Well…personally I happen to really admire rats. They get a bad rap and obviously thousands of them invading homes is not what anyone would wish to deal with. However, from a purely factual standpoint, they are highly intelligent, resilient, clever, resourceful and have excellent memories. Their intelligence rivals that of pigs and dogs and they live in complex societies.
They also, for the most part, do not carry as much disease as people think.
The highest risks of illness would be from salmonella and perhaps hepatitis, but ONLY for those animals living and feeding in extremely filthy conditions. Rats prefer good food and clean living as much as any other species, just that they are forced to subsist in certain less than stellar environments.
Rats that live in rural settings lead very clean lives, eating fruits, nuts, insects, birds eggs and various grains etc. They are more like squirrels in a healthy environment.
I once kept a baby roof rat or Black Rat I found abandoned in a field. ” BB” was a very cool and clever little guy and he lived the high rat life for 3 years with me. He was a great little experimental pet and a veritable houdini that could literally run up the walls. lol
Rats are really very amazing little animals.