Domestic Rats?

Are any of our Rat Meowmies still around? If so, I have many, many questions. I seem to have found a small family of flood victims that floated in on something living among the stones of an old steamboat wharf near here. They are quite obviously not your typical wild rat, they are gray on white. black on white, and buff (or red) on white.

They are either shy or wary, but not scared. They went about their business foraging while I stood nearby taking pictures. I just want some advice on either trying to catch them and how, or let them be.

It's been a while since I've had any rats... But do know that if you decide to catch these guys that since they've been living wild for who knows how long they will probably carry the same diseases and parasites now that wild brown rats do.
Plus you do not know if they're tame. What do you plan to do with a bunch of wild rats?

Originally Posted by strange_wings

It's been a while since I've had any rats... But do know that if you decide to catch these guys that since they've been living wild for who knows how long they will probably carry the same diseases and parasites now that wild brown rats do.
Plus you do not know if they're tame. What do you plan to do with a bunch of wild rats?

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That's exactly why I was asking for advice!

They appear to be eating well, none of them look too worse for wear. They did seem to appreciate the sunflower seeds I left them, and one little gray headed fellow left me sit about 3 feet away, but that was his limit. They could very well be wild born from pet rats someone "put out" a few generations ago.

They have very solid shelter in the stone foundations of an old wharf, lots of natural cover, a river a few feet away for water, and a nearby public boat ramp that pretty much guarantees them lots of second hand food.

It's probably for the best to leave them out there. They're still brown rats, though dumbed down a bit through breeding.
You should probably also consider not feeding them as you don't want them to get too used to people - not everyone is as nice as you are.

All good points, thank you. I didn't think about the feeding thing, and you're absolutely right. It's a busy area with the launch ramp and all, and they might end up approaching the wrong people if they expect to be fed.

Bright side, I did have a fun morning watching them, they were quite comical.