There's a f@*##* rat in my house!

[J Larsen]

It's probably already been addressed, but a cat that still has real hunting instincts will ward off or consume any mouse problem. However, a cat is useless against rats. Cats recognize that rats are too big for them to attack, and frequently you'll even see stray cats and rats eating side by side in the city. House cats are often seriously injured by rats. (However, if you spring for a Savannah or a Chausie, that just might take care of a rat problem...)

[PHILLYQ]

I used to live in an apartment that had the occasional mouse, which my trusty cat would always catch at 2:00 AM on a weeknight. He wanted to play with them for awhile, so I would indulge him(After all, he did the hard work) for a bit and then it was hammer time! A decent hammer to the skull and the mouse is history- it's quick and the cleanup is minimal.

[J Larsen]

Man, that's rough to think about. Although I did have to do that myself, once. A friend had caught a mouse in a glue trap in her apartment. It was trapped, but it wasn't dead. I figured the most human thing to do was drop the trap (w/ mouse attached) in a bag and hit it full force with a cat iron skillet. Still felt wierd about it, though. If my cat gets a mouse, it seems like the natural order of things. But if I kill it with my own two hands, I feel a little guilty. That's probably silly, but it is what it is.

[king ubu]

Man, that's rough to think about. Although I did have to do that myself, once. A friend had caught a mouse in a glue trap in her apartment. It was trapped, but it wasn't dead. I figured the most human thing to do was drop the trap (w/ mouse attached) in a bag and hit it full force with a cat iron skillet. Still felt wierd about it, though. If my cat gets a mouse, it seems like the natural order of things. But if I kill it with my own two hands, I feel a little guilty. That's probably silly, but it is what it is.

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Well, I wouldn't like having to kill one... so far either the cat brought it in dead and ate it up (most of it, that is...), or she brings them in and looses interest. We're quite used to catching mice by now, so we catch them and bring them back outside (where probably a few minutes later the cat will finish them off... but still, at least I don't have to do it).

[Christiern]

In some cultures, that's dinner, Conrad. Think positive!

[Phil Meloy]

Did anyone recommend rolling them in flower and deep frying? Tasty!

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Apparently a popular dish in China is called "The Three Screams". A live mouse is pinned with a fork (1 scream), dipped in boiling oil (2 screams), and swallowed alive (3 screams). Quite a delicacy they say but I would recommend that it's probably not a good idea to order this for dinner if you're on a first date.

[J Larsen]

Did anyone recommend rolling them in flower and deep frying? Tasty!

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Apparently a popular dish in China is called "The Three Screams". A live mouse is pinned with a fork (1 scream), dipped in boiling oil (2 screams), and swallowed alive (3 screams). Quite a delicacy they say but I would recommend that it's probably not a good idea to order this for dinner if you're on a first date.

I'm a little skeptical of that "Three Screams" dish - it has the air of an urban legend to me. However, I do know that in parts of Vietnam field rats are caked with mud and baked for a long time at low temperature. The mud forms a hard shell around the rat, which is broken off before consumption. I have it on good authority that it is actually quite delicious, but I don't plan to conduct an independent verification.

Edited April 1, 2007 by J Larsen

[alocispepraluger102]

A rat ran under my car a couple of days ago and somehow missed the wheel. I live in a rural UK area backing onto native woodland and see them quite often (indeed I've spotted the occasional rat, shrew, vole and mouse in my garden). They are quite harmless as these are the wild species. The local cats do the work of keeping them in check.

I just make sure that all potential entry points into the home are kept sealed. The only instance I've had of one getting in was a vole some years ago and I gave up trying to catch it. After a few days the poor critter was found dead on the floor of the study.

music was too loud.

[Jazzmoose]

With five cats, critters don't fare too well around these parts...