People increasingly intrigued with rats as pets

"The first time I held a rat, I fell in love with them because I thought they were so cute," 13-year-old Bleu said.

She chose her first rat, Angel, after the furry creature came right up to her when she put her nose up to the cage.

Bleu now has three rats, Velvet, Smokey and Hannah, and has even inspired her brothers to get rats.

"My mom loves my rats, too," Bleu said of her mom, Linda Bleu.

That's important. Bleu's friend, Tammie Thibert, 13, who recently took the rats on an outing to the park with Bleu, said her mom wouldn't let her have rats because she's scared of them.

Bleu gave the trio a bath before the outing. She used specially formulated rat shampoo to make them smell good, she said.

Great Falls veterinarian Rick Scherr said small animal medicine has had to expand with the needs of its clients.

...people are also downsizing on their pets too