I've Been Bamboozled !

[Liz Birdlover]

not a prarie dog, not a fox / wolf... it'll come ot me. nasty little things but the moment you grab them by the scruff, they like petrify and you can do what you need to with them then.

Is it a coyfox? Have heard of those hybrids, never saw one

 

[MarlaMac]

Local human societies usually have a feral barn cat relocation program. These cats are used to living outdoors and hunting their prey - they nueter/spay them and practically give them away for free. We have three cats, live on 60 acres and the only rats we see are the ones 1/2 eaten brought up (or inside - yuk) by the cats.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Our attic visitors were red squirrels. Again! They chewed their way in, and again, had an exterminator out. I'm not doing ladders any more, or roof top adventures.
Nobody needs to live in our attic!!!
Mary

(I remember critters in my attic...Sorry this ends up being a Long read...rainy day, story time, Lol)

Where I lived once, my 1st little house, in a neighborhood, tiny quarter acre lots, I was young, 20 something, there were many types of fruit trees, plum, apple, pear, as well as raspberry & grapes, all growing great in the surrounding yards, as well as creeping into mine. I ran a small companion avian rescue. Whatever fruit flavored vitamin enhanced Zupreem pellets my parrots didn't eat, were placed outside in the birdfeeder, nothing should go to waste, I figured...let the wildlife enjoy. Plus, I planted my pigeon feed that fell down in the grated pigeon loft floor, a mixture of various grains, so we could enjoy nutritious sprouts & seeds of our own. Planted that in raised beds.

I had 2 Rottweilers, one was built like a tank, at 130 lbs, & the other, a lean 85 lbs, & surprisingly, she sort of kept mice at bay, the lean girl could actually catch mice! So life is good, everybody's happy.

Well, one Sunday, I was doing chores, folding laundry, clean towels, radio playing, I caught a glimpse of "something" dark move rather fast & run by me, & went under the bed. All I saw was a small creature that looked like it was wearing a "gleaming in the sunshine", Sable brown mink coat, as I was folding my laundry on the bed. Now, I'm not generally fearful of critters, usually the sight of any creature brings a smile to my face, when outside...but when you see something resembling a cat run by your feet, INSIDE the house, & you Don't Have Any Cats...the reaction is similar to a Jack-in-the-Box popping open. My little 5 foot tall frame did a record breaking broad jump, from a standing position, landing up near the top of the bed, a rather tall bed, & clearing the pile of neatly folded laundry. Keep in mind, I was folding the clothes at the Bottom of the bed. So yeah, you can envision that acrobatic, "invisible springs on feet" feat. I didn't even drop the item I'd been folding..."Hey, look Ma, no hands"...while flying through the air.

So then, I had to figure out, how did some neighbor's cat break into my house?! Then I was really mad...cuz those darn cats had been yowling outside my bedroom window 2am, All Week Long, Every Freaking Night...Worknights, where I had to get up at 5am, Thanks a lot you stupid cats...what were they in heat or something?! And WHY were they howling & yowling outside MY window anyway? I didn't even have any cats...just birds, dogs, turtles & fish at that time.

I sought out the hiding "cat" & saw a figure hunched in the corner of the room, in the shadows, under my bureau. I called the cat, "Here kitty kitty, come here kitty kitty." Cat just sat there, but my dogs meandered in, at the sound of my voice calling someone. Noses went up, sniffing the air, my big girl backed out of the room slowly with wide eyes...reminded me of a driver's ed student backing up a big rig for the 1st time, I almost made the beep, beep, beep sound effect for her, but my lean girl caught my attention, she was crouching down stepping Towards the cat, with fur standing straight up on her back. Yes, she did enjoy a good cat chase, but indoors? I never witnessed one of those, but I was smart enough to figure, a Bull in the China shop scenario was about to explode in my bedroom...Oh crapola, I need to get that cat outta here! Now!

So I asked the dogs if they'd "Like a cookie", & with that familiar phrase, Big Niki wagged her nubby tail & walked over to the dog food & treat cabinet door. Lean Tasha, however, remained riveted, staring intently under my bureau. I opened the back door, gave Niki a cookie, which she happily carried out, then went back & literally dragged, & half carried Tasha Out of the bedroom. I figured, once the dogs are outside, I can open a can of tuna & lure the idiot cat out.

As Tasha & I got to the doorway of the bedroom, the "cat" ran out like it's tail was on fire...& ya know what? That tail Already looked as though it had been on fire in the past...cuz there was No Fur. Oh wait...naked tail is Not attached to a cat...it's a Big Rat!!! Holy Crap, I was stunned & my mouth opened to speak, "Holy Crap" & as I said those 2 words, the rat ran full speed ahead, out the door, with Tasha dragging me along. Yup, before I could even let go & get my fingers out of her collar, we had gone through the door, out on the deck & I "bounced" down the deck steps. I landed in a heap, onto the patio, with Niki trying to lick my bloody knee & Tasha chasing the rat. I saw that my fingers were luckily still attached to my hand, & saw the rat, running along the tops of fences, jumping & running vertically defying gravity on guttering & jumping across roof tops, 3 houses away, Gone in mere Seconds! I gave the rat a nickname at that moment...Mario Andretti...or Andratti.

I saw some little rat turds under my bureau (guess Tasha literally scared the crap out of Mario) & identified them as fruit rats, since rat varieties have distinct turd shapes. There's a whole chart of rat turds on the internet, just so folks like us can ID types of rat we're dealin with. (Who knew?)

Seems these particular a$$hole$ like fruit. Yeah, these fruit rats were in Rat Heaven & with the good nutrition, their coats were gleaming with health. Well, they set up home in my pigeon grain growing raised beds, invaded my crawlspace & attic, then chewed a hole to get into the house, in the kitchen, at the bottom corner back side of a cabinet, the one that butts up against the stove. I found that by pulling the stove out of the cubby, so I never saw the hole being gnawed & created due to the cabinets on either side of the stove. The hardest part was cleaning up in the attic & crawlspace. Nasty, let me tell ya. Well, all they do chew & poop, & they've got all day & night to do it.

I set up Hav a Heart type traps, squirrel size, & caught them 1 at a time, easily, using what they loved. I'd set a trap & catch a rat within 2 hours! Bait was fruit & Zupreem. Obviously, I took away the bird feeder, but right where feed fell to the ground, under the plum tree, is where I set the traps, where they had been used to eating already. I relocated them all to a place where no people live, just wild vegetation & plenty of wild fruit trees & shrubs. There were 23 of them, I'm lucky, there were not many.

Anyway, if y'all ever get cats yowling outside your windows every night at 2am, they probably just smell rats, so check your place out. Once the rats were gone, I slept well, no more yowling cats.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

The rats, that reminds me of my time in the Keys. Things would climb the trees and hop into the house and cause all sorts of damage in the attics,but OH NO !! you can't kill it, that's the endangered cudjoe key rat !! Oh really? well it'll make a nice tasty side dish, right next to my Key Deer Filet ! Maybe I'll get lucky and find a spotted owl and a manatee, and have a super surf and turf !!

You're killing me!