towels (these are always needed, but rarely donated) at steep discounts.

Rescues and shelters also need items that aren’t directly related to pet care. If you’re able to splurge to help homeless pets, consider purchasing a sale-priced color printer, digital camera, digital camcorder, or computer. All of these items help pets reach their forever homes more quickly. Good-quality pictures or videos of adoptable pets, placed on websites like Petfinder where people will see them, go a long way toward recruiting enough adopters to get every pet rehomed successfully.

Volunteer

Once you’ve slept off the tryptophan after a big turkey dinner, consider looking into volunteer opportunities near you. Even if you’re allergic and must carefully limit your exposure to pets, the holiday season means many shelters need volunteers for tasks that don’t even require contact with animal fur or dander. Most shelters host holiday fundraisers, like a gift-wrap table at bookstores or a Yuletide ball.

If you can have direct contact with animals, you’re always needed for important tasks at shelter facilities like petting cats, walking dogs, cleaning kennels, and more. You could also become a foster parent for a pet in need of special attention. Very young or old pets often need foster homes in order to thrive and be adoptable. Pets with special needs, like deafness or arthritis, also do better in foster homes than shelters.

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I’m an experienced pet writer from the Boston area. I specialize in writing about pet care, with a focus on care for sick pets, injured pets or special needs pets. My own menagerie of animals inspires my pet writing. I currently have six dogs, six cats, two rats, two guinea pigs and eight birds. And those are just the resident animals. I also serve as a wildlife rehabilitator and pet foster parent for several local animal shelters and animal rescue organizations. I also volunteer as a pet writer and pet transporter for a handful of non-profit animal rescues in New England.

I was inspired to help special needs animals by chance. My first special needs pet was a Miniature Pinscher named Kota, who suffers from a idiopathic form of Trigeminal Neuritis – a nerve disorder of unknown origin that caused her to lose the ability to move her jaw. This means that we have to hand-feed Kota all of her meals and since she cannot drink, she receives daily subcutaneous fluid injections at home. Kota also happens to have a chronic form of bloat – it seems she didn’t read the rulebook on bloat, which is rarely seen in toy breed dogs. Bloat primarily affects large breed, deep-chested dogs and the condition is often fatal, but Kota suffers from bloat so frequently that she underwent an operation to pin her organs in place to prevent the deadly intestinal twisting that so often occurs with bloat.

My experiences with Kota – my admitted “favorite” of the pack – inspired me to help other handicapped animals. I’ve since taken on nearly several dozen special needs pets with chronic illnesses and disabilities of varying degrees.  In short, I take the animals that no one else wants; the “damaged goods” that the shelter cannot place. Some of my animals are just temporary residents, who stay with me to undergo physical or behavioral rehabilitation. Other animals have conditions so debilitating or so severe that it’s virtually impossible to find a taker. And a few of my foster animals have meshed incredibly well with my other resident animals – so much so that, when it came time to place them into a home, we realized that they’re already at home with us.

I’ve dedicated much of my spare time to becoming an “expert” in each animal’s condition, so I can provide the best possible care. I’ve also educated myself extensively in the area of animal behavior, training, care and husbandry.

Over the years, I’ve seen how much damage results from a pet owner who is not properly educated. In fact, many of my disabled animals would not be disabled in the first place had they been in the care of an educated and capable pet owner. Love for a pet only gets you so far. As a pet owner, you need to recognize when a behavioral or physical problem is arising, and you need to know when to act and seek veterinary care or other help for a pet. That said, my goal is to educate other pet owners, to share what I’ve learned about pet care, caring for sick pets, disabled pets and pets who are suffering from behavioral problems and disorders. My goal is to help pets by helping the pet owners to become well educated. I hope you all enjoy my writings.

Happy Thanksgiving To All

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