and me and him had a lot of fun chasing it around her room trying to catch it. It was great bonding time with me and her cat.

They did however find a waterbug the other day and killed it.

THAT'S the real story.

TYY

Not much different than having mice in the house. Though they squeak like hell when they hit sticky traps.

We knew that he would either get caught in a glue trap or the cat would get him.

I still couldn't have gone to sleep. Is that something animal control would come out for? I wouldn't have been able to sleep thinking kitty would catch the thing, and drop it yet again as an offering. Blech.

but not rats, eh?

Unless he were bored with nothing better to do. Some animals we are expected to take care of ourselves.

My money is on the cat. I'd sleep well.

Hell, I don't go to sleep if I know one of those freakin' Smokybrowns makes it in the house.

To each his or her own, though.

The rat was IN THE BEDROOM!

I'm amazed at those un-phased by this.

Sweet dreams!

I had a rat for eight months in the house. Finally got it with a victor snap trap last week. We had all manner of humane traps and snap traps out but I would never use a sticky trap. That is the cruelest way for an animal to die.

but Googled after reading this thread. I agree, they sound horrible. As does being hit up-side the head with a brick and then being chucked in a trash can...

miserable way to go.

What's the dog's name? Garfield?


I KID I KID It's a lovely name

Last edited Tue Oct 22, 2013, 09:28 AM - Edit history (1)

It was to be a double joke.

Benji was a rescue kitten. Three years ago I worked at a truck stop and someone dropped of two solid black kittens. A co-worker, Bob, found the girl, adopted her, and named her Angela because she looked like a black panther. (Angela Davis was a famous black panther in the 1970s). Bob told me about the other kitten. By then the kitten had been on its own for three days.

I went outside looking for it. He trotted up to me, I took him to my workspot, fed him, and took him home. Since he did look like a black panther, and was male, I thought it would be a good joke to name him, "Bob", after Bobby Seale, and after Bob who told me about the abandoned kitten. Wife said, "Benji". I said, but he's a cat and Benji was a movie about a dog. She answered, "Doesn't matter. He is a "Benji" I have learned not to argue with P over small stuff, so his name is "Benji", unless I am miffed at him, then his name is "Benjamin Cat C----".

Oh, well. Data named his cat, "Spot"

just bein' a smartass.

You post gave me an excuse to tell about what I wanted to name him, and why.

"The rat needs to stop calling himself the rat"

Although this is rather *adorable*...

at times they bring their cereal by my feet and chow down. Yup, that means vacuuming.

P already had him when I married her. I was amazed to see that he actually knew what he was saying and doing. He gave "birdbrain" a whole new meaning. Since then I have seen some birds do things that I think show intelligence on that bird's part.

However, I hated that bird's discordant squawk. It grated on my ears.

We have trained ours to be quiet, for a conure. As to intelligence, Cookie does things that amaze us, like he utterly enjoys the ping when you connect and disconnect a USB device, and he's done that. They also make sure we know what they want. Right now he is complaining. He did not like dinner. They eat what I cook, and eat human cereal. Bird seed is like feeding your human children hersheys. Tonight it was not meat night, and boy that bird likes his steak, preferably under cooked. The other one likes it well done.

Both show that they are quite intelligent and they have done intelligence studies with African Grays (Alex was an incredible subject), and Intelligence research places them more or less as a five year old with the mental age of a three year old. So we treat them accordingly. This includes time outs. (Why they are more quiet than most conures)

She's much like a rather bossy little girl who keeps a running commentary (in both words and clearly communicative imitations of things) about what we're doing and what she thinks about it. My latest favorite is that when I pick up my briefcase and schedule book, ready to go to work, she does her version of the garage door opening.

When we leave to cover a news story they do their best to tell us they are not pleased. How do they know? The vests and cameras are a dead give away. They know we'll be back sometime.

Which she dropped in the kitchen only to have him slither back between the refrigerator and the counter.

Unfortunately, grandma was preparing dinner at the time and happened to see the critter. She isn't afraid of much but snakes are definitely at the top of her list. She hollered to me as she ran out the kitchen door and when I finally realized what was going on she refused to go back in the house until she was satisfied that the snake was gone.

