Have you recently adopted/rescued a rat?

[Miranda Luck]

Hello! I am running some research into how animal shelters, rescue centres/organisations can improve their services. I know dogs and cats have formal adoption processes but sometimes rats (and other little guys) have a less organised approach to their rehoming.

Have you recently adopted or rescued a rat? Was it a good or bad experience?Please fill out a quick and easy on-line 'Rescue Review' with your thoughts:

Every participant goes into a draw to win a year's free supply of pet food ... so its an excellent use of 2 minutes of your time!

http://www.mirandaluck.com/index.html

Thank you!

[Felix]

I wonder if you could clarify what you mean by this on your website:

"The first indication of a good animal shelter is mandatory neutering of all animals. This includes both males and females, mixed breed as well as pedigree animals. No responsible shelter will adopt animals without making provisions for their neutering. Ideally all animals leaving a shelter should be neutered prior to entering their new homes"

It sounds self explanatory, suggesting that you mean even dwarf hamsters etc should be neutered? But I'm not sure that is what you mean. Would be useful for this to be clearer as in effect it's saying that rescues that don't spay all rats/mice/gerbils etc are irresponsible and no good?

I know dogs and cats have formal adoption processes but sometimes rats (and other little guys) have a less organised approach to their rehoming.

Most specific rat rescues (& other rodent rescues) do have a formal adoption process, but some bigger organisations that have dogs/cats as well as small furries sometimes place more importance on the bigger animals - so it is they that have a less organised approach.
This makes a lot of shelters hard to review, as they may be great with dogs but know nothing about rats etc.

[RattyRenton]

I recently adopted two baby boys from a local rescue centre (Can provide the name of it if needed). They were great, they insisted on knowing what type of cage I had and I signed an adoption certificate. I told them they were going in with my other lads and they wanted to know if I had a spare cage for them if intros didn't work. This centre is mainly cats and dogs and rabbits but they cover a very wide range of other animals as well.
They often have rats in and keep them in huge cages with Finacard or shredded paper.

[Miranda Luck]

I wonder if you could clarify what you mean by this on your website:

"The first indication of a good animal shelter is mandatory neutering of all animals. This includes both males and females, mixed breed as well as pedigree animals. No responsible shelter will adopt animals without making provisions for their neutering. Ideally all animals leaving a shelter should be neutered prior to entering their new homes"

It sounds self explanatory, suggesting that you mean even dwarf hamsters etc should be neutered? But I'm not sure that is what you mean. Would be useful for this to be clearer as in effect it's saying that rescues that don't spay all rats/mice/gerbils etc are irresponsible and no good?

I know dogs and cats have formal adoption processes but sometimes rats (and other little guys) have a less organised approach to their rehoming.

Most specific rat rescues (& other rodent rescues) do have a formal adoption process, but some bigger organisations that have dogs/cats as well as small furries sometimes place more importance on the bigger animals - so it is they that have a less organised approach.
This makes a lot of shelters hard to review, as they may be great with dogs but know nothing about rats etc.

Oh! Apologies! I have not been very clear at all! The 'benchmark of good shelters' is purely referring to dog and cat homes. I wonder if there is a similar 'benchmark of good practice' for small animals? (ie rodent rescue). If so, I would be pleased to include it on my site as a guide to anyone considering adoption.

I agree totally with your second point about the 'multi-specie' rehoming centres. I do worry that some are unable to rehome effectively due to lack of knowledge. This is not an attack - as many are doing the best they can, however they may not be caring for or homing as well as a specialist.

Rescue Review is 'work in progress' and if there is anything you think I should add or change to help the rodent rescues, please let me know.