Wanted: Good Home for 1,000 Rats. No Cats Need Apply.

If you don't like rodents, stop reading right ... now.

This probably isn't the story for you.

There's an effort going on in California to find good homes for 1,000 rats.

I would have guessed finding a home for even a couple would be tough. But a thousand?

I suspect a few zoo workers would love to get their (thickly gloved) hands on these rats to feed a few snakes or other critters that see rats as a nice snack. There might be some school teachers who think these would be great for the classroom. And a few university labs might be wondering how they can get them for a few experiments.

But instead, the plan is to save rats, maybe give them nice homes where they may go forth and multiply.

Multiplying was what led to this problem in the first place.

A man who lives in Los Angeles had made the mistake of allowing his daughter to bring home one pregnant rat, according to an article in the San Jose Mercury News. (http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16675119?nclick_check=1)

And thus begat the next generation ... which begat the next generation ... and begat  the next generation, until a thousand rats had taken over this guy's place.

According to the Mercury News:

The rats escaped into the man's house and began reproducing. This was no small matter, because rats give birth after only three weeks of gestation, and can have litters of as many as 20 babies. And those offspring are ready to start breeding -- or in this case, inbreeding -- within 30 days.

"He had all these rats reproducing until they had destroyed his entire house," Paul said. "They chewed all the way through the walls."

The rats burrowed into the ground underneath the home and soon were running loose on the property. Instead of contacting animal control, the man's neighbors contacted the company that produces "Hoarders," an A&E reality show about people who have become captives of their collectibles.

When the rat rescue people moved in, they found themselves walking on droppings and insulation torn out of the walls that formed a creepy carpet an inch and a half thick. "There were cages in the house, but the doors were all open," recalled Paul. "When you walked into the house, you were standing in crowds of rats. They were all around you."

Suddenly, the cuteness of the rats has disappeared. Remember, these aren't friendly, lovable, talking rats that have a flair for cooking extravagant dishes, like in Disney-Pixar's movie Ratatouille (http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/ratatouille/). 

So, anyway, the reality TV show "Hoarders" thought this would make a great show and rushed off to film it (probably much cheaper than making animated movies about rats), a rescue organization and volunteers went to save the rats, and instead of showtime it's now show over for this large rat family.

Of course, this should serve as a valuable lesson for anyone who brings home new pets.

I speak from experience.

When I was growing up, my younger brother kept bringing home various animals his friends had given him.

One Easter, he brought home two rabbits he swore were two males.

They weren't.

Within a year, we had 160 rabbits (that we know of) hopping everywhere we looked all over our farm.

But that's a story for another day.