What is the name of House’s pet rat in the television series House, M.D.?

House’s pet rat in House, M.D. is named Steve McQueen.

House keeps the rat during the show’s fourth season, and the animal becomes part of the series’ darkly comic characterization of him. House names the rat after actor Steve McQueen, whose film roles helped make the name recognizable beyond medicine.

The pet is not merely a background detail. House uses the rat in a medical experiment involving pain and addiction, reflecting his tendency to combine personal behavior with clinical curiosity. The storyline also parallels House’s own struggles with dependence on Vicodin.

The rat’s name is sometimes confused with “Steve McQueen,” the actor himself, or with other names House gives to animals and objects. In the series, the pet is a rat called Steve McQueen; the name is a pop-culture reference rather than a medical term.