Please tell me what these are

[moleymoley1]

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.

Eeeeek. Looks like a rat.

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.

I wouldn't bait them or trap them, just make life more difficult, less food and remove entry points, borrow a terrier 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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

Yeah that's a rat. Burn the house down? Or borrow a terrier. And put lots of poison down where pets and other wildlife can't get it.

Bless, it’s actually quite sweet.

Perhaps if you name them op, you’ll feel better about them being there.

I vote for the rats under the sink to be called Miss Bianca and Bernard.

So we had work done on our house and they left 12 massive holes,6 on the back and 6 on the front and I’m guessing this is how they got in. We’ve cemented 3 of them up today but didn’t get time to do the rest, we’ve got traps and poison, currently have traps under the sink and we’ve got an electric traps too! But surely I’d notice them going upstairs ? Fuck this make me feel incredibly uncomfortable in my own home 😩😩😩😩😩

The only issue is my kitten roams around at night so I’m gonna have to lock her away so she doesn’t eat any of it

Ugh. My loathed animal. Rats.
They will not move out because you have a cat. We had 2 cats and 7 dogs and rats would still nest where they could and find any means to get indoors. This included gnawing through stone. I kid you not.
Don't piss around with traps. Theyre neophobic unlike mice. Get pest control in. Rats are a job for experts. And you won't have just one rat. You'll have multiple. I loathe them with a passion after years of country life and struggles to keep the cottage rat free.

And keep your kitten safe. Rats have massive teeth and even adult cats have a job dealing with them

It's very sweet.

The poor thing is dead because we hadn't been able to trap it and had put poison down.
I was glad to find it because it looks so peaceful. I hope that means that it had a quick, painless death.

You can tell young rats from mice because their tales are shorter than their bodies. So, if you catch a small one that'll tell you. If rodents get into the wall cavity they can get through the house. They can also use ivy or other climbing plants to get in through the eaves, so always try to keep climbers cut short of the guttering.

If you use poison bait there may be dead rodents somewhere inaccessible which could cause a problem with odour and/or flies. It's unpleasant but generally short lived and sometimes a necessary price to pay for a rodent free home.

Some councils still offer a free service for rodent infestations, although a lot of them now charge. It's worthwhile checking with them if you haven't already.

If you have rats you need exterminators in, sorry. The damage to the woodwork isn't the work of a cat, cats don't do much chewing as their teeth are designed for stabbing and shearing (the carnassial ones near the back).

(As an aside I also was surprised at your bowls - cats generally don't like their water source being near their food, and there's a LOT of food in there. I would only put down a small amount of food, like a mouse-body size at the most, that she can clear in one sitting, and don't leave uneaten food out while you've got a rodent problem)

Your cat is gorgeous, what a cutie!

Oh really I never know how much to feed her so I just go with aslonf as she’s nit hungry! But thank you will keep that in mind, I’ve got rid of her food now! Thank you 🥰🥰

yeah I think I’m going to have to call pest control, that’s gonna cost an arm and a leg 😩😩😩 I think they are in our cavity walls as we can hear them

have you tried peppermint essential oil soak cotton wool or even buy a few. Bottles keep
lids
off all around house. Apparently they can’t stand the smell? I’ve not tried it myself.

fill holes with wire wool

The easiest way to tell them apart is by their droppings - mouse droppings are like black cake sprinkles, rat droppings are more the size of raisins or chocolate chips. Sorry for the baking references (ugh!).

As someone mentioned above, the wax blocks of poison bait are best. They can be placed inside locked boxes under the kitchen counters or other concealed spaces avoid your (gorgeous) kitten getting to them. You can then check them every few days and see which ones are being nibbled, to track where the mice/rats are.

We’ve got black boxes to put the poison in. We’ve got 2 we’re going to put them outside the back and outside the front. We’ve sealed up some of the holes but if there in the wall cavities this won’t help at all 😩

Some councils will provide a rat control service, especially if they are in the house. Try them first before and expensive pest control firm.

Store food in fridge or in plastic sealed boxes in cupboard to contain food smell

Don't want to scaremonger, but if you have one rat you have 10. Pest control as soon as possible.

That looks more like a mouse to me. I had rars burrowing through the patio & up into the loft. Council came out free & put traps down & I also bought a high pitched (that only they could hear) plug in thing. Never heard them again.