Auction Finds (I think) ~ There's a rat in my....bathroom.... (Can someone identify?) ~ My cats are useless!!! Video proof! UB40 bonus
Yesterday evening my husband and I were discussing which little island we might buy (when our ship comes in...kill me now) and I was relaxing on my bed smelling the gentle sweet scent of jasmine wafting on the gentle breeze through the open window. Just as I was telling him I wanted jasmine planted all over my island, a movement caught my eye...
To my horror a rat strolled past the side of my bed, and then disappeared under it. I'm not joking when I said strolled, as this must be the most casual rat ever! Of course I had no wish to sleep with a rat under my bed, so much shifting of furniture and shining of cellphone torches occurred. Cellphones really are useful!!! Just as the carpet was starting to give me an allergic skin reaction, the rat visitor scurried into my bathroom, and we promptly shut the door.
(so much poop,ugh)
Before I continue with my rat saga, I want to ask if anyone can tell me if it is an ordinary brown sewer rat (Norway Rat, see I googled) or is it a field rat. It's tail seemed a little short to me, for it to be a brown rat, but it looked like one. If it is a field rat, it makes sense as our property is bordered by farmland, and an overgrown plot next door. But it could also be a brown rat, as we sometimes pick up these things in our auction boxes, which we bring home. On one rather infamous occasion my husband attended a farm auction, where all the goods had been stored long term in a barn, and soon after he returned, I spied rats the size of dogs scurrying up and down into and out of my roof. (Black rats, see, google again!)
My cats have brought us enough presents for me to decide they could deal with my little problem. I left two of them in the bathroom with the rat and went to read my novel. At about 11:30pm, before going to sleep, I decided to see if any progress was made on my problem. The videos speak for themselves. I was too tired to decide what to to do so I left the rat in the bath. After taking videos of it and and photographing it (it was strangely calm and obliging) I couldn't kill it. This morning when I got up, it had made it's escape, even though the bath sides were so high and slippery I thought it wouldn't.
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I have concluded this incident is an excellent excuse to get another cat! My half blind feral rescue cat tragically died earlier this year, so I am on the lookout for another feral rescue cat. While I contemplate a cute kitten, please enjoy this rather apt UB40 tune!
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@onetree
Wow...rat as the protagonist of the story...briliant rat....
Hahahaha
Those cats are so funny! They are too nice to be violent or aggressive towards anyone. I also have been having problem with a small field mouse like this. There are always rats in the fields nearby my place. But the rainy season has driven them up on dry ground.
They are very clever; they climb up the tree and jump onto my roof around the same time each evening!
Hope you have a new cat soon!
Cheers.
Rats are extremely clever. Unfortunately this one crawled under my bath and died. And there is no way to reach it. I have to suffer the smell until it goes away. I can't wait for a new cat, but I like rescue cats, especially feral kittens, so I am waiting for one.
Have you tried the peanut butter sandwich?
Not yet
A new cat or a B-B gun is in order!
Problem is I just couldn't kill it. And I do need a new cat,, but I can't replace the others!!! It died anyway. Under my bath where I can't reach it and it srinks!
I see you have acquired a Pet Rat and you have even managed to socialise it with your Cats!
Have you considered a change of career as an Animal Trainer in a Travelling Circus ?, you have skills way beyond those that you currently use!
That might have worked marvelously, except the rat climbed into a hole under my bath and died. Now it is stinking to high heaven. I poured Jeyes fluid down the hole, so I think I might be ripe for a career in the cleaning industry!
My wife and I had the strangest experience with rodents in our home a year ago as we found three dead mice in our laundry room in 4 days. Strangely they all looked like they drowned as they were wet. Every time I knew there was a new mouse because I heard my wife shriek lol.
I sealed up some holes in the foundation and crawlspace in the house and got some mouse traps and we never saw another one again. I stlll haven't figured out how they got in and why they were soaked. Maybe they came through the drain for the used water from the washing machine?
I'm just glad there haven't been any more. I don't know what that rodent in your picture is but apparently rodents entering homes is all too common which is kind of comforting to me knowing I'm not the only one who's had this happen. My wife and I are very clean people and we like having a clean home. It's definitely frustrating to have rodents in the house when one keeps it clean. I suspect our neighbors and the piles of trash in their garage have something to do with it. Those things can squeeze through incredibly small spaces relative to their body size so it's hard to pinpoint how they get in.
Good luck with those cats! I have a ball python but she stays in a terrarium and she eats live mice but I buy them at the store to feed her. I'd never leave her out to roam the house and kill rodents that may get in. My wife would be horrified plus the snake is 19 years old and has bad vision.
I can't stand rodents, but I am trying hard to respect all life! I feel better that it seems to be a field mouse rather than a rat. And wow, a 19 year old python! How long do they usually live?
That's no rat... That looks like a veldmuis.
Okay thank you, I like it better then. But I think it is still somewhere in my house. And why is it so relaxed?
If it was a proper rat it would go toe to toe with any dog or cat and the outcome would be dicey. That's a veldmuis. It probably had some Rattex along the way and was a bit zoemdoef by the time it got to you. I predict that you'll get a funny smell from under the fridge or a cupboard in a day or two.
Yes, I've had rats die in my roof before....eeeeeuw
Ah shame I am glad he got away - such a cute lets call him a mouse hahaha. Those cats made my day. Very funny
I'm glad. 😁