Saw a rat in my back garden - what's next?

[gchalix]

I am so totally freaking out right now! Was doing the washing up and looking out of the window when I saw it.

Rats are my worst nightmare and I've never seen one in such close proximity. My back garden is really small as well and I'm terrified they're going to find their way in my house.

What do I do now?

I’ve found a dead one in my garden. The neighbours cat loves killing things.

Umm, what do I do with the body and how do I know if it was one passing through which was caught or if I’ve got a load of them?

I can remember having them in our loft, many years ago.
You'd hear them scratching at night. The worst sound was hearing them explode from the inside out when they'd taken the poison.
We all had to move downstairs as the noise was horrendous.
Now, many years later and new area if I spot just one I call the council or put down poison behind the shed as that's the only place here they could nest.