A lot of people see their pets as their best friends – fluffy, four-legged creatures that are fun to cuddle. But for freshman Moriah Mackey, an art major from Bicknell, four-legged creatures have a more exotic meaning.

Mackey has four pet rats that she deeply cares for. She has two girls and two boys – their names are Marge, Rizzo, Marcus, and Chester. She got her first rat, Marge, in March of 2018 and couldn’t help but get more tiny additions to the family.

Mackey’s rats all act differently and have different personalities, she said.

“My girls act different from the boys,” Mackey said. “The boys are more lazy and the girls are way more hyper and crazy.”

One of her female rats, Rizzo, even has anxiety. Rizzo gets special treatment due to this issue. She likes to sit in Mackey’s shirt for comfort.

Mackey said that she first noticed how different all her rats were when she decided to get her boys. Seeing how laid back the boys were really opened her eyes to how outgoing the girls are.

She said it just “takes time and patience with some rats to come around.” Eventually all of her rats’ personalities began to show, and she saw how different they all are.

When asked to pick her favorite, Mackey said, “It’s hard for me to pick a favorite rat because they all mean the world to me.”

She has a special relationship with each of her rats. Despite the personality differences, Mackey said she loves them all equally.