Rune (pr. rooh-neh) got to explore the cupboards while I finished up some laundry last night. He had a wonderful time exploring, boggling and chittering the whole time. A bit put out there weren’t convenient holes to get to the higher shelves, but you can’t have everything. Click for full size.
© C. Ford.
“A lot of soft, warm places and familiar odours.”
And new smells, always interesting! Rune had a very good time. After that, he had his first hoodie training, and we went outside and picked some dandelion flowers and leaves for everyone.
Rune is so darling. I love his curly whiskers! The fourth picture is total ratteh cuteness. What a face!
He’s my little cuddle bear. Adorable, always. And he loves getting to go on adventures.
He definitely looks like he was enjoying himself.
Looks all tuckered out by that last photo.
Busterggi, he was having a clean ‘n’ groom session. He wasn’t remotely tuckered! :D
That explains the look in #4. Those in the house with opposable thumbs are responsible for using the cordless drill to create such holes.
Can never get enough rat photos. Been too long since the last batch.
It’s interesting that their whiskers are curly!! I gather that they serve (as they do in cats) as sensor-arrays that let the cat know “yes my head can fit in there” …. or have I just committed evolutionary psychology? Curly whiskers argue against that.
Marcus:
Oh, no, rat whiskers aren’t curly. They are straight, and tremendously long, as you can see in this photo of Chas:
Where the curl comes from is in the breeding of Rex rats (like Rex cats), which gives them that wavy hair. I’ve never bought a purebred Rex, but Grace was part Rex, and somewhere in the lines, there was also hairless, so Rune is a blend of Dumbo, Rex, and Hairless. Rats are very whisker dependent, and they are remarkably sensory and sensitive. Rats have very lousy eyesight, but their accuracy when it comes to jumping, grabbing stuff, all that, is nothing short of amazing. Chas, the rat in the photo, used to suddenly stand up, and snatch a fly out of the air. The Rex whiskers, in spite of the curl, still seem to do their job, although perhaps not as efficiently as the regular type.
Marcus, curly whiskers are a sign that a rat has the Rex mutation for a curly coat. It’s not the standard rat, they’re considered a fancy breed. Standard rats have long straight whiskers. I’m not an expert, Caine probably knows more. :-)
Lol I obviously didn’t refresh soon enough! :-D
Kengi:
Chasing rats for photos can be an exhausting task. With some crews, it’s easier. This one is pure difficult. Would there be interest in a Rats Past series? I have a serious many lots of photos of previous crews.
Yeah, one vote for rats past…
Two votes for rats past!
Okay, I shall make it so.
Another vote for Rats Past! I may not comment on these, but I do enjoy them, like a long-running adventure story.