Rats?!?

[days_unfolding]

Does anyone know how big rats are and if they can be brown?

Late last night, I heard thumps and crying. At first, I thought someone was getting beaten up, but then I realized the sounds seemed to be coming from my patio. With some trepidation, I went to check and found Harlee literally throwing herself against the window to the patio and crying. I looked outside and caught a glimpse of something that was brown and about half the size of a cat. The Creature was also thumping around; it appeared to want in. Oh joy.

I don't think that it was a small cat because Harlee is usually friendly to cats and Random is territorial. In this case, Harlee (who was taught to hunt by her mom) was predatory/territorial and Random (who thinks that food comes in little plastic bowls) was curious, but calm.

I didn't want to open the door to scare the Creature in case the Creature got in or Harlee got out. So I grabbed a large electric lantern and shined it out of the window. That seemed to work; the Creature made a few more thumps and either went away or hid. (I hope that it went away. I think that I'm going to carry a strong flashlight when I come home late at night.) I have no idea how the Creature got up on my patio because my patio is upstairs.

Comments

[lothie.livejournal.com]

That could definitely have been a rat.

[days-unfolding.livejournal.com]

Yikes. Thanks.

[lesliesailor.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a very big rat to me. We are use to seeing them down by the harbour - the big wharf rats are down there, and they can be huge! I don't understand how it got up on your patio, or why it would want to go up there unless there was some food out???

[days-unfolding.livejournal.com]

I've seen huge rats up in the City, but they were white.

There's a dumpster downstairs that might be attractive to a rat, but I don't know why it went upstairs. I have plants up on the patio, but no food. Maybe it wandered up there and had problems figuring out how to get back down?

[days-unfolding.livejournal.com]

My mom asked whether there was any damage to the plants. One small plant was knocked over, but otherwise, no damage.

There's a small hole in the wall where the cord for the satellite dish goes through, and it's near where the plant was knocked over. I'm wondering if the Creature smelled food through the hole in the wall and was trying to get to the food.

[theerik.livejournal.com]

Yep, that sounds like a rat to me. There are several varieties of rat; the one you're used to is the Norwegian, or (IIRC) brown rat. The one you saw was probably a black rat, also known as a Roof rat. That one is naturally a tree dweller, and is found (as you might guess from the name) on roofs and other high places. (Like, say, a balcony/patio.)

Here's a link with more details. http://www.the-piedpiper.co.uk/th1b.htm

[days-unfolding.livejournal.com]

They can carry bubonic plague? Yikes. I was worried that it might have rabies.

No sign of it last night, thank goodness.

[days-unfolding.livejournal.com]

Harlee (and the rest of my cats) stay indoors, so they shouldn't have a chance to tangle with the rat unless it gets in somehow. If I see the rat again, I'll call the managers of my condo complex.

[days-unfolding.livejournal.com]

That explains what attracted the rat: the plants. Harlee's antics must have distracted the rat from eating the plants. Good girl, Harlee.