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

[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.