Updated - July 13th, 2026: Hey guys, Callum here. With the release of the latest Animal Hospital update, there's a new Stalker interaction that offers more evidence for my prevailing theory. Hop down to the contents of the safe section if you want to read more.
While covering your first few shifts at Animal Hospital, you'll no doubt run into a recurring patient named Ratthew. This little dude is in and out of surgery pretty much on the daily, and while he'll be cagey at first, when he gets to know you, it turns out Ratthew is a pretty swell guy. Albeit, a swell guy with a metric ton of skeletons in his tiny closet. If you want to know exactly who Ratthew is in Animal Hospital, we've dug through all his lore and the secrets he reveals to give you the scoop on this peculiar rodent.
Got your own theories on Ratthew and his role in Animal Hospital? Leave them in the comments below, and we may end up featuring them in this article! After all, I always need more lore detectives to collaborate with...
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Who is Ratthew in Animal Hospital?
To get the basics out of the way, Ratthew is a rat patient that usually makes his first appearance on your second shift in Animal Hospital. He's easily confused with an Anomaly, considering his tendency to spout sinister waffle, but really, Ratthew is one of the only NPCs you'll run into that will acknowledge the hospital isn't exactly your average work environment.
Image credit: Eurogamer / Animal Anomaly
In total, he'll appear five times before disappearing from your current run and leaving a key behind, signalling the end of his quest.
Want to learn Ratthew's big secret? You'll need this key!An extra tip from Callum
Howdy, guys. Callum here. To get the biggest bit of Ratthew lore, you'll need to speak to him enough to get his key, which he'll provide to you on your fifth encounter. During this encounter, Ratthew sits on the reception desk (kicking his lil' legs too, which tickled me) and regales you with a long, lore-rich story, then departs the hospital once and for all. If you look at where he was sitting before leaving, you'll find a key with a note reading "took the key from the doc."
Break the poster on the left to reveal a safe. | Image credit: Eurogamer / Animal Anomaly
You'll want to take this key to Room 5 on the ward, and look in the back right-hand corner of the room. You'll spot a poster featuring a cat in a hazmat suit. Approach the poster and interact with it to rip it off the wall, and you'll find a safe. Insert the key to open the safe, revealing the contents (we'll get into the contents of the safe below, in case you don't want spoilers!).
Ratthew lore: All dialogue exchanges
Right, let's get into the nitty-gritty. Who is this Ratthew fellow and what's his deal? Below, we'll go through each of his dialogue exchanges, explaining what they mean and what we learn about both our shady new rat pal and his knowledge of the hospital's secrets.
Ratthew dialogue 1
"Being small has its advantages. I hear things. I see things. It's a dangerous job."
When we first meet Ratthew, this is all our little buddy has to say. Naturally, it seems like some sure-fire Anomaly-esque hogwash, which is why a lot of people will yoink the shutter down on him and send him packing. But we learn from the off that he's far more privy to the hospital’s shady dealings than we first assume, using his short king stature to presumably spy on events happening within the hospital.
Ratthew dialogue 2
"You are a good guy. My name is Ratthew. My advice? Don't trust anyone here."
Another brief interaction with the world's most ominous rodent. All we can really glean here is that, yes, Ratthew isn't exactly the hospital's biggest cheerleader. He's the only character we've met who's actively dissuaded us from happily skipping along to the tune of Doctor Harlow's orders.
Ratthew dialogue 3
"The people with suitcases are hiding secrets. Something evil is going on here. Stay alert."
And just like that, Ratthew's finally spilling the beans. The main takeaway from this portion is that the "people with suitcases" are doing some shady stuff. Who is Ratthew referring to here? Both Doctor Harlow and Ron From Accounting, both of whom carry incredibly indiscrete briefcases with the words "top secret" scrawled on the side.
Image credit: Eurogamer / Animal Anomaly
It's admittedly quite obvious both these guys aren't lugging around paperwork, considering the briefcase labelling. I have to wonder whether it's actually more bait to carry around a briefcase that advertises itself as being full of tantalisingly important information. But at least we now know that the information inside is sinister in nature.
Ratthew dialogue 4
"You know, I'm starting to like you. People on the street think I'm some kind of Anomaly :( But you treat me just like anyone else. I appreciate that."
