We no longer have a rat!

Ages ago, some of you may remember we had a rat in the kitchen. I thought it was a mouse – it definately wasn’t. The longer version of the story is here – BBC’s Rat Adventure.

Anyway, after that incident I called environmental health to see what I should do about it. The man on the end of the phone assured me that the best rat deterrent is a cat that catches rats. So we should be OK then.

No. A few weeks ago I started to hear the familiar scritchy-scratchy rat noises coming from the kitchen again. I called environmental health again, to ask them whether those ultra-sonic rat deterrent devices actually work. (I’m too much of a softy to put a trap down – plus Tiswas is stupid and she’d probably get caught in it!). Again, they assured me that I didn’t need an ultra-sonic thingy, and that the cat would sort it. I was a bit perturbed as to what I was supposed to do in the meantime while I was living with a rat, and the cat hadn’t got round to catching it, but the woman on the other end of the phone didn’t seem to think that was a big problem.

So, fast forward to last night when Newt is in the bath, and I’m in the bedroom. I hear a cat trotting up the stairs. Nothing unusual in that. Then I hear that telltale muffled ‘maiow’. I look round, and yes, you’ve guessed it – BBC has a very large, very live rat in his mouth. He’s clearly very pleased with himself, and clearly loves me very much, because he wants to present me with said large, live rat. I’m less keen. I scream. Newt splashes water everywhere. I demand that he gets out of the bath and deals with cat and rat. Quickly.

So Newt gets out of the bath, and wearing only a towel and armed with a dustpan and brush chases BBC downstairs. Plan A is to get BBC out of the house with the rat. BBC isn’t having any of this. He caught the rat, he wants to give it to me, and a semi-naked man with a dustpan and brush is not going to stop him!

Finally, the poor rat is deemed to be dead, and Newt manages to persuade BBC to part with the rat, scoops it up, ties it in a plastic bag, and shoves it in the bin. BBC spends the next half hour looking for the rat underneath the dining table.

I have to say, this time it was a lot more dignified than last time. But what I really want to know is why BBC always waits until Newt is in the bath to catch the rats?

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