Every day Dianne wakes up to 50 rats in her house. Today thousands of Aussies will flock to meet a few of them

This morning, Dianne Osborne woke to a chorus of squeaks coming from about 50 rats.

But the critters weren't intruders who broke in overnight; they're her beloved pets, and 16 of them were ready for a big day at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

Osborne is a rat breeder who spent the last month preparing for the show's annual Rat & Mouse Competition, where "fancy rats" (the most common species of domesticated rat) compete for several illustrious titles, the best of which is Grand Champion Rat.

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It may sound made-up to some, but Osborne knew the competition this year would be stiff.

"There's always surprises. Some Exhibitors might have some [rats] in hiding and just bring them out for the Easter Show," she told 9honey.

Not that she can blame them.

Like most Exhibitors, Osborne only enters the finest rats from her mischief (a delightful term for a group of rats) into the competition. This year she's showing 16.

At past shows, her furry friends have claimed victory in several minor categories but it's the Grand Champion Rat title has so far eluded her.

It's a title that the most serious Exhibitors are after, according to Vice President of the NSW Fancy Rat Society Rachel Sydenham, who is on this year's judging panel.

A Grand Champion rat doesn't need to be the cutest or most well-behaved rat (though temperament is important), rather it should be the best example of a healthy, well-bred rat.

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"We do have a lot more than just the normal run of the mill pet rat at our show," Sydenham tells 9honey.

"All the animals are judged on different aspects of their bodies, their shape, their breed."

She and the other judges award marks to each rat for key traits like the length of their tail, the shape of their eyes, even how well they tolerate being handled.

Those scores are then tallied and the highest scoring rat in each class is crowned the winner. The rat with the highest score overall earns the title of Grand Champion Rat.

Osborne has been breeding and showing rats for years and even turned one of her kids' old bedrooms into a rat room after they grew up and moved out.

Her mischief greet her every morning by begging for treats like any other pet

There are currently 12 enclosures spread across that room and her lounge room, housing between 40 and 50 rats at a time, depending on how busily they've been breeding.

"It can be costly. I make my own food, but if you had to buy it from the pet store it would cost you a bomb," she says.

"You've got to have space too, and you've got to know what to do with all these babies that you have."

While breeders like Osborne can make some spare cash by selling the rats they breed, it's not a particularly lucrative business and most just do it because they love the little critters.

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Her mischief greet her every morning by begging for treats like any other pet, and her kids utterly adored them when they were young (sometimes she'd even find hers kids cuddled up in bed with their favourite rats at night).

But Osborne knows not everyone is as open to the idea of pet rats.

Many Australians still believe outdates myths about the critters, like that they're dirty or diseased, which Exhibitors help debunk at the Easter Show's Rat & Mouse Competition.

They spend plenty of time chatting with members of the public about what rats are really like and dispelling any misconceptions, making it a valuable opportunity for education.

"Rats and mice have, unfortunately, a really bad reputation ... but we get the opportunity to showcase our animals and educate people," she says.

"A lot of the time, people walk away a little bit more swayed that they're cute, awesome animals."

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They're also incredibly smart.

Though her rats may not win Grand Champion Rat today, some of Osborne's rats will soon appear on the silver screen.

The NSW mum recently sold five rats to a trainer at Paws on Film, one of Australia's leading Animal Talent Agencies, where they'll be trained to appear in horror films.

"You can train any pet, if you're patient enough," she says with a laugh.

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