After finding out mom is allergic, family has to give up their beloved family rats, but thankfully, they find the most excited, kindest person to adopt them: 'The nine-year-old kid says, 'I am glad that they are going with you. You seem nice.''

Author image for Mariel Ruvinsky
Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor
Jul 1, 2026 8:15 AM EDT

People form attachments to all kinds of animals, even some unexpected ones. 

It's true. Everyone knows that people easily bond with dogs. Everyone knows countless people love cats. Even birds are relatively common pets, and there's a reason for that. The fact that we, as humans, bond with so many different animals is one of our favorite things about humanity, actually. It's just so- wholesome. We go out of our way to help and care for animals, no matter how different they are from us and from the things that we know. People go out of their way to help rescue stranded eagles. People raise pigs and love them as if they are cats or dogs or birds. One person managed to find his mare's long-lost foal- just to make the horse happier. And one person's teenage rebellion phase included rescuing a bunch of ducklings and caring for them behind their parents' backs. 

This is simply who we are as people. So, really, when we came across this story on r/rats, we weren't inherently surprised by it. Someone coming to the rescue when a mother developed an allergy to her family's pet rats - that's not necessarily surprising. What surprised us was the excitement. It was seeing it written down, expressed with such pure and wholesome joy. It was seeing this love for animals applied to animals who would generally be considered not so cute. And the love didn't come just from the rescuer in this story. No, it came from the kids in the family, who just wanted their pets to go to a new home. It came from the parents who were willing to give them away nearly for free - just as long as the person taking them was a good one. Hope for humanity is everywhere in this story, and we just love it. 

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  • 01

    "Nothing could have prepared me for this arrival today."

    Cheezburger Image 10643076608
    via touchmyfoodidareyou
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    MALT CHE
    via touchmyfoodidareyou
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    EDIT: guys, he is basically at least EIGHT MONTHS old and I got him and his brothers with a big cage and everything included while basically paying nothing and now I am scared I'm gonna get hit by a bus tomorrow or something because this is all a little bit to much luck lol
    via touchmyfoodidareyou
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    EDIT2: oh my god he came out of the cage and started to groom me what on earth is going on he has been in my flat for six hours
    via touchmyfoodidareyou

  • We have to say… of all the rats that we have seen in our lives, this one… yes, we do believe that this one is one of the cutest. 

  • 05
    Hippity Hoppity Boop Those ears wtfff how can one creature be this cute?
    via HippityHoppityBoop
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    touchmyfoodidareyou OP I swear it broke my heart to get him and his brothers. The family practically gave them away for free, big cage, everything included, it was a joke. The mother developed an allergy and they had to, the kids were so sad. And now he is here and I'm sending them pictures like: oh my god I am so sorry?!?!?!
    via touchmyfoodidareyou
  • 07
    SarryK Reading this has me feeling like watching an old school Disney film as a kid
    via SarryK
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    touchmyfoodidareyou OP when I visited them to check them out in the middle of everything the nine year old kid looks at me, sighs and says: "You know what? I am glad that they are going with you. you seem nice." like ?!?!?!?! that kid was so brave and grown up and nice and I took that rat away from the kiddo and now he is looking at me like this, I am not okay
    via touchmyfoodidareyou
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    United_Rent_753 The fact that you feel so deeply about all of this, humans and rat both, means you're the right person for this job. I'm confident you'll make sure the kids and rat are okay
    via United_Rent_753
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    touchmyfoodidareyou OP thank you! I will text them until the end of his and their lifetime if they want that. I also offered that they can visit them if they ever are in town and I have time, so I hope they will be fine. It just hurts to see, they didn't deserve it.
    via touchmyfoodidareyou
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    Cheezburger Image 10643077120
    via Unsplash / Annemarie Horne - annemariehorne

    Cute rat model peeking its head out of a toy. 

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    fuschia_taco This is the cutest rat I think I've ever seen in my life. the luck. op. Some people have all
    via fuschia_taco
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    touchmyfoodidareyou OP I think this might be one of those once in a lifetime things. I am not lying: Everything they gave me costs around 700 bucks. they wanted 80. they were like: we just want a good home for them. like. I had the worst year, the universe thought it is paybacktime.
    via touchmyfoodidareyou

  • We think that some cat or dog owners don't talk so fondly about their pets. This person really is so, so happy to have found these rats, and if you don't find that wholesome, then you don't know what you would. 

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    Cheezburger Image 10643076864
    via Unsplash / Kalyan Sak

    Image of a tiny and cute white rat, modeled by an acutal rat. 

  • 15
    vampireefangzzz Don't mind me, I'll be sneaking out of your house with a suspiciously rat shaped lump in my pockets
    via vampireefangzzz
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    touchmyfoodidareyou OP I wish I could prove it but that was exactly what I said to the family when I first met him
    via touchmyfoodidareyou
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    Cheezburger Image 10643077888
    via Unsplash / Oxana Golubets - ok_milka

    Picture of a tiny cat model peeking its head from a bed and showing off its whiskers. 

  • 18
    Weeaboo Trash6 i diagnose them with baby
    via WeeabooTrash6
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    touchmyfoodidareyou OP eight month baby that desperately needs to go on a diet
    via touchmyfoodidareyou

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aww wholesome adorable rats adoption heartwarming cute adopted story animals mouse rescue
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