Sorry Otta, only just seen this (never been in the family room before) I've kept hamsters, indoor rabbits and guinea pigs. I don't think hamsters are suitable because they only live a couple of years and spend most of their time sleeping. You can only keep one Syrian at a time because they fight. You can keep rabbits indoors but again if you keep 2 males, it's risky keeping them together. I had two in separate indoor cages & used to let them out for a couple of hours. You have to provide grass if they don't go outdoors so will have to grow indoor pet grass. Also, rabbits take ages to tame and even after handling every day may still hate being picked up & have a nasty bite if they're in a bad mood. Guinea pigs are gorgeous. Again it's best to pick girls. They are docile, rarely bite and love being picked up. They are noisy though, especially when foods due plus they do best when they can go outside in a run in the summer to eat grass. You could grow indoor grass though if you choose to go for them. I've never kept rats but I think your wife is right and they will be a good choice for you. They can happily live in a flat, can become very tame and like being handled. They don't need to go outside and are so intelligent they can be trained to do things.