It is rarely acknowledged that pests love humans. Not just to leech off of our food, mind you, but for our culture as well. When you take a step back to think about it, the human species’s accomplishments have been astonishing, and even our small nuisances can see that. While most vermin tend to be more focused on fighting for their lives each day, sects of mice have been popping up in major cities across the world. These mice walk, talk, and attempt to replicate what their gigantic superiors do in their daily lives. They are capable of stitching and wearing their own clothes. They have a refined taste, preferring to cook dishes than nibble on the rotting crumbs found in garbage. They created their own miniature plumbing systems and bathe when they become dirty. At this point, they are far past the stone age, and have essentially become teeny fluffy humans.
This advancement in mouse society is theorized to have come from many different factors; one of the earliest being that the mice are taking advantage of the concept of ‘pet fancy’, which originated from England in the 19th century. Around the same time, rats began to be domesticated there as well. Perhaps they found a defense in being adored and being adorable. Wearing little clothes is a surefire way to be considered as somebody else’s pet if seen by a human, thus not being subject to immediate termination. Perhaps they wanted to see more in life than just food and reproduction, and began to appreciate the beauty of art and literature. Or perhaps they just wanted a warm place to stay and a comfy bed to rest in.
Mind you, not every mouse is a fan of this lifestyle. The majority of mice in the world today continue to live in their wild, feral world. The territories of feral mice and sophisticated mice hardly overlap. It’s not that the feral mice are unaware of a slightly easier existence. Information spreads fast, through the rodents overhearing chatterbox birds, noisy dogs and confused humans. Why not adopt it? Perhaps the clothes are itchy. Perhaps it’s too much effort to take a shower. Perhaps they prefer not to think deeply about anything. (Unfortunately, some people love to remain ignorant on purpose!) Or perhaps it’s just hard to create infrastructure when you live in a hole in the middle of nowhere.
What about rats? They are simply larger mice, are they not? Do they have a similar culture? Yes and no. Similarly to the mice, there are both feral rats and sophisticated rats out there. The sophisticated rats and sophisticated mice tend to keep to their own species, not because they are prudes or hate each other, but for the same reason you would probably prefer to live among humans than 12 foot tall giants. The keyword being ‘most likely’, as there are many cases of friendship and even familiar relations between the two species within the human-like sects. However, just as a giant can easily maim a puny human, it is important to remember rats are larger and stronger than most mice, so a strong trust must be formed for a bond, and it is not uncommon to see violence happen between strangers of different species.
Now remember, not everything is black and white in this world. As the years go on, as these groups intermix and mingle, their traits rub off on each other. There are some colonies of sophisticated vermin who participate in the lifestyle, but do not wear clothes yet. There are some colonies that do not participate in the lifestyle, although a great part of their lives involves the creation and consumption of art, being big fans of the sophisticated's work. Isn’t it wonderful to witness this squeaky cultural exchange?
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