What do urban rats eat? - briefly
City-dwelling rats are omnivorous, feeding on discarded human food, garbage, pet waste, insects, and occasional small vertebrates. Their diet also includes seeds, fruits, and grain residues found in urban environments.
What do urban rats eat? - in detail
Urban rats thrive on a highly adaptable diet that reflects the diversity of resources found in densely populated environments. Their feeding behavior combines opportunism with physiological tolerance for a broad spectrum of organic matter.
The primary components of their intake include:
- Human food waste: leftovers from restaurants, fast‑food packaging, discarded fresh produce, and expired grocery items.
- Grain and cereal products: bread crumbs, rice, pasta, and processed snack foods that accumulate in trash receptacles.
- Animal protein sources: discarded meat, fish scraps, pet food, and carrion from dead insects or small vertebrates.
- Organic refuse: fruit peels, vegetable trimmings, coffee grounds, and compost material.
- Non‑nutritive items: paper, cardboard, and soft plastics that provide shelter or are inadvertently ingested while foraging.
Seasonal variations affect consumption patterns. In warmer months, fruit and vegetable waste becomes more abundant, while colder periods see an increase in stored pantry goods and indoor residues. Rats also exploit sewer systems, consuming organic sludge and runoff that contain microorganisms and decaying matter, which supplement their nutritional needs.
Metabolic adaptability enables rats to extract essential nutrients from low‑quality foods. Their digestive enzymes efficiently break down starches, lipids, and proteins, while a robust gut microbiome assists in fermenting fibrous material. This physiological flexibility reduces dependence on any single food source and supports rapid population growth in urban settings.