We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Avola
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We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Avola » Sun Nov 01, 2015 10:26 pm

A couple of nights ago I was hanging in the backyard while the dogs were doing their last business for the night and saw a rat walk by and hide in the wood pile. :shock:
Now, we do live in the country and on occasion I have seen a rodent or two but this guy acted like he owns the place, wasn't fazed by the two large dogs one bit and just strolled by. I also have a very effective barn cat who gives me presents in the form of dead field mice and the occasional baby rat on a regular basis.
Today I was working in the yard and had the weird feeling someone or something was watching me so I looked up and sure enough, there it is, in the middle of the yard, ears up, and a very curious expression on its face. As I froze, I realized this is no regular rat, its fur is light brown and soft looking, it''s actually kind of cute, except for the tail which freaks me out, it's not aggressive nor scared, clearly used to people. I yelled at and it strolled away with a "oh ok, you don't want to play" demeanor.
Ten minutes ago, it came back, this time on the deck and went straight for the bowl of cat food. DH went after him, which was quite an entertaining sight, with no success and came back to tell me it's a domestic rat, no, he couldn't catch it but it's definitely a domestic rat.
I wanted him dead but now I'm having second thoughts. May we be should trap it and take it to the local animal shelter? I can't believe I'm feeling bad for a rat!

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Flight
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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Flight » Mon Nov 02, 2015 12:36 am

Oohh, I'd feel bad for it too. Make it your new pet!

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby myleetlepony » Mon Nov 02, 2015 12:41 am

I think he wants to live with you. He's probably heard around the neighborhood that you're a good home and since he lost his other people, he desires your adoption :)

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Chisamba
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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Chisamba » Mon Nov 02, 2015 1:16 am

rats make very sweet pets, and are quite smart, but your dogs and cats can still eat them so i would worry about them getting him if he is domestic and does not know to be careful

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby onetrickpony » Mon Nov 02, 2015 1:39 am

I would try to trap it and rehome it, either through the local animal shelter or another group. I wouldn't want to take a chance that my larger critters would kill it after I'd made its acquaintance.

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Avola » Mon Nov 02, 2015 3:03 am

I will not have a pet rat. That tail really freaks me out. Plus, absolutely, if one of the other critters gets a hold of it, it's going to die very unpleasantly.
So now....any words of wisdom as to how to trap a rat without killing it? I have a raccoon trap but he'll get out of that one in a heartbeat. My "rat trap" search provided only the ones full of poison. Anyone has any ideas?

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onetrickpony
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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby onetrickpony » Mon Nov 02, 2015 3:09 am

Google "small live trap." I just did--many options popped up.

Avola
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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Avola » Mon Nov 02, 2015 3:26 am

Done, thanks! There is one available at my local hardware store. I'll pick it up in the morning and hopefully he barn cat or the resident bear (bears don't eat rats though, do they?) won't get a hold of the little guy before I trap him.

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Red Barn » Mon Nov 02, 2015 11:03 am

I had pet rats when I was a kid, and loved them.

Rats are ever so much brighter than you'd expect, so I wouldn't worry too much about your new comrade being eaten by the dog or killed by the cat. I imagine he'll evade your pets just fine - of course, he might also evade your trap, so there's that.

;)

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Woost2 » Mon Nov 02, 2015 1:11 pm

Is there a way to put a motice out to your community about him? He might come to his owners.

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Rhianon » Mon Nov 02, 2015 2:51 pm

I quite like rats, but I know what you mean about having domesticated critters move in and the quandry of what to do about it.

We're now dealing with two domestic rabbits that live under our porch. All attempts to live trap them have failed. They clearly know that humans provide food and lodging, and that crates respresent the end of freedom. One is a regular black rabbit.The other seems to be a "lion rabbit" as far as we can figure. Very fluffy/tuffy coat especially around the neck and small, short ears.

Their arrival has, however, given my little dog Paris a new lease on life. She can smell them and races around hoping to find one. She's old, slow, and hasn't got much in the way of teeth. But she still can frighten them, so I have to keep her on a leash. It's kind of cute to see her so excited.

Avola
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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Avola » Mon Nov 02, 2015 2:58 pm

Well, unless he's a traveling rat he was dumped. I have a grand total of 5 neighbors scattered around and none of them has/had a pet rat. Do rats travel?

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Moutaineer » Mon Nov 02, 2015 3:33 pm

I accidentally stole a neighbor's cat once making the assumption that it could possibly belong to the person that it did... that was a bit embarrassing :)

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby WheresMyWhite » Mon Nov 02, 2015 3:48 pm

I'm not personally fond of rats but in looking for alternative homes, you might want to see if there is a Barn Hunt club near you. ( www.barnhunt.com ).

