Sitting on my balcony just now, watching a squirrel run about on the treetops. So sweet and charming, such a lovely sight in the heart of the city.

Yet if the little creature scurrying through the branches had a naked tail instead of a fluffy one, if it were a rat instead of a squirrel, how repulsed I would be. Why do we like squirrels and chipmunks, and dislike rats?

Rats have been blamed to carry the bubonic plague (or at least the fleas who cause this terrible epidemy).

Squirrels and chipmunks are not known to help spread such devastating diseases.

Squirrels and chipmunks just harbour the micro-organisms that cause plague, hantavirus, leptospirosis, salmonella, Lyme disease, tularaemia, and (possibly) rabies.

To answer agony's question, I think rats and mice are just as cute - I used to have them as pets.

Rats are also more omnivorous than most rodents, so they are and were a more invasive problem in the home, and to your food sources. Rats are strong, agile and have very creative and annoying ways of locating and stealing what they want.
plus a pair can produce hundreds more in a year.
We didn't have grey squirrels over here until around 150 years ago, just the red, so no problems with them.

The cable company repairman gave the moniker of "roof rats" to the squirrels after the cable linesman had to replace the cable from the post to my home due to the squirrel's chewing.

Rats and mice do urinate randomly while hamsters and rabbits use a rodent toilet away from their usual living area. That is one reason they are less welcome as visitors. Here are some useful facts about them.

Rats and mice facts

I've had several pet rats over the years. Sweet-natured and entertaining, happy in a pocket or on a shoulder.
Preferable to the terrifying, ferocious and nocturnal Syrian hamster to which I almost lost a finger.

We only have red squirrels in Jersey and they are so sweet.

There is a variety of rat that likes to climb and nest above the ground called roof rats.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roof_Rat

Wild a chipmunks maybe, but I've kept chipmunks as pets. They can be trained to urinate and defecate in a certain spot. In their cage I use to put a tray that was used for pot plants and some bird sand in it for this purpose.

Now I have three mice and a rescued Roborovski hamster.

I thought they all got roasted for Sunday dinners.