{"id":4560,"date":"2026-01-22T12:07:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T18:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/?p=4560"},"modified":"2026-01-22T12:09:58","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T18:09:58","slug":"the-beauty-of-heart-rats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/the-beauty-of-heart-rats\/","title":{"rendered":"The Beauty Of Heart Rats"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How many heart rats will you have in your lifetime? Brandi Saxton<\/a> of It’s A Rat’s World<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I believe most rat owners have a favorite rat among their mischief, whether they want to admit it out loud or not. I mean, why hurt your other rats\u2019 feelings, right?<\/p>\n

No matter what size my mischief was at a given time there was always one, if not two rats, I favored. It usually came down to personality, their desire to cuddle, or some random quirk they had. In my final group, the favorite was Kelton. He was a very silly Himalayan Dumbo who had a naughty streak. So naughty, that he once talked his cagemates into taking over my job and \u201cwrote\u201d one of my monthly articles<\/a> himself!<\/p>\n

He absolutely knew how adorable he was, which he used against me; he knew I couldn\u2019t stay mad at his sweet face. Just thinking about him right now brings back so many good memories, and I can\u2019t help but smile.<\/p>\n

While Kelton was the favorite of my last mischief, he wasn\u2019t actually a heart rat.<\/p>\n

What Is A Heart Rat?<\/h3>\n
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Kelton was amazing and a favorite rat, but our bond didn’t reach heart-rat level. Brandi Saxton<\/a> of It’s A Rat’s World<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the rat community, the term \u201cheart rat\u201d is used to describe an animal soulmate. They are essentially the favorite among every favorite rat you\u2019ll ever have. The deep bonds that develop with these extra notable creatures immortalizes them in your heart for a lifetime.<\/p>\n

Not to sound hokey but having a heart rat almost feels \u2014 mystical. At least to me anyway. Mine felt like little gifts from the universe that were brought into my life during times when I truly needed them. Not that I actually believe in fate, but the profound connection I had with these animals is fundamentally different than any other relationship I\u2019ve had with other pets, or even other humans. They had a crucial impact on my life, and frankly, my identity.<\/p>\n

How Do You Know If Your Rat Is A Heart Rat?<\/h3>\n
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Brockton had that indefinable something that made him a heart rat for me. Brandi Saxton<\/a> of It’s A Rat’s World<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is not a relationship that you can orchestrate or demand of them. It develops organically, and you will feel a shared kinship that differs significantly from your other rats.<\/p>\n

Losing any pet rat is painful, really painful, but losing a heart rat is next-level sorrow. After I lost my second one, I swore that I wouldn\u2019t allow myself to get that attached again. That doesn\u2019t mean I stopped getting rats or that I didn\u2019t grieve, because I definitely did and still do, I just planned on guarding myself from extra heartache.<\/p>\n

Turns out it wasn\u2019t up to me, however. No matter how much I fought it, six more of these gloriously magical creatures wormed their way into my heart and soul. The bonds manifested instantaneously and with zero effort, because the rats themselves pushed for it.<\/p>\n

Bowl-You-Over Personality<\/h3>\n
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Korben had two nicknames: I called him my Korbies and my Korbanzo Bean. Brandi Saxton<\/a> of It’s A Rat’s World<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I can\u2019t speak on every heart rat, but mine have all had something specific in common: They were uncommonly friendly and very demanding.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a snippet from something I wrote for It\u2019s a Rat\u2019s World magazine in April 2012 after my boy Korben Dallas (heart rat #4) passed away: \u201cEach one of these unique rats has had a pushy, bigger-than-life personality that demanded to not only be loved by me, but to be the center of my universe.\u201d<\/p>\n

This doesn\u2019t mean that all heart rats are exactly the same, but a strong personality seems to be a key factor.<\/p>\n

I met Brockton (#3), and Korben Dallas and Leeloo (#5) during separate health checks that I performed for Any Rat Rescue<\/a> (ARR) when they were being surrendered. Brockton was pure sunshine and instantly treated me like we were long lost friends. He rigorously cleaned my hands and popcorned from the excitement of meeting me. During his two-week quarantine, I couldn\u2019t stop thinking about him and his brothers, and I panicked at the idea of someone else getting to have this extraordinarily friendly Rex black Berkshire. I called the director of ARR and told her not to bother setting up a foster home, I\u2019d be taking Brockton and his brothers myself. To this day, I\u2019ve never had a rat brux and boggle<\/a> as much as my Brockton did.<\/p>\n

