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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / October 2006...at least, I *hope* it was from Smudge!
I got home tonight around midnight, and found a very large, very dead rat lying right in front of my front door. Smudge came trotting up the stairs with me (my front door is on the second-floor landing), and she didn't seem the slightest bit fazed by it, so this makes me think she was not surprised by it or curious about what it could be. So I guess it was my first hunting lesson from her. At least, I hope so. I shudder to think how else it might have gotten there! Joyce > I got home tonight around midnight, and found a very large, very dead > rat lying right in front of my front door. Smudge came trotting up the [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Joyce We know, who brought us some rats: http://www.curschmann-sachsen.de/micky_8.htm http://www.curschmann-sachsen.de/micky_9.htm http://www.curschmann-sachsen.de/micky_10.htm http://www.curschmann-sachsen.de/micky_11.htm http://www.curschmann-sachsen.de/katergruppen_20.htm http://www.curschmann-sachsen.de/katergruppen_21.htm http://www.curschmann-sachsen.de/katergruppen_22.htm http://www.curschmann-sachsen.de/katergruppen_23.htm http://www.curschmann-sachsen.de/katergruppen_24.htm http://www.curschmann-sachsen.de/katergruppen_25.htm Merlin's errands to that respect are not yet documented on our website. Squarely Yours Michael  SignatureSquare Dance is friendship put to music Andrea and Michael with furballs Blacky and Merlin More detailed info: http://www.curschmann-sachsen.de > I got home tonight around midnight, and found a very large, very dead > rat lying right in front of my front door. By the way, I meant to ask this question: how does one get rid of such a "gift"? I have never had to deal with this before. I haven't had an indoor/outdoor cat since childhood, and if my childhood cats left their kills in our path, I wasn't the one to clean it up. Do I throw it in the trash? Toss it into the tall grass? Flushing it down the toilet is out of the question - I have terrible plumbing and this thing is about 7 inches (17.78 cm) long, not counting the tail. I'm rather grossed out by this and being a *tad* wussy about it, but I would like to get rid of it before the situation gets any worse, if you know what I mean. Thanks, Joyce > > I got home tonight around midnight, and found a very large, very dead > > rat lying right in front of my front door. [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Thanks, > Joyce We usually pick them up using a plastic bag such as the ones you get with groceries. Put your hand inside the bag, pick the varmint up and turn the bag inside out over it then tie it shut. Put in outdoor garbage can. Jo > We usually pick them up using a plastic bag such as the ones you get with > groceries. Put your hand inside the bag, pick the varmint up and turn the > bag inside out over it then tie it shut. Put in outdoor garbage can. Ah, like picking up a dog poop. OK, not a bad idea. I might need to use some paper towels, too - like 5 inches' thickness worth, LOL. I know, I'm a big baby! :) Joyce > > We usually pick them up using a plastic bag such as the ones you get > > with [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Joyce There is also double and triple bagging with garden gloves (when not absolutely positive sure the varmint is entirely dead) Jo > > Ah, like picking up a dog poop. OK, not a bad idea. I might need to use > > some paper towels, too - like 5 inches' thickness worth, LOL. I know, I'm > > a big baby! :) > There is also double and triple bagging with garden gloves (when not > absolutely positive sure the varmint is entirely dead) Great suggestion - you're a life-saver!! :) Thanks, Joyce > We usually pick them up using a plastic bag such as the ones you get with > groceries. Put your hand inside the bag, pick the varmint up and turn the > bag inside out over it then tie it shut. Put in outdoor garbage can. > > Jo Very similar to the distasteful task of picking up after "dingleberries du merde" from a Russian deerhound, I suspect. 8^P --tension >> > I got home tonight around midnight, and found a very large, very dead >> > rat lying right in front of my front door. [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Jo I use a zipper bag, usually with a paper towel between the corpse and the bag. After that, it depends on the weather and the day of the week. If it isn't too hot, and it's only a day or two until trash pickup, I put it in the trash can and close the hinged lid. (I usually keep it open for ease in tossing items in). However, in hot weather, when it is several days until trash pickup, I have to do something I really hate to do. The trash can is in the garage, and even a small moldering body can create quite an aroma in a closed garage in hot weather. I also have a large upright freezer in the garage. The bottom section of the door of this freezer is reserved for such occasions. During this past summer, Nanki-Poo was particularly active, and there were a couple of weeks when there were two or three plastic bags there, with contents concealed by paper towels. :-( Joy >>> > I got home tonight around midnight, and found a very large, very dead >>> > rat lying right in front of my front door. [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > > Joy I'm with you. Isn't something I like to do, but its the best alternative sometimes. It also provides for reasonable quick euthanasia for the