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Original poster

Please tell me what these are

58 replies

moleymoley1 · 19/10/2024 20:11

So we’ve just found a rat underneath the kitchen cupboard 😩 we’re dealing with it and we’re aware we may have more than 1. I’ve just been going around checking for more marks and I’ve seen this on our bed. Now we have a 12 week old kitten so these marks could well be from her biting or from rats. If so this changes things cos it now means there upstairs 😩😩😩😩😭

I’ve added the picture of the wall by where her food is just for context as I think this is her too.

Please tell me what these are
Please tell me what these are
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WrigglyDonCat · 19/10/2024 22:01

Plus even if kitty is too small to go ratting, rats are smart buggers and as soon as they detect a cat is a permanent resident in the area will pull back. Doesn't mean they won't visit, but they won't make a permanent home too close. #

And twelve weeks is more than old enough to be tackling mice. Feral kittens are more than capable of taking down small mice well before that age.

cariadlet · 19/10/2024 22:00

OP, here's a photo of one of the rats that we had in the house.

I know that there's not really anything to give a sense of the size but it might help you to decide if you have a mouse or a rat.

Apart from the size, there's quite a difference between the noise that they make.
We've never been able to hear mice but we can hear rats gnawing when we're in a different room.

Please tell me what these are
WrigglyDonCat · 19/10/2024 21:57

My money's on mouse as well - given the type of hose it's next to it would have to be a baby rat, and the ears are too big for your typical ratty fucker.

EDIT: And who shoved a stopcock into its back anyway?

YourLastNerve · 19/10/2024 21:54

Oh and i would get poison down fast or you will have multiple rats before long. It's quite hard in a domestic kitchen to remove access to all sources of food. Rats can easily get up through cupboards to anything liks cereal boxes.

cariadlet · 19/10/2024 21:53

Hard to tell if it's a rat or a mouse from those photos. We've had both and tbh, the size is the biggest giveaway.

Dymaxion · 19/10/2024 21:52

I wouldn't bait them or trap them, just make life more difficult, less food and remove entry points, borrow a terrier Wink Rats are remarkably intelligent creatures and the world is full of opportunities for them, just make your home less inviting/easy to access and they will move on.

YourLastNerve · 19/10/2024 21:51

How big is it? Mice are much smaller than rats. Mice have very noticeable big ears and a thinner tail. Rats have much bigger feet.

Ime what a lot of british people think mice look like, in the context of what cats bring in, are voles. Field voles or bank voles.

Your pic does look a bit ratty but I can't see the size.

BabyCloud · 19/10/2024 21:48

Eeeeek. Looks like a rat.

myvolvohasavulva · 19/10/2024 21:47

My vote's for a mouse! I've seen more rats up close than I'd like and that's not one

Hercisback1 · 19/10/2024 21:45

That looks mousey.

Get some traps and bait down. Secure the kitten inside for now and kill the rodents.

YourWinter · 19/10/2024 21:45

Gorgeous kitten but please, ditch all the plastic bowls and use ceramic or glass. Plastic bowls are awful for cats and dogs, and tend to cause a kind of acne under the cat’s chin. No matter how they’re washed they have a residual taste and scent that cats find unpleasant, they get tiny surface abrasions that harbour bacteria, your pet is ingesting microscopic particles of plastic as it eats, and it taints their water.

Dymaxion · 19/10/2024 21:45

Rats are noisy, as in wake you up noisy, mice less so. Have had both and live in the country. Have you walked round the outside of your property and checked around any pipes that come out ? that's where ours got in, they had removed the filler around the pipes and come into the kitchen that way.
Did they arrive with the kitten ? I stopped putting food down and leaving it for the dog, she ate and the remains binned and bowl washed. No fruit bowl left out, all other food put in a rat proof cupboard. You need to make it slim pickings for them. Also doused the place in peppermint oil which apparently they hate, you would need to check if this is kitten safe first.
Another possible culprit is squirrels, they are also noisy, chewers and are aggressive little buggers !

TomatoSandwiches · 19/10/2024 21:40

That is rats, sorry, cats will scratch it to shit but it will look different to chewing, that wood is chewed.
I'm not sure how to get rats but if I were you I'd get a pest controller in to check.

Original poster
moleymoley1 · 19/10/2024 21:38

OhHaiOwlInYourTowel · 19/10/2024 21:37

Well I'm sorry but that's not your kitten gnawing away there. I hate to buck the trend but no cat I've ever had has done that - and I think you'd know if she was doing it

Sorry - my vote is that's a rat

This is what we saw under our sink 😩😩

Please tell me what these are
Please tell me what these are
OP posts:
OhHaiOwlInYourTowel · 19/10/2024 21:38

And no, a cat would have no reason to chew and gnaw in that way.

OhHaiOwlInYourTowel · 19/10/2024 21:37

Well I'm sorry but that's not your kitten gnawing away there. I hate to buck the trend but no cat I've ever had has done that - and I think you'd know if she was doing it

Sorry - my vote is that's a rat

Original poster
moleymoley1 · 19/10/2024 21:11

Can I send a picture of what was under our sink? Everyone has said it’s a rat and I’ve ran it through an id thng that says rat too but I’d much prefer it if it was just mice 🫣

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Flossyflop · 19/10/2024 21:09

Are you aware that’s cats teeth like babies and lose their baby teeth? She could be teething, when they teeth, they chew a lot. Has she got some good toys to chew?

Shes cute!

Getitwright · 19/10/2024 21:08

Don’t take any food upstairs, the rats will find it🫣

Original poster
moleymoley1 · 19/10/2024 21:06

DownWhichOfLate · 19/10/2024 20:58

Not sure unless we see a picture of the kitten 😁

Here she is defo too small to make those marks!

Please tell me what these are
OP posts:
Original poster
moleymoley1 · 19/10/2024 21:05

TronaldDumps · 19/10/2024 20:56

That bit's chewed not scratched. I doubt a kitten would scratch enough to make the other marks either

No I onow which leads me to believe the rats are upstairs 😩😩😩

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Getitwright · 19/10/2024 21:05

Use bait boxes, proper ones, with the more expensive red bait blocks. Be very careful to keep kitten away from them. You need to remove any source of food attractant as well, so feed the kitten then put food away, and store all your foodstuffs properly in plastic containers rather than paper/cardboard. I can’t see a three month old kitten making those marks to be honest, for a start it might still have its kitten teeth, not big adult ones.

DownWhichOfLate · 19/10/2024 20:58

Not sure unless we see a picture of the kitten 😁

TronaldDumps · 19/10/2024 20:56

That bit's chewed not scratched. I doubt a kitten would scratch enough to make the other marks either

Original poster
moleymoley1 · 19/10/2024 20:36

This is the bit I’m worried about as it looked chewed 😩😩 and the other day I heard banging upstairs and the kitten was with me and no one else was in

Please tell me what these are
Please tell me what these are
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