Mouse or rat? Pic included

[mouseorrat]

Mouse or rat? Found it in the garden, about the size of a hamster

I have visions of Orinoco streaking through Ops back garden with abandon, flinging his clothes asunder, only to meet a sticky end. A very sad day.

We get shrews in the garden. They are so tiny!
Also stonemartens. I'm less enamored by those as they like to climb under the car bonnet and play with the HT lead.

Mouserat - great band

“Mouserat - great band grin“

I prefer Degu and the Red Pandas...

could it be a gerbil, judging by the ears?

The Shrewd MouseratS

Headlining a festival near you soon.

It’s not a rat.
Believe me, I keep hens.

Ohyesiam come on it really isn't a hen.

Or is it?

A hen dressed as a degu might have ears like that

No-one has suggested the water vole, commonly known as the water rat.

It's a dead ringer for the OP's photo, except for the ears, the headshape and the fur!

Otherwise, it's definitely a malnourished chinchilla.

Poor little guy!

There's just no definitive answer 😂

By Jove, I think I've got it!

It's not a rat, it's a cat!

Because of the pointed Face I would say it’s a baby rat .
Definitely not a shrew - they have very long snouts and are tiny . Field mice have huge ears and look pretty ....... don’t want to scare you but make sure that they can’t get in . They tend to try this time if year . Listen for scratching noises in the roof space . Nothing that a good local business to control vermin can’t handle but you need to make sure any obvious cracks are blocked . They can squeeze through very small gaps .

Because of the pointed Face I would say it’s a baby rat . Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I'll say that again...

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

Listen for scratching noises in the roof space . If it only scratches it probably isn't a rat either. They sound like baby kangaroos, as they leap and bound rather than scurry, scuttle!

There's just no definitive answer

I'd do DNA for you, but you've lost it.

I think I could post a bad picture of a small orange furry thing raiding a dustbin in Suffolk and ask if it was a fox or orangutan, and 60% of respondents would say it was an escaped orangutan!

Beekeeper 1 I love his books.
Here’s my offering of what it isn’t ( sorry OP). We have a colony peacefully co-habiting with us and our cats.

Rats are way bigger than people think.

If you see something and think 'aargh, is it a rat?', it's definitely a mouse.
If you see something and think 'that's a fucking ugly dog', it's a rat.

I've had experience of both.

It's a young rat for sure

Doesn't look like a rat to me, the ears are wrong shape. I used to have pet rats, very clever and sweet animals. Of course wild rats aren't made for cuddling

I agree with Queenofcatan. The ears are wrong for a rat, also the tail isn’t very rat. Definitely too big for a noise though .

Just hoy it in a field for the foxes to eat tonight. Circle of life

We also have pet rats and they are very cute. Not sure their feral cousins fall in to that category though.

Can everyone who says it's a rat confirm whether they have ever held one?

So far, various rat-owners, one vet and one pest-controller have said it's Not. A. Rat.