So, we have rats. No, not as pets, but as unwanted pests.
This is what I actually believe the truth to be... They used to live in the chicken coop. No, we don't have chickens. Phillip used to have chickens, that is until his rotti played with them. He came home to carnage and no more chickens.
But I digress.
So, the rats lived in the chicken coop, which is actually attached to the tool shed, which actually began as a potting shed, but no one actually potted anything in it so it became a tool shed... well, actually, more of a "catch-all" shed- that would have chickens in it- weather permitting of course.
But again, I digress.
So, Phillip decided to have some of the really tall trees felled recently. You local folks remember the storm last November.... the one where towns and cities in the South Puget Sound area were stopped dead in our frozen tracks, some with no power for many days... right about Thanksgiving time? Well, the folks out here in this neck of the woods experienced many tree and limb casualties. (including the roof of the above mentioned potting/tool/chicken-out of the weather/catch-all shed)
But we will cover that at another time.
Well, when the 27... "oops, sorry Mr Kirbow," 28 trees came crashing down (smashing part of the chicken coop wall), the rats were scared (understandably so) and migrated to under the house.
How do I know??
Coco, the chocolate lab, informed me one early morning that we had "friends" in the wall. When I opened the back door to let her investigate further, she ran from the newly chewed hole in the house siding to the chicken coop and back. My two boys, Max and Pawncho, could have cared less, they just wanted to go outside and say good morning to Honey, the remaining goat, who at that time, enjoyed their company. Not so much any more.
But, again, digression..........
So, long story short, after frantic texting to Phillip, we decided on poison. Soon after we had killed a few, I realized that I did not want to poison the little buggers anymore, well, actually, large buggers. I did not want them to die in the walls of the house. I also did not want the dogs to eat a poisoned, dead rat. When I saw one dead as a door nail on the back deck one early morning, the dogs, all 3 of them, wanted to investigate. While I was screaming at the top of my lungs in a very frantic voice "LEAVE IT!!" the puppy, Pawncho, actually tried to pick it up. EWWW....not only a dead rat, but a poisoned dead rat. Poisoned with blood thinner... that way the bleed to death... a rather slow and painful death I would imagine. But, non the less, bad for dogs, very bad for dogs.
So, I decided, after much thought, and questioning my patients (something I do quiet often, it is something like my own personal Gallup poll or Rasmussen report...) I decided to adopt feral cats. I realized that this could be a life long battle living out here in the woods, I thought, how nice to have some vicious felines around to take care of business.
After some searching and researching, we now have 3 "feral" cats in Max's big kennels in the tool shed. They need to be kenneled for 4 weeks so that they will come to identify this as their home. They are safe here and have daily food and water and they will realize this after 4 weeks. (so they say) Then they will be set free to seek and destroy any roaming rats around.
"Wait a minute", you say... "What about the damage to the above mentioned tool shed from the storm??" "Are the cats safe from the elements?" you wonder. Well, rest your mind, folks. As of yesterday, while Phillip was at work, my dad and I fixed the damage. Thanks to him and my mom for letting him come over and help. The cats are now well protected from the elements. Good thing too, because I think we had our 4 weeks of summer and now it is fall... there is no frost on the pumpkins yet, but soon, I tell you, soon , it will be upon us.
Digression, digression, digression....
Needless to say, soon after the cats arrived home, the rats are no longer making the ruckus they were originally. Maybe they could smell or sense that doom was on the horizon. None the less, we are momentarily rat free... or they are very, very quiet...
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