The real reason people hate rats so much

It turns out rats enjoy the Pacific Northwest for the same reason humans do: mild winters and lots of water.

That’s why Seattle homeowners are reporting so many of the rodents in and around their homes.

Rat sightings were reported in 28,600 homes in Seattle, The Seattle Times reports, citing a 2013 American Housing Survey. That means 2.1 percent of all houses in the metro area.

Thanks to our less-than-loveable friends, Seattle ranks seventh out of 54 areas surveyed around the country for most rat sightings.

It’s probably a statistic people would ignore if not for one thing. Rat tails are what give them such a bum rap, Luke Burbank told KIRO Radio’s Tom Tangney. If they had tails like squirrels, it would completely change our perspective of the rodents.

If rats didn’t have any tails, they would just be hamsters, Tom pitched in.

Though Seattle ranks seventh worst for rats, it’s not nearly as bad for other unpopular pests and insects. The city ranks 46th worst for mice and 53rd for cockroaches.

And look on the bright side, at least the cities aren’t reporting opossum problems.

“Why did the chicken cross the road? To prove to the opossum it could be done,” Burbank joked.

Who knows, if rats are able to evolve out of their gross tails &#8212 and that’s going to take some time &#8212 our ancestors could find them adorable.