When I went back into the kitchen I was amazed to see the cat playing with a defunct snake. I guess it had emerged somewhere and she pounced on it and dispatched it. Anyway I think it was the same snake, so I got it away from the cat, took it outside and showed to grandma who still needed some convincing that it was dead before she went back in.

That cat weighed maybe 5 lbs but she was a born hunter. Besides the snake, she brought all kinds of little varmits like squirrels and gophers as well as lots of birds even a full grown dove at one point.

Baby rattlers are the most dangerous, actually.

Last edited Tue Oct 22, 2013, 12:57 AM - Edit history (1)

I was about 15. It was a hot south Texas August day. I heard a steady buzzing outside the house and my skin crawled. I grabbed the shotgun and carefully stepped outside.

For those not familiar with a rattler, their rattle is almost never a steady buzz like a doorbell buzzer. In this video you can hear both the steady buzz and the regular warning rattle.

That damn mongoose moved like greased lightning--made short work of the habu once he made up his mind.

Those habu are killers; I was rooting for the mongoose...!

I think I will stay a dog person. then she givee it to me Shudder live rat shudder

We don't have any pet rats at the moment. When we did, before red dog, our pack of dogs would tolerate rats, even the wild nasty rats living in our garage.

"Hey wild rat, how's it going? Let's play!"

Only one rat-friendly dog remains.

We didn't name the wild rats, but I think the dogs did. They thought all rats, raccoons, skunks, ravens, feral cats, etc., were allowed to eat the dog food once the boss dog pack was done.

But our two most recent animal shelter rescue dogs see rats as "food." I don't ask, they don't tell. I just see the rodent remains in their poop.

We no longer have a rat problem.

My kitteh brings me lizards! Yeah, there is an occasional bird, but lizards are yummy.

P was on the back porch when Benji dropped it next her feet. Much screaming. P hates snakes.

Jack used to bring me dead birds and lizards, but would get disgusted when I threw out perfectly good food. Now she brings me live lizards. I'm guessing her reasoning is *that* I'd rather kill dinner myself...

in 2000, it had a major problem with giant cockroaches because the previous tenants never raked leaves, cut grass, or picked up fallen figs from the 2 huge fig trees. So those damned roaches were just thick outside and made their way into the house by the hundreds.

My young male cat at the time thought it was great fun to go on roach patrol at night when they would scurry around the house. He'd bring them into bed and then let them run around, then he'd pounce on them with great enthusiasm. The fact that I was under the bed covers didn't deter him at all.

Eventually I got the yard cleaned up and he knocked the indoor roach population down, and after a year or two I didn't have any more. But it made for some fun times.

he also left a dead bird on my pillow once

as she sat staring intently at the kitchen stove.

She's 20 now and in renal failure so I don't expect her to convince them to live elsewhere, something she did very efficiently until she was 17.

I'm setting up electronic traps to zap the little bastards this year.

This is hantavirus country. Minnie and Mickey can suck it.

When I was a kid our cat brought in a live bird and set it loose in the house. I *think* we were able to aim it toward an open door, but not sure.

Today I found a chameleon in the kitchen. My good ol' dog used to love to worry their tails when they dropped them and the lizard got away. I miss her.

THAT was a funny moment at the gym! i remember flinging it and screaming. then having to retrieve it and figure out how to dispose of it.

i still see that as an act of sheer devotion... he totally wanted me to have it all to myself!

Still alive, and she clearly expected me to complete the kill.

I caught the rabbits and set them outside. After the second time she apparently had no faith in my rabbit-murdering abilities, so she stopped doing that.

We also didn't let her outside that much, and after a while she was a completely indoor cat.

She brought home a bunny, skinned and gutted it, and cooked Lapin A La Cocotte for us. She kept the stylish chapeau for her own.

I saved a bird from her. She was furious at me. The bird was hiding on a door frame. Seemed to instinctively know I meant no harm. Let me pick him up. Set it free. Glad I never had to deal with a rat.

...my yellow-lab would bring me "presents" of fresh rabbit on the front door step. Hard for me to take, but I understood what he was doing and why. I will always miss him.