Korben and Leeloo came along shortly after Brockton died and were a bonded pair. They both channeled Brockton-level happiness at their health check, where Leeloo jumped on my shoulder and Korben, who I swore was Brockton reincarnated, grabbed my bottom lip with his teeth and tried to carry me across the top of his cage. If this agouti, hooded rat could talk, I swear he was saying, \u201cHey bestie, you belong to me now.\u201d And who was I to argue?<\/p>\n

Outside Of The Mold<\/h3>\n
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Leeloo was my heart rat who had the soul of an adventurer. Brandi Saxton<\/a> of It’s A Rat’s World<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Heart rats show themselves in unpredictable ways.<\/p>\n

For instance, extra time working to win the trust of a frightened or traumatized rat, or time caring for a rat with health issues can influence how deep a bond is formed.<\/p>\n

And sometimes, it takes a busy rat slowing down for them to realize just how much they love you.<\/p>\n

It took me much longer to register that my beautiful Siamese, Leeloo, was also a heart rat, and it only happened after Korben died. I think that\u2019s because she had always been far more independent and demanded less of my attention. She was notorious for getting out of her cage<\/a> and even managed to slip out of our house once. She was missing for three full days before finding her way back home. She actually announced she was back by scratching at our back door!!! When I opened it to find her sitting on the doormat, it was the first and only time I saw fear in her eyes.<\/p>\n

When constant health issues started slowing Leeloo down, that\u2019s when I realized that losing her was going to feel heart-rat-level painful. When she finally passed away my vet summed her up perfectly, \u201cShe was the Amelia Earhart of the rat world \u2014 spunky, fearless, always looking for adventures.\u201d How could you not love a rat like this?<\/p>\n

And would you believe that a heart rat could be in the form of multiple rats? Let me introduce you to the last of my heart rats: #6a, #6b, and #6c. Why not #6 \u2013 8? Well, that\u2019s because these heart rats did not exist independently of one another. I\u2019m talking about my Supernatural Brothers<\/a>: Winchester, Crowley, and Castiel. Despite these Rex brothers looking completely different from one another, their personalities were remarkably similar, and they almost functioned like a singular rat. They usually moved and reacted in tandem and were absolutely inseparable. Not a single one stood out more than the other, and they quite literally equaled one heart rat for me.<\/p>\n

How Many Heart Rats Can You Have?<\/h3>\n
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The Supernatural Brothers seemed to move through the world in unison, and I consider them a single heart rat. Brandi Saxton<\/a> of It’s A Rat’s World<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I originally thought we only got one heart rat. Otherwise, how did they differ from a regular favorite rat? But this misunderstanding stemmed from the fact that it took 10 years and seven more rats before I felt such a profoundly deep attachment to another rat in the same way I did with my first heart rat. And let me tell you, heart rat #2 was no standard favorite, he was and still is a forever love that continues to be a part of my life, decades after his death.<\/p>\n

How many heart rats you will have depends on how many rats you have in your lifetime. Out of the 59 rats that I have loved and lost over a 30-plus-year time span, only six of them (or eight if you count the Supernatural Brothers individually) were heart rats.<\/p>\n

And are all heart rats equal? No, not necessarily. You may find that you actually have a heart rat among your heart rats.<\/p>\n

I was lucky enough to have two.<\/p>\n

Rory (Borealis) #1<\/h3>\n
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This photo of Rory is one of only a few that exist, and it has stayed with me for decades through every move. It’s the way I keep him close to me. Brandi Saxton<\/a> of It’s A Rat’s World<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My first heart rat<\/a> came into my life shortly after I was married. He was not my first rat, he was actually my fourth, but he\u2019s the rat that changed my entire life trajectory.<\/p>\n

I got married very young. I have no regrets about this and am still married to Nathan (my heart human), but we were essentially kids. It immediately threw us into adulthood, and what I didn\u2019t fully understand at the time was that I was also dealing with undiagnosed ADHD, depression, and anxiety. These things were rarely talked about back in the \u201990s \u2014 specifically in females. The symptoms worsened once I was without the safety net of my mom and her financial support.<\/p>\n

