A Smaller, Healthier Approach

I don’t want to keep operating Forest City Rats at the same scale or level of public visibility that it has grown into over the last couple of years.

This isn’t a dramatic announcement, and Forest City Rats is not disappearing. I still love working with my rats, raising thoughtful litters, and connecting the right animals with the right homes. What is changing is the amount of public visibility and constant online activity surrounding it.

Going forward, I plan to substantially scale back.

Over the last few days, I temporarily closed access to Forest City Rats online, and honestly, it was incredibly refreshing. After being fully engaged with FCR almost nonstop for the last two years, stepping back even briefly made me realize how mentally consuming the constant visibility and communication had become.

Having that short period of quiet and separation gave me a much clearer perspective on the kind of balance and boundaries I want moving forward.

What This Means

Forest City Rats will move toward:

• Fewer litters overall

• Smaller-scale breeding, allowing for us to introduce health testing

  • One litter at a time here and there instead of continuous availability

• Removal of Forest City Rats social media pages

• More privacy and clearer boundaries around communication

I’ve realized that a large online presence comes with a level of social pressure and accessibility that I no longer enjoy maintaining.

Running social media pages can quietly turn a small hobby into something that feels like a constantly monitored public-facing brand. There’s an expectation to always be available, always updating, always responding, and always visible.

I’ve also found that online breeding spaces and social media groups can become extremely draining environments. There is often constant drama, conflict, and negativity circulating online, and even when you are not directly involved, it is still very easy to get pulled into the atmosphere surrounding it. At this point, I’ve realized that stepping away from social media is simply healthier for me.

I also want to be able to enjoy social media again on a personal level and regain some privacy in my life outside of Forest City Rats. Over time, the lines between hobby, business, and personal space started to blur in a way that no longer feels sustainable for me.

I’ve also recognized that the majority of my social media following consists of fellow rat lovers and enthusiasts from all over, rather than people local to the London, Ontario area who are actively planning to buy from me. While I genuinely appreciate everyone who has followed along and supported my work online, maintaining social media pages no longer feels necessary for the smaller-scale direction I want Forest City Rats to move toward.

I still believe strongly in transparency, and I plan to continue providing detailed information through the website whenever litters are available. However, I also need healthier boundaries around communication and availability.

Over time, despite my best efforts to organize information clearly and reduce repetitive inquiries through the website, I still receive a large volume of messages asking questions that are already answered there. Constant direct messaging, follow-ups, and attempts to bypass those systems can become overwhelming.

Moving forward, I need more separation between my personal life and rat-related communication. Reaching out repeatedly or attempting to gain early access through messages does not increase someone’s chances of obtaining rats when litters become available. In fact, excessive messaging often has the opposite effect and can become discouraging and stressful to manage.

Scaling back is also a way for me to better protect my privacy and personal boundaries. Unfortunately, over time, I have experienced situations where certain individuals continued attempting to engage with me in ways that felt inappropriate, uncomfortable, or invasive. Creating more distance between my personal life and the public-facing side of Forest City Rats is an important step for my own well-being and peace of mind.

The website will remain the primary source of information whenever availability opens.

As part of simplifying things overall, I’ve also removed the “What’s Included” page from the website. Rats will absolutely still continue going home with fun extras whenever possible... things like treats, enrichment items, and occasional custom touches. However, I no longer want specific inclusions or elaborate go-home packages to become an expectation tied to every sale.

Once something becomes expected, it starts to take the fun and creativity out of it for me. I’d rather have the freedom to occasionally create unique or personalized extras when inspiration strikes instead of feeling pressure to consistently provide the same experience every time.

For example, I genuinely had a lot of fun designing and making the custom birth certificates and go home bags, but over time I realized I never really received feedback or engagement about them from buyers. That made me realize I’d rather redirect that creative energy into projects and hobbies that feel more personally fulfilling.

The focus of Forest City Rats has always been, first and foremost, the rats themselves.

Reflecting on the Last Year

Although I’m moving in a different direction now, I’m still incredibly grateful for everything Forest City Rats has accomplished over the past year.

Some major milestones included:

• Growing the Forest City Rats Facebook page to over 6.8k followers

• Having page content become eligible for monetization

• Being contacted by someone interested in using my rat photography in an upcoming published book

• Having one of my videos reach over 3 million views online

• Connecting with rat owners and enthusiasts from all over the world

  
  

Those experiences were genuinely exciting, and I never expected this small project to reach so many people.

At the same time, these milestones also helped me realize just how much the project had expanded beyond what I originally envisioned. What started as a small personal hobby gradually became something with a much larger public presence.

I’m proud of what Forest City Rats has accomplished online, but I’ve also realized that growth itself is not necessarily my long-term goal.

The Website

One thing I have realized through all of this is that the website itself is still genuinely useful.

It helps with:

• Organizing availability

• Sharing care information and policies

• Streamlining inquiries

• Confirming buyers before pickup

• Managing inventory and sales more efficiently

  
  

So rather than removing the website entirely, I’ll likely be changing how it’s used.

When there are no rats or products available, the website may remain inactive or certain pages as password protected. This allows me to keep the practical tools that make things easier while avoiding the feeling of needing to maintain a constant public presence.

Why I’m Doing This

At the end of the day, Forest City Rats has always been a small personal project run by a single person.

I’m not a large business, a pet store, or a content creator.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve also been dealing with ongoing personal health challenges, which has naturally affected the amount of time and energy I’m realistically able to dedicate to maintaining such a large online presence.

More recently, I had a big health scare with my dog, Moose. I thought we were saying goodbye to him last week. I also experienced the unexpected loss of my beloved rabbit, Alfie. Losing him was incredibly difficult, and it has caused me to reflect a lot on balance, priorities, and the emotional energy involved in animal care and online spaces.

I want more time and energy for other parts of my life, and I want this hobby to feel sustainable and enjoyable again instead of feeling tied to constant communication and online engagement.

On a personal level, I’m also excited to put more energy into other interests and opportunities outside of Forest City Rats. Recently, I’ve become involved with a society committee through my workplace, and I’m genuinely looking forward to engaging more with my coworkers and putting my creative, crafty side toward fun and lighthearted projects again.

Scaling back also allows me to focus more intentionally on the animals themselves rather than on maintaining platforms.

Looking Ahead

This shift may mean fewer litters and less visibility overall... and that’s okay!

I’m intentionally choosing a smaller, quieter, lower-pressure approach that better fits where I’m at right now. Maybe that will change in the future, who knows.

At the same time, scaling back will also allow me to focus more intentionally on the future of my lines and the long-term health of the animals I produce.

Looking ahead, Forest City Rats will be moving toward health testing as part of the breeding program using RAL (a laboratory based in Texas). The goal for 2027 — and potentially sooner — is for all pups to come from health tested parents.

By reducing the scale of the project, it becomes much more realistic for me to invest additional time, attention, and resources into things like health screening and thoughtful pairing decisions while still keeping the project manageable and sustainable.

Another factor contributing to this downsizing is simply the current age of many of my resident rats. A large portion of my residents are now over two years old, which means it is expected that there will naturally be some significant changes within the next year.

Rather than immediately replacing every group or maintaining the same overall scale, I’m choosing to allow the project to transition more gradually and intentionally moving forward.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Forest City Rats over the years, followed along, adopted from me, or simply appreciated the work I’ve put into this project.

I’m still here. Things are just becoming a little simpler.