Please tell me what these are

To be honest, I thought the same.

Diatribe = disturb.
Sorry for typos

You need a professional
In. Rats are clever and will work out not to eat the poison if they see one of their mates has snuffed it. Tat poo is sort of tapered at both ends iirc! If you don't diatribe stuff then a proper rat catcher will be able to tell you the entry point by looking at cobwebs/dirt disturbance under your floor/plinths etc.
we had one move into our bloody range It got in via an attached outhouse then into the panel at the back and was living under the gas hobs. I had to skip our bloody expensive SMEG range as it stank.

Should add the snap traps weren't the one you can buy in shops as I believe they aren't always successful at killing them. These were huge the bar was the same length as my forearm. You could hear them going off in the loft from downstairs.

We had an issue with rats a few years ago and got a brilliant guy out. He said the first thing to find out was how they are getting in. In our case builders hadn't capped off a drain properly and they were coming from the sewers, through the cavity walls and into the loft. They literally sounded like they were moving furniture up there!

Next stage was to stop them getting in and deal with the ones then trapped in the house/walls. He used huge snap traps baited with liquorice allsorts which apparently they love. He said that poison was cruel as they go off and die a slow death. Not sure killing them is ever going to be a pleasant experience but at least it was instant with the snap traps.

I can only speak for myself, but my priority is to kill all the rats. Treating them humanely is much less important.

She's far too cute! Definitely up to no good. Check behind her litter box to see if she's stashed a hammer & chisel behind there. Make sure when she is older you don't leave any power tools within reach.

My cat is always bringing live mice in her mouth from the garden. I've seen her several times looking shifty with a mouse rump and tail sticking out of her mouth before she spits them out and they run off. I've told her countless times to stop doing this but there seems to be no stopping her.

I've learnt that having a cat and thinking your house will be mouse free is not true at all!

Tell the council you’ve seen them all round the streets outside. They’ll put traps out for free.

That looks more like a mouse to me. I had rars burrowing through the patio & up into the loft. Council came out free & put traps down & I also bought a high pitched (that only they could hear) plug in thing. Never heard them again.

Don't want to scaremonger, but if you have one rat you have 10. Pest control as soon as possible.

Store food in fridge or in plastic sealed boxes in cupboard to contain food smell

Some councils will provide a rat control service, especially if they are in the house. Try them first before and expensive pest control firm.

The easiest way to tell them apart is by their droppings - mouse droppings are like black cake sprinkles, rat droppings are more the size of raisins or chocolate chips. Sorry for the baking references (ugh!).

As someone mentioned above, the wax blocks of poison bait are best. They can be placed inside locked boxes under the kitchen counters or other concealed spaces avoid your (gorgeous) kitten getting to them. You can then check them every few days and see which ones are being nibbled, to track where the mice/rats are.

have you tried peppermint essential oil soak cotton wool or even buy a few. Bottles keep
lids
off all around house. Apparently they can’t stand the smell? I’ve not tried it myself.

fill holes with wire wool

If you have rats you need exterminators in, sorry. The damage to the woodwork isn't the work of a cat, cats don't do much chewing as their teeth are designed for stabbing and shearing (the carnassial ones near the back).

(As an aside I also was surprised at your bowls - cats generally don't like their water source being near their food, and there's a LOT of food in there. I would only put down a small amount of food, like a mouse-body size at the most, that she can clear in one sitting, and don't leave uneaten food out while you've got a rodent problem)

Your cat is gorgeous, what a cutie!

You can tell young rats from mice because their tales are shorter than their bodies. So, if you catch a small one that'll tell you. If rodents get into the wall cavity they can get through the house. They can also use ivy or other climbing plants to get in through the eaves, so always try to keep climbers cut short of the guttering.

If you use poison bait there may be dead rodents somewhere inaccessible which could cause a problem with odour and/or flies. It's unpleasant but generally short lived and sometimes a necessary price to pay for a rodent free home.

Some councils still offer a free service for rodent infestations, although a lot of them now charge. It's worthwhile checking with them if you haven't already.

It's very sweet.

The poor thing is dead because we hadn't been able to trap it and had put poison down.
I was glad to find it because it looks so peaceful. I hope that means that it had a quick, painless death.

And keep your kitten safe. Rats have massive teeth and even adult cats have a job dealing with them

Ugh. My loathed animal. Rats.
They will not move out because you have a cat. We had 2 cats and 7 dogs and rats would still nest where they could and find any means to get indoors. This included gnawing through stone. I kid you not.
Don't piss around with traps. Theyre neophobic unlike mice. Get pest control in. Rats are a job for experts. And you won't have just one rat. You'll have multiple. I loathe them with a passion after years of country life and struggles to keep the cottage rat free.

Bless, it’s actually quite sweet.

Perhaps if you name them op, you’ll feel better about them being there.

I vote for the rats under the sink to be called Miss Bianca and Bernard.

Yeah that's a rat. Burn the house down? Or borrow a terrier. And put lots of poison down where pets and other wildlife can't get it.