Why does Ratigan hate rats?
It’s not that Ratigan hates rats, it’s just that he doesn’t like to be called a rat. The reason why is rats are not accepted in society, human or mouse. In a human’s point of view, rats are perceived as carriers of disease. If you read about diseases such as The Black Death and the hanta virus, you can see why. To top it off, there are many humans who have a phobia of rats. As for a mouse’s point of view, sewer rats are perceived as filthy, disgusting vermin and low-class creatures. Ratigan likes to think of himself as an upper class rodent, so to be called a “rat” upsets him a great deal.