Well, squirrels and rats both are rodents, aren’t they?
In the ‘50s, I ate squirrel when Dad hunted them. Poor country preachers gotta do what they gotta do to feed the family, ‘y’know.
Pretty sure I don’t want to eat rat, though. It’s psychological.
Mentioned it before, guys in the Marines in the 60's from the south sometimes would tell of hunting rats, skinning them and selling it as squirrel in the darker parts of their towns.
I gather the customers got wise and demanded they leave the paws attached after skinning for positive ID of the meat.