They use rats in tubes as part of their trials. The rats are well cared for (the rule book has a whole section on the safe treatment of the rats). I've seen the rats and they are more than content to sit chilly in the tubes even when there are dogs sniffing them. They appear to know they are safe :)

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Canyon » Mon Nov 02, 2015 4:34 pm

I have trapped 60+ squirrels over the years in a live trap, a small two-door Havahart trap. IDK about rats, but squirrels love peanuts in the shell. Some squirrels are smarter than others. For the really smart ones, I have to “glue” some of the peanuts to the trigger plate using peanut butter. That forces them to them to stand on the plate and set it off. You could also try hanging the bait from a string above the trigger plate.

Good luck (I am not fond of rodents!)

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Xcaliper » Mon Nov 02, 2015 7:26 pm

Maybe this will change your mind about rats:

(Cuteness warning: lots of sweet looking rats with teeny tiny teddy bears!)
https://www.google.ca/search?q=rats+wit ... MbzdmQs%3D

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Avola » Mon Nov 02, 2015 8:59 pm

No rat in sight today. May be he is a traveling rat and moved on. Or may be he had an encounter with a predator. The trap is set. We'll see what happens.
And Xcaliper, they can be cute, if you could just get rid of that tail I wouldn't have much of an issue at all. Well, may be I wouldn't.

Avola
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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Avola » Tue Nov 03, 2015 2:30 am

Well.....sadly the little dude didn't go in the trap. He did, however, challenge the dogs this afternoon and, while Bart was looked pretty intimidated, Zelda killed it with one snap and walked away, looking pretty proud of herself. Stupid thing had no clue who he was messing with apparently.

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby ProudHorse » Tue Nov 03, 2015 4:29 am

I have a country rat that is very cute who drinks from the dog bowl outside. He very cute. I would so keep him!
Compassion is not a four letter word.

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Figgy » Tue Nov 03, 2015 10:20 am

this is why I love diamond pythons

rat problem?

diamond python moves in

squealing baby rats

rat problem solved

sleepy diamond python moves on.....

love diamond pythons, such a pretty snake and they clean up rats and mice

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Flight
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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Flight » Tue Nov 03, 2015 10:43 am

Oh poor Ratty!
Dogs are quick though. My bloody Pomeranian did damage to a blue tongue lizard today :(

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Red Barn » Tue Nov 03, 2015 9:26 pm

:cry:

At least it was quick. Poor bugger.

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby amygdala » Tue Nov 03, 2015 11:42 pm

Red Barn wrote::cry:

At least it was quick. Poor bugger.


this! poor critter! :cry:

Avola
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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Avola » Wed Nov 04, 2015 3:15 am

Yes it was very quick. Something to be thankful about. I actually was growing find of the little guy. Alas, it was a rat....

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby amygdala » Wed Nov 04, 2015 3:29 am

an animal came to you for help. you let your dogs kill it. nice :x

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Maple » Wed Nov 04, 2015 3:53 am

amygdala wrote:an animal came to you for help. you let your dogs kill it. nice :x

This is a little harsh, isn't it? She was trying to trap it to save its life.

I once had a domestic rat given to me, it was safely caged and carefully tended. One day it decided to escape its wire cage....and didn't last an hour before my terrier got it. Of course I felt awful, but it was an accident and had the rat stayed in its enclosure, nothing would have happened. You can't always control the behavior of animals - and that goes for both the rat AND the dogs.

Avola
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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Avola » Wed Nov 04, 2015 5:51 am

amygdala wrote:an animal came to you for help. you let your dogs kill it. nice :x


Really? :roll:
Wow

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby DD2 » Wed Nov 04, 2015 4:53 pm

Couple things...

Hopefully your dog is up to date on rabies shots because the behavior of the rat seemed suspect to me...odd to be that bold

Secondly, the comment by amygdala is BS...what a troll!

Avola
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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby Avola » Wed Nov 04, 2015 6:11 pm

Yes, both dogs are current with all their vaccinations and yes, it was pretty odd behavior. I'm not too sorry that it ended that way. If the rat was diseased it could have been a total nightmare if I had caught it.

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby piedmontfields » Wed Nov 04, 2015 8:54 pm

RIP, little rat.

I doubt he would have lasted that long at our place!

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby viscountessleftfield » Wed Nov 04, 2015 8:56 pm

The rat would have had one of two fates in my house.

The useless, worthless, lazy cats I share my house with would have welcomed him in and shown him the food bowl.

or, the former barn cat, who is not useless, worthless, or lazy would have made dinner out of him.

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Re: We've been adopted by an escaped domestic rat, sigh.....

Postby angela9823 » Wed Nov 04, 2015 10:23 pm

Xcaliper wrote:Maybe this will change your mind about rats:

(Cuteness warning: lots of sweet looking rats with teeny tiny teddy bears!)
https://www.google.ca/search?q=rats+wit ... MbzdmQs%3D
Some of those are adorable. But I'm with Avola. I can't have them because the tails are creepy. I've had hamsters and guinea pigs - no problem. Tails on lizards are freaky to me too.

Poor guy! It would have suffered the same fate at my house. Two of my dogs would have played with it to death, the third would have immediately killed it, the cat would have played with it or killed it and if that didn't happen an owl or fox would have gotten it.


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