neverspent (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
neverspent) wrote2011-05-03 01:25 pm
neverspent) wrote2011-05-03 01:25 pm
Entry tags:
The Adventures of Rat
My cat and I spent a good ten minutes this evening watching our Rat friend forage on the balcony. It wasn't quite dark, though the dark clouds made it a little greyer. Rattie licked up rainwater from the balcony boards, sniffed all around the plant pots and found a few stray birdseeds from among the dead pine needles. He walked boldly right by the glass door, confident that the pouncing cat behind it held no danger. I'm sure he must have heard my cat's head bump the door.
I say "he." This is quite possibly the same rat I photographed a couple of months ago, but whereas before I had a tiny bit of doubt about the rat/mouse identification based on size, now there is no doubt it's a rat. And it's male. He's grown! And his tail seems so much longer than the tails of the domestic rats I used to have as pets.
A bit of history of what has happened since my last rat post. In my apartment, on one end of the tiny kitchen is a door that opens to an unfinished closet holding the gas heating unit and the hot water tank. This is also where I store my pet food and birdseed—in sealed plastic containers due to previous experiences with a squirrel. The closet has various holes in the ceiling and walls that open to the attic area, which leads to the outdoor shed, which also has holes. You can bet we hear things walking in the ceiling often during the winter.
About a month ago, I discovered droppings on the cat food container, and a couple of days later there was a large hole chewed through the lid of the dog food tub. I totally don't blame the rat for taking advantage of the delicious bounty available to it, but I couldn't just let it continue, for financial and health reasons. So, reluctantly, I called the apartment management and they sent a fellow who set up glue traps and taped up the dog food container with some kind of metal tape. I didn't feel good about this, but... I wasn't sure how else to proceed.
The result of all this was that Rattie showed himself to be cleverer than the traps. He avoided the glue trap, chewed right through the metal tape, and got himself back into the dog food. Inside, I was kind of cheering him, I admit. I cleared everything else out of the closet, washed it all, got a new dog food bin and replaced the food, and now... I guess we're just living a compromise? No, not a compromise. I have simply ceded the closet to Rat. As long as he doesn't come into the apartment proper, we live and let live.
Upon hearing that the glue traps had failed, the apartment manager suggested that I fill the hole with steel wool; the rat would eat the steel wool and die. (Horribly, I assume.) I just can't do it. I would really like to have use of that closet again, because in my little apartment I don't actually have a good place to store these tubs of pet chow. But at this point I think I'd rather be inconvenienced than kill a cute, innocent animal inhumanely. When I have time, I may research humane/live traps. We'll see.
In the meantime, I salute you, Rat!
I say "he." This is quite possibly the same rat I photographed a couple of months ago, but whereas before I had a tiny bit of doubt about the rat/mouse identification based on size, now there is no doubt it's a rat. And it's male. He's grown! And his tail seems so much longer than the tails of the domestic rats I used to have as pets.
A bit of history of what has happened since my last rat post. In my apartment, on one end of the tiny kitchen is a door that opens to an unfinished closet holding the gas heating unit and the hot water tank. This is also where I store my pet food and birdseed—in sealed plastic containers due to previous experiences with a squirrel. The closet has various holes in the ceiling and walls that open to the attic area, which leads to the outdoor shed, which also has holes. You can bet we hear things walking in the ceiling often during the winter.
About a month ago, I discovered droppings on the cat food container, and a couple of days later there was a large hole chewed through the lid of the dog food tub. I totally don't blame the rat for taking advantage of the delicious bounty available to it, but I couldn't just let it continue, for financial and health reasons. So, reluctantly, I called the apartment management and they sent a fellow who set up glue traps and taped up the dog food container with some kind of metal tape. I didn't feel good about this, but... I wasn't sure how else to proceed.
The result of all this was that Rattie showed himself to be cleverer than the traps. He avoided the glue trap, chewed right through the metal tape, and got himself back into the dog food. Inside, I was kind of cheering him, I admit. I cleared everything else out of the closet, washed it all, got a new dog food bin and replaced the food, and now... I guess we're just living a compromise? No, not a compromise. I have simply ceded the closet to Rat. As long as he doesn't come into the apartment proper, we live and let live.
Upon hearing that the glue traps had failed, the apartment manager suggested that I fill the hole with steel wool; the rat would eat the steel wool and die. (Horribly, I assume.) I just can't do it. I would really like to have use of that closet again, because in my little apartment I don't actually have a good place to store these tubs of pet chow. But at this point I think I'd rather be inconvenienced than kill a cute, innocent animal inhumanely. When I have time, I may research humane/live traps. We'll see.
In the meantime, I salute you, Rat!
no subject
I don't know what I would do if I had to deal with mice or rats in the house. I like pet rats, and I could never kill them, but of course I know a person cannot have them in the house when they are wild ones. I'm also deathly afraid of rabies, which I know is possible in rats.
I guess my cats inside always alert such critters to stay away. I like to remember this story about St Martin de Porres:
I'm going to share this with you, but since it is religious, I hope you won't be offended, and you are welcome to delete it if you like. I just think it's a cute story about troublesome rats, and in the picture, you can see the wee rat down on the floor, waiting for his dinner. :)
This is a condensed from here:
Born at Lima, Peru, on November 9, 1579; died November 3, 1639; beatified in 1837; canonized on May 5, 1962, by Pope John XXIII; feast day formerly November 5.
Martin was the illegitimate child of Juan de Porres, a Spanish knight (hidalgo) from Alcantara, and Anna Velasquez, a free Panamanian mullato.
He nursed the sick of the city, including plague victims, regardless of race, and helped to found an orphanage and foundling hospital with other charities attached to them. He distributed the convent's alms of food (which he is said sometimes to have increased miraculously) to the poor. Martin especially ministered to the slaves that had been brought from Africa.
Even sick animals came to Martin for healing. He demonstrated a great control of and care for animals--a care that apparently was inexplicable to the Spaniards--extending his love even to rats and mice, whose scavenging he excused on the grounds that they were hungry. He kept cats and dogs at his sister's house.
**Great as his healing faculty was, Martin is probably best remembered for the legend of the rats. It is said that the prior, a reasonable man, objected to the rodents. He ordered Martin to set out poison for them. Martin obeyed, but was very sorry for the rats. He went out into the garden and called softly--and out came the rats. He reprimanded them for their bad habits, telling them about the poison. He further assured them that he would feed them every day in the garden, if they would refrain from annoying the prior. This they agreed upon. He dismissed the rodents and forever after, they never troubled the monastery.
no subject
I love the story of Martin and the rats! Thank you for sharing it. I just want to hug Martin. :)