This is a bit of a filler exchange, showing that Ratthew is warming to us. I'd also like to mention that people wouldn't think you're an Anomaly, Ratthew, if you stopped mentioning your main hobby is crawling through air vents to spy on them.
Ratthew Dialogue 5
"I may need to disappear for a while. The Animal Corporation is after me. But first, I want to chat with you."
"Slow night, huh? Just how I like 'em. You're not bad company, you know that? Most folks don't even look down here. Funny thing about being a rat, everyone screams. Nobody offers cheese. Ha... old joke, still gets me though."
"Anyway, I wanted to tell you something. I had a twin sister. Rattina. Smart one in the family, that's for sure. She worked for the Animal Corporation. Then one day, she just vanished. No note. No goodbye. Nothing. I've been looking for her ever since... sorry, didn't mean to get heavy. You know what I do like? The quiet hours. Just me and the vents. Whole place to myself. It's peaceful. Thanks for listening. Means a lot. This is our goodbye... for now."
Ratthew the social butterfly has emerged and we learn a lot here. For one, it seems we've got confirmation that we are indeed dealing with one of those pesky, shady corporations that crop up in all good horror games, this time called the Animal Corporation. Not only that, but it seems Ratthew's sister, Rattina, was caught up in all this, then silenced for an unknown reason.
Image credit: Eurogamer / Animal Anomaly
At least we now know why Ratthew's been sleuthing around and sticking his tiny nose into Harlow and Ron's business. Here's to hoping he reappears safe and sound, mainly so we can workshop the punchline to his terrible joke.
Ratthew lore: The contents of the safe
Directly after dialogue exchange 5, Ratthew leaves us a key to a safe in Room 5. Upon opening said safe, we find a picture of Rattina, a briefcase and a note reading: "The experiment was a success. The 'Shadow' now sees everything..."
Image credit: Eurogamer / Animal Anomaly
So, a lot to unpack here. The "Shadow" referenced in the note seems to be the Stalker: The entity that serves as the game's main mascot and the one we reluctantly lock eyes with as it peers around corners throughout the ward. As for the picture of Rattina, well, my discerning lore-detective brain tells me Rattina is the Stalker.
Why? Well, take a look at the Stalker's ears. Ears are key to distinguishing all characters in Animal Hospital. While most of the animals you’ll meet are constructed from generic coloured blobs with differing faces, the ears are usually the signifiers of which animal they're meant to be. Rattina and Ratthew's rat ears are identical to those we see on the Stalker, and considering Rattina disappeared, and the note right by her picture claims the "shadow" now sees everything, I'm assuming she got morphed into the 10ft case of nightmare fuel we have to avoid staring at as we finish our shift.
Hmmm, those are some mighty similar ears you have... | Image credit: Eurogamer / Animal Anomaly
The question now is, why? What was the purpose of turning her into a towering ghoul? And why was Rattina the one chosen to do it? I guess we'll find out in future updates. After all, we haven't really tussled with the Stalker all that much despite how prominently it features in the marketing, and I expect a future update will have a much grander focus on it using its spindly arms to give us some spinal adjustments. For now though, my keen Resident Evil senses are telling me there’s definitely a giant ol’ laboratory beneath this hospital where spooky weirdos are slapped together on an assembly line.
Update: July 10th, 2026
The release of the latest Animal Hospital patch has added a new Stalker interaction, in which our tall, wide-eyed friend approaches the booth and hands us a unique form. Picking this form up shows that it's an Animal Corporation application form.
Ah, there's been a mix-up here. I said to write in PRINT, not ominous multicoloured squiggles. | Image credit: Eurogamer / Animal Anomaly
Now... who do we know worked at Animal Corporation? And who do we think the Stalker could be? That's right, Rattina. This seems to corroborate with the evidence we have so far and further suggests that Ratthew's dear sister is, in fact, roaming the hospital as a giant rat ghoul. That, or the Stalker just can't hack the hospital documentation...
And that's all you need to know about Ratthew in Animal Hospital. Have we missed anything? Let us know your theories down in the comments! If you're looking for more Animal Hospital guides, be sure to check out our list of all Anomalies in Animal Hospital and our tips for defeating Ghosts. If you want to check out some non-spooky games though, you can find our full list of Roblox guides here.
