Too Many Rats

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paghat - 24 Mar 2005 16:37 GMT

AFP Story, March 25, 2005:

A mother and her 10-year-old daughter lived several months in a filthy
two-room apartment in the company of more than 100 rats, German police
said. The police were alerted to the situation after neighbours complained
of a strong smell of excrement coming from the apartment.

When the renter opened her door to the police on Saturday, they were
greeted by a swarm of flies. Inside the apartment police officers found
cages containing guinea pigs, rabbits and parrots, and the floors were
covered in feces.
One of the rooms, which was originally the little girl's, was inhabited by rats.

"My colleagues didn't open the door to the second room because the rats
would have come running out," police spokewoman Petra Holzhausen said
yesterday, adding that veterinary specialists were currently eradicating
the rodents from the apartment.

Holzhausen said the renter had clearly lost control of the situation."In
the beginning she just kept a few rats, but they bred out of control."

The renter admitted to continuing to feed the rodents over the last six months.

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C+J Tondreau - 24 Mar 2005 16:56 GMT

> AFP Story, March 25, 2005:
>
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> "History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden
> people maintaining a free civil government." -Thomas Jefferson

Most of the cases of pet hoarding I've heard of involve cats. I've never
heard of one where rodents were overrunning the home. It's a shame - for
the animals, as well as the people.

Jacqui

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Meghan - 24 Mar 2005 22:04 GMT

> AFP Story, March 25, 2005:
>
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
>
> The renter admitted to continuing to feed the rodents over the last six months.

Yes, I too thought of the "cat collectors" that you see on tv - it's
actually a compulsion and requires some professional help I believe.
Unfortunately when it's a case of 100 rats in the house it conjures up
images that give ratties a bad reputation in the first place. Those poor
100 rats. I adopted a female last fall from Kim's Ark who had been in this
same type of situation (not 100, but too many) and when she came to me
(directly from the owner) OH, did she smell horrible and was infested with
lice. Poor thing! She was a sweet girl too, but died a sudden death only a
month after I got her. I seriously think about this when I'm tempted to
just keep adopting and adopting. I don't know where the line is, but I'd
hate to get to a point where I just couldn't care for the ones I had.

Meghan

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Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / March 2005

Too Many Rats