Car-Driving Rat Even Keeps His Vehicle in a Garage Like a Total Boss

Rats get a bad rap as animals, due to the wild of populations who, for thousands of years, have caused problems for the human populations they live with by destroying their food storage and spreading disease. Rats are almost synonymous with filth and evil. There’s a reason the film Ratatouille is so strongly premised on how unbelievable it is that But rats also form the backbone of a lot of scientific and pharmacological research, and pet rats are actually sweet, clever, and affectionate creatures.

This one has even learned to drive a car. And if that’s not impressive enough on its own, his keepers have also built a little rat garage for his car, and it’s one that he has learned to open and close all on his own.

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“With his new trick ‘pull rope,’ Kronk is able to keep his little car safe in the garage until it’s time to drive,” reads the caption on this adorable video. “Then he just has to haul up the garage door and he’s off to the races! Whew… do they not make a button for these things?”

Related: Brooklyn Cat Cafe Announces Tragic Passing of Resident Rat

Training Rats to Drive

Since this is not the rat-keepers' first video starring their pets Kuzko and Kronk, they make sure to list plenty of disclaimers for the internet scolds who are sure to tell them that they are “abusing” their pets by “forcing” them to perform these tricks.

“New to our account? Welcome! We give our two bonded rescue rats, Kuzko and Kronk, ten-minute driving lessons once a day as a mental enrichment activity,” they write.

They further clarify that the rats are the ones who choose to enter and exit the vehicles and they can take as many breaks as they want. “They also enjoy a variety of other enrichment during their free roam time with us.”

Rats are highly social animals who enjoy being kept with at least one other rat, and also need regular enrichment to keep from becoming bored and destructive. Turns out—rats actually like problem solving activities such as solving mazes, or learning how to operate heavy machinery.

And here we were worried about self-driving cars. Guess it’s the rats who are coming for our job after all.

How to Make a Rat Car

The rat rods were built by the family according to plans published by a lab at the University of Richmond, which used them in an experiment to show how rats lived fuller, less stressful lives with the help of mental stimulation like learning to drive.

Kuzko and Kronk look forward to their daily driving session and even like the added complication of maneuvering the car out of the closed garage beforehand. Adding new angles to their activities is one way of keeping their little brains engaged.

If you want to make a rat car of your own, the plans are publicly available from the University of Richmond, Virginia. The rat-keepers in this video have modified the original plans to make the vehicle more rat-friendly and more aesthetically pleasing, too—for the ‘gram.

But you don’t have to build a whole car to make your rat’s life sweeter. They’d be perfectly happy in a cardboard puzzle maze or obstacle course. Just make sure they are given plenty of opportunities for rest, relaxation, and—of course—treats.

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