...what am I gonna do?

Got back from work yesterday and boys were on edge, so I knew something was up. I started to hear movement somewhere behind the fridge, which they were taking great interest in; then I opened one of the floor level cupboards, just in time to see a long hairless tail disappearing behind the back and into the cavity where the pipes run - it was definitely a rat.

The trouble is that it's too small a space for the boys to get into, and the rat doesn't seem to be very interested in coming out either. Stalemate. So what the hell do I do now? The boys' food bowls are out during the day so that they can graze, but I'm afraid that this is also going to be food for the rat and it might decide to take up permanent residence; however, this might also be the best opportunity for the boys to catch it, as hunger drives it out to feed.
Or do I just have to pull the kitchen units apart to flush it out?

nothing worse than rats!!!

ring your local council they usually treat for rats and mice for free

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Can you get a trap and put it under the units somehow ( kick boards are normally fairly easy to move as they click in and out of place ) I would be VERY cautious about using any kind of poison just in case the cats get hold of the poisoned rat.

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Nellie Paddy Mitzy Milo Peggy Murphy

Millie and Monty, the White Devils!

Yep wild ones I hate but love domesticated rats I had one a few years back

Can't you make it your pet or is it a huge wild rat?

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Have: 4 Cats 3 Dogs currently
Have had: 6 cats

Dogs: German Shepherds
Cats: Ginger Tabby & Torbies

RIP: Ducati, Cheetah, Joy, Claire & Sapphire - Torties
Chloe - Black & White

Poisons are very effective these days I would just keep cats out of the kitchen for a few days until the poison has done its job.

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Well if the cats are any good they will have the rat pretty quickly anyway, so why spoil their fun with traps or poison?

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We live and work in Spain at Nerja Holiday Rentals and we have adopted one dog and three street cats

Personally, I'd put a trap behind the kickboards for it. Make sure it's a big enough trap if it's a big rat!

If you're squeamish about using the "break back" type trap, you can get live traps, but if you do this, make sure you release it a good few miles away, or it will come back.

It's probably best to deal with it quite quickly too. It could be female, and it could be pregnant.

The other problem with using poison is of course that the animal is going to die somewhere, presumably behind your cupboards or under your floorboards and I can warn you now that the stench would be horrendous! Personally I would try either sticky traps or the traditional break-back types to kill it outright.

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Nellie Paddy Mitzy Milo Peggy Murphy

Millie and Monty, the White Devils!

i wouldn`t let my cat loose on a rat, i`m way too para they`d pick up something. not only that but cats like to toy with them more than kill them, well mine do so could end up chasing it into different parts of your house i`d also worry about the rat biting the cat as they can have a pretty fierce bite and if they catch the cats neck....well yer i`m just too para for that!! as much as i love rats i would get the council out. i owned 26 rats and a cat and their food attracted mice into my old flat, there was defo more than one mouse and i did release a few of them in the garden but apparently if you release them it`s against the law as they`re pests and you can be done for it the council came out and placed a poison inside an area under the wall skirting and under the fireplace where the cat couldn`t get to and it just meant i had to keep my rats caged for a few days till it was removed. i felt like the most cruel person ever but once you have one in the house they seem to multiply and i wasn`t willing to share my flat with a tonne of mice i can only assume they left the house to die as the council searched and never found bodies and i lived in the flat for quite some time and there was never a smell

good luck with whatever you decide to do but with a rat i really wouldn`t be taking any chances! i`ve had a frightened bite off a rat before and it damaged the tendon in my thumb slightly, i`d hate to think what one could do if they were actually biting aggressively and to warn you off

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owned by:

jake - chocolate labrador
sydney - liver/white english springer
twix - dlh cat
lacey - dsh cat

never forgetting my baby banjo running free at the bridge, RIP baby xx

Urgh! Too many problems I hadn't even thought of - e.g. the stench, it might be 'in the club' and about dispense mini ratties.
I think if the council come don't they just put poison or traps down? Maybe they would come and check it regularly hopefully before the expired rat starts to ripen...? Good luck!