UK's Pets at Home said rat sales in half-term holiday were up 50 per cent because of the film's popularity.

"It seems Ratatouille has done wonders for the image of rats and finally helped to portray the image we have long been keen to promote – which is that contrary to popular opinion, rats are one of the cleanest and least smelly pets you can own," said Steve Fairburn, a rodent expert with Pets at Home.

"They are incredibly responsive to learning and can be taught to do amazing tricks, much in the way that dogs can."

The demand has also been fuelled thanks to involuntary endorsements from Hollywood celebrities like Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Pink and Angelina Jolie - all of them have admitted to owning rodents as pets over the past year.

Rat owners recommend owning multiple rats, pointing out that rodents are sociable animals and prefer living in communities. However, many breeders have expressed concern that impulse buying of rats could lead to a lot of abandoned pets shortly after Christmas.

In fact, Pets at Home has asked people to think twice before buying a rat.

"We certainly don't want rats to become the next animal victims of a movie craze," said Fairburn. "Everyone saw what happened in the case of the Ninja Turtles and the subsequent demand and mistreatment of terrapins and other aquatic reptiles that followed and we don't want the same thing to start happening with rats."