Want to Make Your Kid Happy? Buy Them a Rat

Ron Weasley may have had the right idea when he opted for a pet rat (who could forget Scabbers, a.k.a. Peter Pettigrew?) instead of an owl, cat, or toad. A new study spotted by People Magazine reveals that children are reportedly more satisfied with pet rats than any other animal.

The pet ownership study, conducted online by pet product review site RightPet, is quite comprehensive. It was conducted over a period of eight years, from 2010 to 2018, and asked nearly 16,800 pet owners from 113 countries to rate their level of satisfaction with a particular animal on a scale of zero (extremely dissatisfied) to five (fully satisfied).

As it turns out, pet rats do not disappoint. Kids between the ages of 10 and 17 reported being happier with rats than cats, dogs, or other popular pets. However, their satisfaction diminishes as they get older, while satisfaction with cats and dogs increases with age. “In other words, young people tended to enjoy rats more than do older people—whereas the reverse was true for most other common pets,” the study notes.

According to RightPet founder and editor Brett Hodges, young children most likely enjoy rats because they’re smart, cheap, and easy to care for, and perhaps most importantly, they’re “great for freaking out your parents,” as People puts it.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the survey found that the least satisfying pets are scorpions and geese.

The study also analyzed respondents’ personality traits, which yielded some interesting results. For one, RightPet claims that dog lovers are more curious and open to new experiences than cat lovers. And lending credence to the cat lady stereotype is this finding: “Moody and anxious men don't care for cats. In contrast, moody and anxious women enjoy cats.” To see more insights from the study, visit RightPet’s website.