Growing up, pocket pets had always brought me a considerable amount of happiness, especially my rats. So, I found myself coming home one day with a tiny baby rat. The internet was yet to be, and I was stuck with only a terribly outdated book for rat care. But it did teach me that the beige, hooded female I thought I brought home was, in reality, a male. I named him Rory, which morphed into Rory Borealis.<\/p>\n

My attachment to Rory was IMMEDIATE and we became inseparable. I\u2019m not kidding when I say that rat went EVERYWHERE with me! Restaurants, stores, movie theaters, vacations, you name it; wherever I was, so was Rory.<\/p>\n

He brought me happiness in a way nothing else could. Whenever I was particularly down, all Nathan had to say was his name and I\u2019d instantly smile. He could not cure my depression of course, but this tiny, little being seemed to understand my moods. He would curl up in my arms or climb onto my shoulder and lick away my tears, and then snuggle in close for hours if I needed it.<\/p>\n

Even strangers loved him. A few strokes to the tummy would put Rory into a deep sleep in the palm of my hand, leaving people in awe and instantly altering their misconceptions of rats. In all my time with rats, I\u2019ve never had another one like Rory.<\/p>\n

When this most glorious creature grew old and left this world, I sunk into a deep depression that lasted months; I felt like a part of me had died with him. Eventually, I decided that the only way through the loss was to get another rat. Not because Rory was replaceable, he most definitely wasn\u2019t, but because he had turned me into a \u201crat person.\u201d There are dog people and cat people, but I was now and forever a rat person. I had also found my calling because of him. All I wanted to do was dedicate my life to these maligned animals and show the world how great they are.<\/p>\n

Because this rat was so deeply loved, I named my one and only human child Rory, as a way to honor him. And Borealis became the name of the art gallery and frame shop that Nathan and I owned for eight years.<\/p>\n

Delphiniums Blue #2<\/h3>\n
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Delphiniums Blue practically demanded that I adopt him and added so much to my life. Brandi Saxton<\/a> of It’s A Rat’s World<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It felt impossible to love another rat as much as I did Rory. That is until Delphiniums Blue. When I went to pick up the two baby Dumbo brothers I had put on hold at a pet store, all the rats in the aquarium stayed hiding in the corner \u2014 except for Delphiniums. This Russian blue roan came running straight over, put a hand on the glass, and peered straight at me. In that moment I felt an instant and unbreakable connection, and I came home with three rats that day. It\u2019s also the last time I ever got rats from a pet store. I\u2019m now a strict believer in adopting from shelters.<\/p>\n

Delphiniums had a very different personality and life than his predecessor. He was the alpha of a rat mischief and of our dogs<\/a>. I rarely got to take him places like I did with (rat) Rory because (human) Rory required most of my attention. But Delphiniums was the inspiration for It\u2019s a Rat\u2019s World magazine and constantly provided me with humorous content and stories to write about.<\/p>\n

Despite Delphiniums never knowing Rory the rat, he absolutely loved Rory<\/a> the human. It was my son who came up with the name \u201cFiniums,\u201d since he was only 2 at the time and unable to pronounce the rat\u2019s name. Anyone who knows me well knows the name Finiums. For one, it\u2019s the name I use for my personal\/art Instagram account<\/a>. It is also the name of the fictional forest I\u2019ve invented as the setting for the novel I\u2019m attempting to write. Finiums Forest is filled with an array of goofy, \u201cspooky\u201d rat characters that I draw.<\/p>\n

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My shoulder tattoo keeps Delphiniums Blue with me. Brandi Saxton<\/a> of It’s A Rat’s World<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was never blessed with a second child that I could name Finiums (not that Nathan was likely to agree on the name), so instead I had Finiums tattooed on my left shoulder. As an homage to the poem<\/a> he was named after, he is surrounded by different kinds of flowers, including blue delphiniums of course.<\/p>\n

I wish I could fully explain why this rat in particular was as significant to me as Rory, but his specialness cannot be explained in mere words. To know him was to love him<\/a>, and you would have been just as smitten.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re newer to rats and you haven\u2019t met your heart rat yet, just wait. They seem to appear when you least expect them, and one day yours will come along, too. And it will be life changing!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A heart rat develops a bond with you beyond just being a favorite, they become part of your soul, and you might never see it coming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4572,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rat","category-rat-fun"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4560"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4581,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4560\/revisions\/4581"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/mammals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}