temporarily lethargic rats

Question
Hello,
my boyfriend and I have four rats that all simultaneously became very lethargic. I brought my two over to his house and all four seemed fine and active like normal. then we fed them (cooked) seitan, tempeh, brussel sprouts, red cabbage and potatoes. less than an hour later they were all letharic and unresponsive. they all looked very stressed. I tried having them drink fruit juice or eat oats (one of their favorites) but they didn't eat. after about 45 minutes of holding them they started to move again and even started eating. something i should be concerned about? also, my boyfriend is catsitting and the cat might have wandering into the room with the caged rats. could they have become this stressed out over just seeing a cat? i've never seen them like this before.

Answer
Raw red cabbage and brussel sprouts contain an antinutrient that destroys thiamin and should never ever be fed to rats.  However, you said it was cooked so this should not be a problem. So many people assume its ok to feed rats whatever they want since rats in the wild eat everything, but wild rats also have a life span of up to 6 months or less.

But.......you said the cat got in possibly? This  can freak out many rats that are not used to seeing Fluffy the cat around.  My own rats used to play opussum when my cats would sneak past me and go into the rat room.  Once I locked one of my cats in the room without knowing it and an hour later I found him in there. My three boys were all stiff, not moving and when I tried to touch them they would run and hide. They did this for hours.  As long as they are ok now, I would say it was the cat, but I would refrain from giving them foods on the forbidden food list, cooked or uncooked, from now on.

My website and the page on forbidden foods and proper diet for rats:

http://www.sandyscrittercity.com/ratsandahealthydiet.htm