giant rat

Question
Hello Jess,
My dad talked about someone he knew who had a giant rat, as in cat sized.  I
think this was a tamed formerly wild/sewer type rat.  My question is, have these
been domesticated?  I am in Northern California and would like to find one.  If
you know anywhere, even in the rest of the country I would like to know.  Or if
you don't know, could you point me in the right direction?

Answer
No they havent been domesticated and I wouldnt recommend trying to tame wild rats for health reasons. Even if they were domesticated, you cant keep one rat as a pet, they are social creatures and must be kept in same sex pairs or groups or they show behavioural problems and are very unhappy. Some buck fancy rats grow quite big but they will never be cat sized so thats probably not what you are looking for. As on www.fancy-rats.co.uk where there are a lot of rat experts. Take care