To put my cat in the loft?

[maymoon]

From 10am this morning I have heard scratching and chewing around my loft hatch. Sounds like mice/rats.

Have called pest control at my local council and they said they can't come until next Monday plus will charge me $47 (should be pounds but no pound sign on laptop!?). I tried private companies but will be $70-$100 (again pounds!).

My cat loved to catch mice/rats when I lived behind some woods but hasn't had any since we moved and was thinking it would solve my problem and please my cat too.

How safe is your loft? What is up there as well as the mice? Could it be squirrels? They may bite your cat.

I've heard scuttling recently. Are they in my ceiling or upstair's floor? I'm going with the latter.

You can't put the cat up there! Sparklingbrook is quite right, you really don't know what's up there and what might bite your cat.

Are you worried about waiting or the money? A lot of councils have a reduced payment scheme for people on benefits. Does this apply to you?

Don't really care about the cat, but the £ sign should be above the number 3!

In my experience having a kitten in the house made the mice magically disappear.
Maybe all you need is to put the cat's bed in there? And his used litter tray?

the rats we get round here tend to be around about the same size as the average cat, so no, i wouldn't.

Its the wait thats the main thing.
Not on benefits but don't really have a lot of spare cash.
Loft is empty- only moved about 6 weeks ago and have not put anything up there.
Didn't think it would be a squirrel, don't think my cat could take one of them on!

No don't put the cat up there! Save the Maymoon Cat!!

We had squirrels in the loft. It was horrible.

Sparkling Cat has been bitten by a squirrel-££££££s at the vets.

mothballs in a container (avoids getting eaten) with holes in it. mice/rats hate the smell. cheap, effective, humane

Lueji: when the scratching next stops will chuck the cats blanket up there. its got to be worth a try

They must be coming from somewhere, though and that is really what you need to find out.

The cat might get rid of whatever is up there, but you might get worse in to hibernate over winter, do you have buildings insurance.

what kind of insulation do you have? if it is rockwool(usually is) then it can cause horrible irritations on animals,

are you sure it's not bats.

Quote: Thanks for that!!

Birds: Do have insurance don't know what it says about pest lodgers though will have to have a look.

Don't think cat will be going up there now I know it might not be mice/rats, she is well 'ard when she needs to but I think thats pushing it a bit!

One of our cats would probably be yowling at the stepladder by this point - he is obsessed with hunting rodents! He actually has this patrol/inspection route where he has a good sniff around everywhere, lol! He pops round to one of the neigbours too. They give him sardines in exchange for his mousing...am so proud of him!

His brother is next to useless in this field, and prefers the job of fuzzy hot water bottle

it may be squirrels, have a good look at the roof, are there any entrance points?

and do you have any climbers growing up the side of your house, or neighbours if you are in a semi, or terrace,

we just solved a friend's rat problem by removing an old wisteria, they are just ladders for rodents, never let them reach the eaves, or touch any part of the house where entrance could be gained.

The squirrels had nibbled at the wooden joists in the loft, there were little piles of sawdust.

stick a smoke alarm up there until you get this sorted9all attics should have one anyway), as they love electric wiring,

and if you have an attic water tank, please inspect it carefully, as you might have some bodies in it.