Let's start by calling a rat a rat. And not a mouse.
The Year of the Mouse is certainly cuter, especially in Japan, a land where cute is king, the Book of Marketing is the national gospel, and the Disney rodent casts his "eary" shadow everywhere.
But I know my rats because I have a rather large one sitting across the table from me now. He is nibbling hungrily on a crust of bread. After having polished off most of the loaf.