9th May 2010

We currently have litters, please see the Current Litters page for details.

The Past Litters, Links and Planned Litters pages have also been updated.


8th January 2010

Hoping that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and an equally happy New Year.

We also welcome Tenebrae Talini to the family - thank you very much to Doug Connor for letting us have her, she's much loved already!

Stand by for updated plans and, hopefully, litters very soon.

14th December 09

We currently have kittens available from Gwen's litter. Please see the current litters page for details.

We also have older does (between four months and a year old) looking for pet homes. Please email me on rats@coastboat.co.uk if you would like to know more.

6th November 09

Rod, Rupert and Sooty have left us for their new forever home - we wish them lots of happiness there with their new owners, they deserve it! They have unfortunately been replaced by a rescue litter of twelve, all of whom are looking for homes. Please see the rescues page for details.

Bonnie's litter are now all reserved.

Nearly all the rats here are now fully recovered from the recent virus outbreak; a couple have chest noise that they will probably never be free of, but on the whole we have been extremely lucky.

17th October 09

All fifteen kittens in Bonnie's litter continue to do well; we have five bucks and ten does! More details can be found on the current litters page.

Quarantine will be over here at the end of this month.

10th October 09

Although we are still under quarantine, things are slowly beginning to improve here at Coastboat and we hope to see business as usual returning soon. Ebb's litter was sadly stillborn on the 7th, and we thought that Bonnie would lose hers as well, but she had fifteen healthy kittens yesterday and we are so pleased for this bit of good news! Thank you to everyone who has been sending good luck vibes and messages :)

27th September 09

We are currently under quarantine due to an outbreak of the SDA virus. If you do not know what this is, please see <HERE> for more information, but I'd like to highlight the more important information from everything that has been posted:

* The virus can 'incubate' for up to two weeks - this means a rat can have it and be showing no symptoms, but still be capable of infecting other rats. Therefore, if your rats have been at risk in any way, wait at least two weeks before presuming them to be clear.

* If you get this infection in your rats, then avoid all contact with other rats or rat owners for 6-8 weeks after the last rat became infected. It is recommended not to try to quarantine within your own rats as this is complicated and often only prolongs the outbreak.

I know that two months seems like a long time to wait when you've already been waiting that long for your kittens, or when you want to visit the rattery, but please be patient. We are unable to see half of our friends because of this quarantine, not to mention the worry of practically the whole rattery coming down with it, so we have a good idea of how you feel.

Right now most of the rats are rattly or sneezy, although it seems to be a fairly 'weak' strain as we've seen no eye symptoms or deaths as yet. To date there even seems to be some small improvement (fingers crossed, touch wood!), however, no rats will be going anywhere until it's safe again and then we're going to be more careful than ever before.

Things WILL get back to normal in a couple of months, and in the meantime, we can't thank you all enough for your support and kind words. They really do mean a lot to us.

Jo, Rich and all the Coastboateers x


13th September 09

Yesterday saw the Romsey Country Show come around once again, this year without a proper NFRS show, since it clashed with the London Champs - instead, it was a PR-focused exhibition, aimed at dispelling rat myths and getting the public both educated about and interested in rats. Huge thanks to everyone who came and helped out - both humans and rats were exhausted by the end of the day, but it did feel like we made a difference and that makes all the aching worthwhile!

6th September 09

We attended the London and Southern Counties Mice and Rats Club show on Saturday (5th) and our Coastboateers did us proud; Merrow won Best Self as well as coming first in Ivory and Novice Breeder, and second in the Adult Challenge. Bosse came first in her class (Berkshire Kitten) as did Hudson in his (AOV Marked Kitten). Orihime was first in her class, too (Silver Fawn Adult) while Duggie was placed second in Silvered Adult, and everyone else was placed in at least the top four of their class. We are so proud of everyone, not only for their wins but for behaving wonderfully at their first show.

Massive congratulations to Natasha Klus of Elkwood Rattery, who got Best in Show with her doe Comis Cinder Toffee!


2nd September 09

We collected our new Downunders from Sarah at Milo Stud a few days ago, and also welcome Milo Bonnie Wee Hen to the Coastboat family. We've been waiting around six months for Bonnie, since the SDAV scare meant that rats weren't being moved around the country, but she's finally here and well worth the wait! Photos of all the new arrivals, and some of our keepers from Mab and Bunker's litter, can be found in their very own Facebook album.

24th August 09

We're picking up some Downunder kittens from Milo Stud at the end of the month that we hope will help us get our line going when they're older.

Don't forget that we are now on Facebook! All the photos of our current litter that I haven't yet uploaded to the site can be found there, in the Keelin x Rumfustian album.

Rod, Rupert and Sooty are still looking for a home, which is very sad as they are lovely boys! If you can offer them a place, please email me.

18th August 09

New website! Please have a look around and let me know if there are any broken bits by emailing me on rats@coastboat.co.uk.

We are now on Facebook! Friend us for updates on litters, rat meets, general happenings, and to see all the photos that I don't get around to uploading to the site!

17th August 09

The current litters page has been updated with details of Keelin's litter, some of which are still available to pet homes. They opened their eyes yesterday, so I'll be updating with more photos soon!

Rod, Rupert and Sooty are still living with us and are doing wonderfully. Rupert is taking his time about settling in properly and is still a little bit unsure about whether to trust us or not, while Rod and Sooty are behaving as if they've always been here! None of them have even thought about biting or nipping, and Sooty especially is an absolute darling, really sweet and gentle. If you can offer these slightly older gentlemen a home, please email me.

Archive news coming soon.