Ratthew in Animal Hospital: Encounters, Key & Story

Who Is Ratthew

Ratthew is a small black rat with a white snout, buckteeth, and a long curled pink tail, and he is one of the recurring story characters you meet at the check-in window. Despite what many animals in the game’s world believe, the community wiki lists his anomaly status as “Not an Anomaly” and his occupation as a secret agent working against the Animal Corporation. He is the only recurring character who keeps eye contact with the player, which normally only anomalies do, and Dr. Harlow’s dialogue implies he is homeless and may live in the hospital’s vents.

When He Shows Up

Ratthew first appears between Shifts 2 and 6. His visits follow a fixed story arc:

• First visit: his name shows as ”???”. He explains that being small lets him hear and see things others miss.
• Second visit: he decides you are a good person, reveals his name (a 5-coin Journal achievement), and warns you not to trust anyone in the building, especially people carrying suitcases.
• Fourth visit: he admits that most people treat him like an anomaly and thanks you for treating him like anyone else.
• Fifth visit: he says the Animal Corporation is after him and he has to disappear. He then joins you inside the Reception Office and talks while you keep checking in patients.

Much later in the story he reappears at Liz’s house rather than the hospital, bringing a videotape he recorded while crawling through Animal Corp’s vents.

The Key, the Vault, and What Not to Do

During the office chat, Ratthew reveals he had a twin sister, Rattina, “the smart one in the family,” who worked for the Animal Corporation and vanished without a trace. Before leaving for good, he drops a key and a note on your desk - the note says he took the key from “the doc,” meaning Dr. Harlow. Full walkthrough on the Ratthew key page, but the short version: tear down the cat poster in Room 5 to expose the Vault, then open it with the key. Inside you find a photo of Rattina, a suitcase stamped “TOP SECRET,” and a note reading “The experiment was a success, the ‘Shadow’ now sees everything.” Opening the Vault grants the “Ratthew Secret” achievement, and the office chat itself grants “Ratthew last encounter.”

Treat him exactly like a normal patient when he checks in. Shooting or tasing story characters does nothing except waste ammo, but giving Ratthew the wrong treatment kills him and counts as a patient death - and per the wiki, Ron from Accounting stops visiting for the rest of the run if Ratthew dies (possibly a bug, but a costly one either way).

Lore Notes

Ratthew is the game’s anti-corporation informant. Ron complains that “that rat” broke into his office and chewed through classified experiment reports - though Ron admits Ratthew honestly did him a favor. If an anomaly walks up to the window while Ratthew is sitting in your office, he calls it out in red text, and he also warns you that Barney is untrustworthy. His investigation ties directly into Liz’s questline: sticky notes near her bulletin board indicate she first met Ratthew as an informant, and his vent tape - showing the DNA whiteboard from Dr. Harlow’s office, Ron at his desk, and a box of maple syrup - is the payoff of her house visit. Why the Corporation wants him silenced, and where Rattina went, remain open threads the wiki has not resolved.