MY PET & I

Sonal shares her experiences with her ratty pets

-- By Sonal Wadhwa

This is a short story about my two pets—Chiggy and Wiggy. Chiggy and Wiggy are not dogs or cats or birds or rabbits. They belong to a species that all households protect themselves from and most people term as ‘pests’— rats!

Chiggy Wiggy Enter our Lives

My brother brought them home one day from a local pet shop, in a unique yellow cage. At first, my parents were adamant that they wouldn’t let us keep them, but later on they grudgingly agreed. Their white hair, red eyes and long moustaches were cute enough for me to fall in love with them instantly. We named them Chiggy and Wiggy. Chiggy is the male and Wiggy is the female. The Internet gave me all the information I needed to take care of them. Soon, they got acquainted with me and my room, where they kept hopping all day. Our house became an attraction for relatives and friends, who came just to have a look at the new family members. Everyone had their own opinion. Older relatives said that they are a form of Lord Ganesha and should be well taken care of. There were others who said no matter how beautiful they looked, they were creepy creatures and brought in diseases. My parents were of the second school of thought and tried every possible way to persuade me to abandon them. I fought a new battle every day but never lost.

I realised how badly we misjudge animals—finding it comfortable to believe in what the masses say of them, without even bothering to find out the truth for ourselves. What I discovered after getting to know Chiggy-Wiggy is that rats are very intelligent creatures. They understand almost everything related to them—they recognise their names, ask for food when hungry, cuddle for love and hide when they do something wrong. They are also cleanliness freaks, contrary to popular belief, as they keep grooming themselves, or each other. Their long, sharp nails are always free from dirt. They are very naïve and never bite anyone or anything, like clothes or household items unless they are starving.

There are some differences in the habits of male and female rats. Males are more obedient, while females are more active and naughty. Chiggy & Wiggy fight like kids and make up later; they play together and sleep on top of each other’s bellies.

Chiggy Wiggy have a Family

I didn’t realise that these kids had transformed into adults till one day, I found eight little brown mice in their cage. It took me some time to realise what had happened after which, I hid all the babies from my parents’ sight till I could mentally prepare myself on how to best handle the situation. I had no idea that rats multiplied at such an early age and that too, in such large numbers! Again, the Internet gave me all the information about the newborns. Wiggy suddenly became responsible and possessive towards her babies and kept them protected all the time. She created a nest out of the newspaper in her cage and kept all the little ones inside, feeding them regularly.

Soon, the brown little things became white and began to grow substantially each day. It was a unique experience to watch them grow and was extremely difficult to part with them after four weeks of caring and love. I gave them up for adoption to different families, who promised to take good care of them. Later on, I also had to give away Wiggy to avoid further rat reproduction in my house. Although, it was painful to let go of her, I had to make the practical decision.

I would never recommend anyone to bring home rats of opposite sexes, in order to avoid the issue of breeding. However, it should be noted that rats also, like humans, need company and cannot thrive alone all their lives.

I still live happily with my Chiggy and one of his male babies, who isn’t a baby anymore, and is extremely adorable. They have become an integral part of my life and I can’t imagine a day without watching them play beside me!