Either that or barricade the cat/rat/mouse/mole/bird door.

A live rat! What could be better?

at about 1AM; the chase around the room, the drama, the cat loving it all...

I can laugh now, anyway.

I first read your post this early morning as your cat having brought your wife a solid black, neutered male rat.

My sister used to have a cat that would sometimes drop a dead mouse into her husband's boot over night. Then he would stick his foot in to go to work..........................

Since our cat, Fred, was elderly (18) we figured he wasn't up to catching them and we set out Victor traps.
One morning Fred very proudly brought me a dead mouse, complete with trap. Mouse-catching for the retired cat. He's long gone to the Bridge and our current Freddie, another orange tabby, is named in his honor.

A rabbit's foot on a chain. He was so proud of it.

on the base of the cat scratcher, away from harm. About eight inches long, including tail.

Jesus! Thats horrible!!!

Smashing its head is a fast death.

Besides, trying to pull it loose from the glue pad would have been fatal torture for the rat.

Glue pad sounds horrible. Poor rat.

In 2002 she was trying to shoo a spider out of the house. It was in the living room, close to the door. She was waving her hands at it, trying to make it leave. The spider, later identified as a "bold jumping spider" jumped a distance of about two feet and sank its fangs into her finger. Her entire arm became swollen.

She has pronounced the automatic DP for all spiders.

Those Jumping Spiders can be pretty damn aggressive & hard as hell to catch. My only exception to the DP is if a spider comes at me. I have some plants in my house that are taller than I am and while watering one of them this summer, I felt something on my shoulder. First I thought it was a leaf, but then it moved and out of reflex, I slapped it. Damn thing was the size of a frigging quarter. That plant goes longer between waterings now.

Oh, and a stinkbug rewarded me for my kindness last week by making my kitchen smell like a sewer for hours. I understand the same thing happens if you kill em though. Those damn things drive me NUTS.

....they are actually trying to teach you to hunt. Seems they are worried about your poor hunting skills. LOL Sounds like Benji had faith in you though..if he's bringing you a RAT! LOL

I've been cat owned since I was 9. Currently I have 3 feline overlords. Thankfully the only rats I'm presented with are the toy kind by my oldest (17).

SR

They weren't hairless, but they were babies. She killed them all and then proceeded to stash them around the house for later snacking.

My wife discovered this by sitting down on the couch and noticing a gray lump between the arm of the couch and the cushion. When she screamed and jumped up, in trotted the doxie, with yet another ratling in her mouth, which she calmly dropped in her dog bed and started to lick like an ice cream cone with fur.

...


....


.......

After I peeled my wife off the ceiling, I had to tear the house damn near apart, checking every nook and cranny, every piece of furniture.

There were either eight or nine corpses hid in the damndest places- one in a pile of dirty laundry, one among the umbrellas and shoes by the door, multiple ones tucked between furniture cushions, and one tucked under my wife's desk where she keeps a dog bed.

I received too many living gifts. I also have a black neutered male. It wonder if this is a trait? Acquaintances of ours once got a live bat as a gift. Their cat also no longer has a pet door.

But then I will have to open/close/open/close....the door for him. I am hoping that having lost two live toys by bringing them in the house will have discouraged him.

The other live animal was a baby rabbit, about a month ago. It was just at the age where mama rabbit evicts them and they are on their own. I rescued the bunny from him and turned it loose where I work. Big lawn, other rabbits, fenced so there are no cats, dogs, or coyotes to bother him.

it to chasing and trapping terrified critters. They have a better chance of escaping outdoors in terrain they are familiar with.

We lived at the edge of the city near some orange groves and agriculture areas. My cat was a rather large cat and would bring mice to the back porch on a routine basis. One day he brought a decent size dead jackrabbit

First they start talking, then as you saw, they bring them home. Next he will be going to Republican rallies and doing phone banking for them...

OH... you mean a regular four-legged rat! Sorry, my mistake!

We have six cats and a couple of old, unused small barns. It's a pain, but cats is cats.

Today a Rat. Tomorrow a ????

http://vimeo.com/46444981