Dying with the rat curse effect active sometimes crashes the game. Upon a restart, the player will gain the ability to fly in survival. Switching gamemodes will not change this. It's also quite likely that the player will lose some inventory data, especially armor, although it appears to be inconsistent.

Changing gamemode into spectator with the rat curse effect active will disassociate the player with the rat, as well as granting flight. Any armor data will be kept on the rat.