almost but not quite yet dead bird. Lots of plastic bags involved. Then again we have a garbage shelf in the freezer in the summer for some kitchen waste too, Jo Well, I took Jo's advice, put on a gardening glove, stuck my hand inside two plastic bags, and picked up the rat like I was picking up dog doo-doo. Turned the bags inside out, tied it up, and threw it in the trash. Marina, you're right that ants could probably dispatch the rat pretty quickly. In fact, I'm surprised they didn't come after it while it was out there - I left it there for 24 hours, and I *know* there are plenty of ant colonies right around here, because they have marched, uninvited, right through my front door and gone for the cat food. Well, they missed their chance. That's over with, and it wasn't as horrible as I expected it to be. Can't wait to see what Smudge brings home next! :-/ By the way, Marina - this was not her first kill! That happened about 8 years ago when she managed to bring down a mourning dove from the balcony in my old apartment. I had left the sliding glass door open so she could come inside, but I was sleeping in my bedroom with the door closed, because Roxy was still a baby kitten then, and she had a bad cold, so I was keeping the cats separate. When I woke up and came out into the living room, there were bird feathers all over the place. No bird anywhere - I think she'd eaten all of it. What a vacuuming job that was! I think Smudge has managed to hunt many things at various times when she's gotten outside, with or without a leash. Joyce > Marina, you're right that ants could probably dispatch the rat pretty > quickly. In fact, I'm surprised they didn't come after it while it was > out there - I left it there for 24 hours, and I *know* there are plenty > of ant colonies right around here, because they have marched, uninvited, > right through my front door and gone for the cat food. Well, they missed > their chance. I don't know if feeding the ants meat is such a good idea, after all. Mum has been complaining about how aggressive those ants have become. ;o) So maybe it's just as well. > By the way, Marina - this was not her first kill! That happened about > 8 years ago when she managed to bring down a mourning dove from the [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > that was! I think Smudge has managed to hunt many things at various > times when she's gotten outside, with or without a leash. Oh, I didn't realise that Smudge was a seasoned killer already! I always think it's very impressive when cats manage to catch something while on a leash. Miranda's half-uncle, Kasper, does that too. SignatureMarina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. Stories and pics at http://koti.welho.com/mkurten/ Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/ and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki > > I got home tonight around midnight, and found a very large, very dead > > rat lying right in front of my front door. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > would like to get rid of it before the situation gets any worse, if you > know what I mean. First, congratulations to Smudge for entering the clan of huntresses. I don't know if this will work for you, but what I do to uneaten 'presents' on the island is, I toss them into this big anthill. They are taken apart in a matter hours. Throwing it in the tall grass should also work, *someone* will take it apart, whether ants or other insects. There's a whole system of natural waste management out there. ;o) SignatureMarina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. Stories and pics at http://koti.welho.com/mkurten/ Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/ and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki >> > I got home tonight around midnight, and found a very large, very dead >> > rat lying right in front of my front door. [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > *someone* will take it apart, whether ants or other insects. There's a > whole system of natural waste management out there. ;o) I suspect it depends on where you are. If I threw Nanki-Poo's catch out in the yard, he'd probably drag it back in through the cat door. Fortunately, I don't have any big anthills in my yard. Joy > I suspect it depends on where you are. If I threw Nanki-Poo's catch out in > the yard, he'd probably drag it back in through the cat door. Fortunately, > I don't have any big anthills in my yard. There's that, of course. If something managed to get inside the enclosure here in town, and the cats killed it, I wouldn't have an anthill to dispose of it here either. SignatureMarina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. Stories and pics at http://koti.welho.com/mkurten/ Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/ and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki >>> > I got home tonight around midnight, and found a very large, very dead >>> > rat lying right in front of my front door. [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] >the yard, he'd probably drag it back in through the cat door. Fortunately, >I don't have any big anthills in my yard. I have usually dealt with carrion by burying it. That way, you don't have to smell it while the ants are dealing with it. This usually involves a possum or squirrel that chose the wrong time to cross the street. SignatureJohn F. Eldredge -- john@jfeldredge.com PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria |
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