Philly Rat Rescue

We are receiving word that some rat rescues are closing due to volunteer health/age issues, lack of time, and other issues.

WE ARE STILL OPEN. But we are transitioning into more of a permanent sanctuary/hospice for old/terminally ill/disabled rats that require permanent care. These rats have always been our primary concern. We are limited admission due to space issues.

We WILL still do adoptions as situations arise, and we also will continue putting surrenderers in touch with our past, approved adopters as these situations also come up.

We had to take CASIMIR last week to a 24/7 emergency vet bc of his tumor rupturing (our regular vet was closed).

He had to be euthanized. VEG ER Northern Liberties sent us this compassionate sympathy card. 😭💔

Yesterday we took three 18 mo old brothers into sanctuary care. They are skittish and hiding, so pics will come later. They were surrendered due to deaths of their owners.

PLEASE NOTE: As of 9/1/2026 we will no longer have a website but will retain our domains: phillyratrescue.com and stfrancisratsanctuary.com

Our domain host is no longer offering a free webpage and we do not have the funds or time to create and maintain a new one.

For more info contact us at: [email protected]

Philly Rat Rescue-St Francis Rat Sanctuary ™ Inc Check out this GoDaddy hosted webpage! http://phillyratrescue.com.

Today we had an emergency with CASIMIR, and his regular vet was closed so we took him to VEG ER.

Sadly he had to be pts which his regular vet agreed would be necessary soon. We had him in hospice for an inoperable tumor but today it burst despite being on 2 meds.

VEG ER was really professional and affordable. They are available 24/7 even on holidays!

We highly recommend them for emergency rat care when your regular vet is closed.

VEG ER for Pets | 24-hour Emergency Vet | Open Now VEG ER for Pets offers 24 hour emergency vet care in over 100 locations nationwide. Call to speak with a doctor or walk in 24/7, no appointment needed. Find a VEG near you.

PLEASE NOTE: If you adopted rats from another rescue or shelter, and cannot keep them anymore, please return them to that rescue or shelter.

We are a very small volunteer rescue and have very limited space. We will only take back rats adopted from us, and/or true emergency cases when space permits.

Also: we are no longer holding cage space for owner surrenders for more than 24-48 hours.

Thanks for your understanding.

Our poor old sanctuary boy STANISLAUS had to be put to sleep today due to an eye tumor. Our vet only gave him a week and said she advised euthanasia today, so we did.

He was almost 3 yrs old and came in with his tan/white brother, CASIMIR. CAS has a tumor too, but our vet feels he has another couple of months. He is on antibiotics and pain relief.

PLEASE BE SURE YOUR RATS HAVE PLENTY OF WATER DURING THIS HEATWAVE! It is supposed to last until Sunday.

A good idea for them are frozen grapes, and jars full of ice cubes lying on the bottom shelf of the cage so that can lay against them, as well as plenty of water in their bottles.

Please also put out bowls of water for strays and wildlife!