The Great White (and tabby) Hunter!

[bobbys girl]

I thought Grace, Bob and Purdy were paying an unusual amount of attention to the compost bins. I might have known something was going on. A couple of days ago I gave the bins a bit of a stir and added some water around the edges. As I did, something small and brown shot out over the top of the bin and into the field next door.

Fast forward to this morning. Grace has spent the last half hour walking round and round the top of the bin (I left it open). She keeps stopping and staring intently into one corner.

It's many a year since a rat was stupid enough to try living in our garden. But I really wonder if butterball Gracie is up to the task.

Helen - can I borrow Daz?

[Ruth B]

You're a bit far away other wise I'd offer to lend you my Saturn.

I've lived at this house for over 20 years and for over 19 of those had cats. In that time I had a couple of mice brought in, I'm on a suburban housing estate so no I had assumed not good hunting ground. Then we got Saturn. Over the winter he seemed to be managing a mouse every week or two, then one morning I had to go to the bathroom at about half past midnight, step onto the landing and find him not quite curled up next to a dead rat, looking so proud. Rat was put somewhere safe to be dealt with in the morning and Saturn got a good fuss to say what a good boy he had been. I have never shouted at a cat for bringing something home, I am just glad when they kill it first.

The local council also got an email, complete with photo, as we have been having work done on the estate and I thought they might have disturbed a nest somewhere. The last thing I wanted was for some local idiots to see a rat and panic, and then take matters into their own hands leaving dollops of poison spread about .

[Kay]

you remind me of an occasion when I found a large dead rat on the floor behind the shower curtain in the bathroom, with no idea if the cat, a rather slender Siamese girl, had brought it in via the cat flap and up the stairs - you can't imagine how hard I tried to believe it was her!!

[Lilith]

Lol!

I'd lend you my horrible Molly - she's never actually gone out ratting, but I suspect any rat she found would end up as ... ratatouille!

[alanc]

Reminds me that on New Years day 2011, Badger and Tilly presented me with their first kill, a very large, very dead, rat!