Rat In My Kitchen

[SSpratt]

3 nights ago my cat jumped in the bathroom window and shortly afterwards I heard a squeak so thought she had a mouse to play with (and kill). I was in bed/half asleep at the time and sort of forgot about it. I have two cats and occasionally they bring in a half alive mouse. Fast forward to this morning, I’m in the kitchen and a suddenly RAT drop through the hole in the kitchen ceiling surrounding the boiler pipes coming through from the upstairs bathroom (holes are about an inch wide). I absolutely shat myself, screamed for about 10 minutes and had a full on panic attack. It sped off (almost flew) and is now in my living room somewhere. I don’t think I’m ever going to get over this. I know it is the ‘mouse’ from the other night and it has been here all that time.

What are you going to do

my sentiments exactly!

I’ve ordered 4 rat traps from Amazon. I’ve sealed off the room until the traps arrive.

She's gonna fix that rat, that's what she's gonna do.

My cats often bring in rats. They don’t move that quickly so you can normally use a broom to shepherd them out a door into the outside world.

rats are everywhere - you can’t get away from them!

She gonna fix that rat 😂

I used to think it was " I'm gonna eat that rat", which seemed a bit odd, but rat pie might be delicious.

Yep agree, you need to fix that rat, that's what you're gonna do.

Bravo!

'You gonna beat that rat that's what you gonna do'

Grab a broom and have at it!

Not really - I like rats.

Ahhhh god we had a rat behind the oven near Christmas and then it had the bloody audacity just to stroll out into the kitchen in broad daylight. Absolutely horrific. Anyway, it clearly wasn’t too bright as it made its way into a trap that night. I hope they do the job for you quickly!

Look at the facts:

The rat is now in the living room.

You have cats.

There's an obvious answer here.

@Sparrowball I mean, there’s that.

But also, are you able to open all the windows in that room (with speed/ask a brave neighbour!) in hope that it will work its way out?

I do feel for you, I really do. What a nightmare.

I'd say it would find its way out fairly quickly if cats were prowling around.

I mean, rats can chew through wood and walls (amongst other things) so I'm not sure "sealing" it in the living room will have the result you want...

Far better to try and direct it out of the house tbh, assuming the cat has brought it in.

The electric cats from Amazon baited with peanut butter are excellent but you need to give them a few days to work, rats are smart and won't investigate them straight away.

Failing that council pest control.

One rat can easily turn into many rats.

Sadly, I have been in this position several times. I'm amazed people have found them slow, I can catch mice but I've only ever managed to catch one rat, which was a lucky situation where I pulled out the hoover and it was perched on top (don't ask). My cat brings them in but then unlike mice doesn't play with them or eat them, it's like she's bringing them in as pets. She did once corner one and it hissed at her and chased her...it was surreal. Anyway I have no tips. We ended up with one living in our kitchen for weeks sharing a foot bowl with the cat, others died of natural causes. I have proper rat traps but they've never been set off when used sigh I think trying to keep it in one room is sensible but a challenge. One thing that drew one out a while ago was lack of water, make sure you aren't leaving water out anywhere it can get.

My DH had this issue one time. He sealed up any holes and trapped the rat in. You need to open your kitchen door and leave the room for a few hours and it will probably leave.

Electric cars? Whatever next.

Cats, even

We had a humongous one in our kitchen one day when I came downstairs. I had heard a strange noise downstairs during the night and later found chewing marks on the wooden door.
We borrowed a neighbour’s squirrel trap (don’t ask), baited it with peanut butter and went out for a few hours. Rat was trapped when we returned but was sooo aggressive - making awful hissing noises when we approached. My DH put a bungy on the handle of the cage, put it in the boot of the car and then released rat at the local common. Rat pissed all over the boot though en route and that took weeks to get the smell out.

The rat will probably try to go outside, it wasn't in your house before and won't want to live in it alone. My cat brings mice in sometimes and they get lost in the house. The mouse always waits until it is quiet and then comes out from its hiding place and attempts to make an escape. Usually this is not very successful because the cats sense it very quickly! You need to put the cat in the room where the rat is, they will tell you where it is by stalking the area. Well, hopefully, anyway!

We had a rat in our kitchen. It was awful. Council sorted it.