I had a pet hooded rat once. My very favorite pocket pet. He was smart and fun. The first day I had him he stole a dollar from my dresser. I named him Bandit.
I once read in the Wall Street Journal that in China they have restaurants that serve rat. The reporter said it's a tad greasy.
Regarding rats in cities. Did it occur to us that if there weren't concrete jungles in which to thrive, there'd be a hugely lower population of rats in the world. Not that this is an excuse to kill them. But Cran's argument is a bit simplistic and utopian.
I tend to live-catch mice in my business and then let them go a mile or so away. If I had a cat there instead I'd be cool with that. It's a chance the mouse takes.
Rats!
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FJohnSharp
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Suburban Symphony
(The people’s spirit is raised through culture)
Suburban Symphony
If you have a cat around, mice and rats are less likely to come in the first place.
Not 100% protection, though - a few months ago my kids left the door from the laundry room to the garage blocked open all day, and a mouse got into the house. We learned this at dinner - we couldn't understand why the cat was dashing wildly around our feet. Mouse soon made break for the laundry room (and garage) with the cat in pursuit.
Can't blame the mouse too much - that week was the first cold snap of the season (well, cold for California - there was frost in the morning. Quit snickering, you folks from harsher climates) and we keep the cat's food dish out in the garage, next to the door. Probably came for the cat food and followed the smell of dinner cooking.
Not terribly bright, though - daugher #1 managed to corner it and catch it in a jar, then put it out in the yard (if she'd told me, I would have suggested further away - there's a stream down the block). Stupid thing came right back into the garage that night, and the cat finally managed to catch it.
Not 100% protection, though - a few months ago my kids left the door from the laundry room to the garage blocked open all day, and a mouse got into the house. We learned this at dinner - we couldn't understand why the cat was dashing wildly around our feet. Mouse soon made break for the laundry room (and garage) with the cat in pursuit.
Can't blame the mouse too much - that week was the first cold snap of the season (well, cold for California - there was frost in the morning. Quit snickering, you folks from harsher climates) and we keep the cat's food dish out in the garage, next to the door. Probably came for the cat food and followed the smell of dinner cooking.
Not terribly bright, though - daugher #1 managed to corner it and catch it in a jar, then put it out in the yard (if she'd told me, I would have suggested further away - there's a stream down the block). Stupid thing came right back into the garage that night, and the cat finally managed to catch it.
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Darwin
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My mother wouldn't eat squirrel anymore after she found out that they were related to rats. (The Mandarin word for "squirrel" is literally "pine rat".)Scott McCallister wrote:And squirrels are a close second to rats. Just a fuzzy tail away from the disgusting creatures.
I wonder if rabbits are any more distant, genetically, from rats than squirrels.
Mike Wright
"When an idea is wanting, a word can always be found to take its place."
--Goethe
"When an idea is wanting, a word can always be found to take its place."
--Goethe
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MikeyLikesIt
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They're nt too terribly far off up the evolutionary ladder actually. They are rodents, but the tastiest of the lot. Squirrel is a delicacy of my cousin back in rural Indiana. When he catchs them he can tell if it's gonna be a cold winter by the amount of fur they have. :roll:Darwin wrote:My mother wouldn't eat squirrel anymore after she found out that they were related to rats. (The Mandarin word for "squirrel" is literally "pine rat".)Scott McCallister wrote:And squirrels are a close second to rats. Just a fuzzy tail away from the disgusting creatures.
I wonder if rabbits are any more distant, genetically, from rats than squirrels.
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Nanohedron
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Oh, yeah: also a mod here, not a spammer. A matter of opinion, perhaps. - Location: Lefse country
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The Weekenders
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Man, two years without a rat thread and here we go againski. Just got off of my roof where I put out a VICTOR trap to get the SOB that has been trying to get into my attic (after midnight of course), even after I put 1/2 steel mesh in the dormer gap. And yes, I got some green D-Con pellets inside in case he makes it in again. The ol VICTOR has been berryberry good to me and has three marks on its side.
Why?
Because rats have to chew, it's their nature. They will chew through Romex electrical wire and burn your damn house down (after admittedly martyring themselves [Al Rat-sa Brigades, no doubt]). Before I put up the mesh they were keeping the whole family awake at night scratching and scratching to make a nest in the insulation near the light fixtures, where it was warm. So cooooozy and soooooo unsafe.
And, set them loose in the country?? The country is one and a half blocks from here and these are probably non-native Norwegian rats anyhoo. The delayed death by predator is always the weirdest case of "out of my sight, off of my conscience" argument I hear about rats and mice.
Even tho' Red hasn't mentioned her pets Jerry and somebody, I stand firmly against, in the name of 14th century Europeans, who were reduced by 1/3 of their entire population by Bubonic plague spread by @#$%%%^$$#@##$%% RATS!!!! Yeah, I know, and las pulgas.
