Rats are the kind of animals who will eat on anything and everything that they come across, with no exception of cheese. So yes, rats do eat cheese. But do they like them? According to scientific research, it was proven that though they eat cheese, they do not like it. This is because rats are lactose intolerant and cheese is one of the many products that will cause rats and other rodents stomach problems.

However, just because rats are lactose intolerant, it doesn’t mean that they can’t completely eat cheese. A certain kind of cheese is actually recommended for their digestion. The hard and semi- hard cheeses have a lower lactose and fat level making them less harmful to rats. For example; the Colby cheese, Edam, Gouda, Red Leicester cheese, Gruyere, the Cheddar cheese among others.



The soft cheeses are not suitable for rats not necessarily because of their ingredients but also because of their texture. Rats have to at least nibble their food a number of times using the incisors teeth before they swallow. For the too soft food, it will have to swallow the food as a whole as they lack the molars and this may result in choking as they lack the gag reflex. These cheeses include; Feta, Brie, Camembert, Blue cheese, Cream cheese, Stilton, Gorgonzola, Ricotta, Cottage cheese among others.

Peanut butter and any other food that is thick and sticky are also dangerous to rats as they result in chocking. For this category, it is advisable to mix with water, jelly or crumbs from a solid food to reduce the stickiness thus no chocking.

Other foods that are dangerous to rats though they won’t necessarily chock them include; apple seeds, avocado skin, carbonated drinks, caffeine, candy, dried corn, green bananas, green potato ski, hamster food, mango, oranges, raw beans, raw onions, spinach, sweet feed, wild insects and many more. These foods cause a range of problems in rats from digestion disturbances like formation of cyanide in the stomach, stomach upsets, inhibition of protein digestion, inhibition of starch digestion, to causing diseases like kidney stones, liver cancer, kidney cancer and bladder stones while others fresh plants and insects carry diseases and internal parasites affecting the rats directly. Some of the foods contain harmful toxins that poison the rat when eaten.

Well, not all foods are bad; if so then rats would cease to exist. The safe foods include bread, beef, apricots, carrots, yoghurt, dried bananas, and kale, lettuce, blue berries, black berries, cherries, grapes, mushrooms, and pasta, soy and sunflower seeds among others. Despite these dangers only the tamed ones can be protected from the harmful foods. Wild rats, on the other hand, will nibble on anything that they find whether good or bad.

Read the How to get rid of rats page for helpful information and to learn more about Do rats eat cheese? Do they like it?

Do rats eat cheese? Do they like it?