We are so profoundly conditioned to abhor and revile these small mammals that many react with disgust at the name "rat". However, if you look a little more closely you discover interesting information. Below is a quote from an online article.
Willy was my friend Kathy’s rescued rat. He had a great life that included full run of the house. He would return to his always open cage to eat and drink on one side of it and urinate/defecate on the other side. Kathy is a pianist who practices long hours each day. Occasionally Willy would run over to Kathy and rest on her shoulder as she played. At some point, Kathy realized that Willy only came to listen to pieces by Bach. With 100% regularity, he would appear on her shoulder within minutes of her beginning anything by Bach, but no other composers.Rats like Bach? Rats like to be tickled and laugh?
These beings are not even considered animals under the woefully inadequate law (inadequate because it places no restrictions on what can be done to animals in labs, only that they have to be fed and watered) that is supposed to provide some protection for animals used for testing in laboratories.
Willy the rat likes Bach and may even enjoy being tickled and laughing but the laboratory law (Animal Welfare Act) does not consider him to be an animal --- nor does this law consider mice or birds to be animals.
Cats and rats, enemies right?
What a piece of work we humans are.