If you want to play goo-goo head and ignore disease and danger of rats, it's your problem... and your neighbor's and his neighbors and on and on and on....until they get to my house. Trap em , bait em, shoot em, whatever but don't give me the compassion crap when its the life of my children and partner at stake.
@#$# RATS! I hate 'em.
(This bilious rant brought to you by Bloomfield Industries).
Why?
Because rats have to chew, it's their nature. They will chew through Romex electrical wire and burn your damn house down (after admittedly martyring themselves [Al Rat-sa Brigades, no doubt]). Before I put up the mesh they were keeping the whole family awake at night scratching and scratching to make a nest in the insulation near the light fixtures, where it was warm. So cooooozy and soooooo unsafe.
And, set them loose in the country?? The country is one and a half blocks from here and these are probably non-native Norwegian rats anyhoo. The delayed death by predator is always the weirdest case of "out of my sight, off of my conscience" argument I hear about rats and mice.
Even tho' Red hasn't mentioned her pets Jerry and somebody, I stand firmly against, in the name of 14th century Europeans, who were reduced by 1/3 of their entire population by Bubonic plague spread by @#$%%%^$$#@##$%% RATS!!!! Yeah, I know, and las pulgas.
If you want to play goo-goo head and ignore disease and danger of rats, it's your problem... and your neighbor's and his neighbors and on and on and on....until they get to my house. Trap em , bait em, shoot em, whatever but don't give me the compassion crap when its the life of my children and partner at stake.
@#$# RATS! I hate 'em.
(This bilious rant brought to you by Bloomfield Industries).
Last edited by The Weekenders on Tue Jan 18, 2005 8:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.
How do you prepare for the end of the world?
Weeks, I pretty much agree with you.
The mouse in our case was a field mouse (and had been living outside all its life), so I didn't particularly object to daughter's plan to relocate it.
But I grew up on a cattle ranch, where the cats earned their keep keeping the barn rats down, and all feed had to be kept in metal barrels due to the same rats. If it's them or me, I'll do my best to make sure it's "them".
Note: Although it's more common in other states, there have been confirmed cases of hantavirus here in California. Best to leave all non-captive raised rodents strictly alone, as long as they stay away from you. But don't let 'em stay if they try to come in. Mice are often cute, but I think my kids are cute, too - and I know which ones I have a responsibility to protect.
The mouse in our case was a field mouse (and had been living outside all its life), so I didn't particularly object to daughter's plan to relocate it.
But I grew up on a cattle ranch, where the cats earned their keep keeping the barn rats down, and all feed had to be kept in metal barrels due to the same rats. If it's them or me, I'll do my best to make sure it's "them".
Note: Although it's more common in other states, there have been confirmed cases of hantavirus here in California. Best to leave all non-captive raised rodents strictly alone, as long as they stay away from you. But don't let 'em stay if they try to come in. Mice are often cute, but I think my kids are cute, too - and I know which ones I have a responsibility to protect.
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The Weekenders
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Yep. About a year ago at Thanksgiving at the Rancho del Padre de Weekender, we tipped the dog houses and shot the rats that popped out from underneath. They quickly overpopulate because, dangit, the dogs don't eat their food fast enough. Much to eat on a ranch. Cats can't keep up with em.
How do you prepare for the end of the world?
MikeyLikesIt wrote:My mother wouldn't eat squirrel anymore after she found out that they were related to rats. (The Mandarin word for "squirrel" is literally "pine rat".)
They're nt too terribly far off up the evolutionary ladder actually. They are rodents, but the tastiest of the lot. Squirrel is a delicacy of my cousin back in rural Indiana. When he catchs them he can tell if it's gonna be a cold winter by the amount of fur they have. :roll:
Uh oh! Squirrels! http://www.mad-cow.org/~tom/victim23.html
I'm glad you mentioned hantavirus, DCrom! It's a serious issue. Rodents really should not be allowed to infest areas anywhere near where you live.
People from other parts of the world often wonder why Americans have guns. Well, this is one good reason why -- varmints. If you live in certain locations, you pretty much need an armory to keep from being overrun . . . and to provide the occasional fresh game snack.
Cotelette d'Agneau
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Jerry Freeman
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jkrazy52
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To all you "catch-and-release-in-the-wild" folks .... PPHHFFFTTTTTT!
Of course, all the dogs & cats I'm also feeding because someone in the city decided to "catch & release" them too, are keeping most of the rats away.
Thank you - Thank you very much .....
From the "wilds" of southern Ohio ....
~Judy
Of course, all the dogs & cats I'm also feeding because someone in the city decided to "catch & release" them too, are keeping most of the rats away.
Thank you - Thank you very much .....
From the "wilds" of southern Ohio ....
~Judy
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Scott McCallister
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Scott McCallister
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MikeyLikesIt
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