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Anatomy of a Cute-body
an analysis of the rat's body, purporting to explain the innate cuteness of the rat's physiology
~with frequent reliance on astonishingly adorable illustrations and anecdotes~
The Rat Face
The rat face is cute for a variety of reasons. Please note the particular expressiveness of the eyes which are so round and brilliant, while also being so large in relation to the rest of the face. One can see why rodents have been cartooned so much since their features are already so exaggeratedly cute and readily caricatured.
Rat's have the ability to transmit their thoughts and emotions via their eyes, since the human ear is deaf to their ultrasonic language. Some rats are able to send a message with their eyes that causes the nearest human to do their will, which usually involves small tidbits of food. Test your ability to understand rat thoughts by guessing what message is being conveyed by each expression in the pictures above. Then hold your cursor over the photo to see the correct answer.
The Rat Nose
The rat face also has the adorable little button nose, usually pink, which moves slightly up and down when they sniff or are chewing something with their little nibble-y mouths. Their whiskers are so whisker-y, either fanning out straight in a perfect arc, or curling slightly and poking out randomly.
The Rat Hands
Rat hands clutch and grab and just generally behave in an adorable human-like way. They appear to have five fingers but really have four, with a little nub where you imagine a thumb should be. They have cute little claws if you look closely. Rat hands can hold the tip of your finger, just curving slightly over the ball of your fingertip. Rat hands can grab at you through the cage affectionately attempting to catch a lock of your hair or the edge of your shirtsleeve. Rat hands are snookum wookums!
The Rat Tail
The tail is probably the most unfairly maligned part of the rat body, and it really is a shame that most people fail to recognize what a wonderful thing it is. To think that people use the excuse of fearing or loathing the tail as a reason to overlook the rat as a pet is absurd! Because the rat's tail is so expressive and is just really a very wonderful, interesting thing. The tail curves and twists in all sorts of interesting ways when the rat runs and climbs because the tail is used to maintain balance. The rat tail is interesting to touch because it has stubbly hair on it in a distinctive pattern, from tip to the base of rump. Rats even enjoy playing with each other's tails. I have often seen Milo grab Chauncey's tail and pull on it playfully. So please try to see with new eyes and recognize that the tail is a very interesting part of the rat's body, and that it is the combination of these features which make the rat such a cute-body!
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