baby rat or mouse?

[ultramarine]

can anyone tell me whather this rodent recently killed by our cat is a baby rat ( it looks a bit ratty to me ) or a mouse?
Thanks

[Dogghound]

Its a Brown Rat.

[Ladywell]

Yep - agree - brown rat - and if there is one baby there will more and parents who will breed non-stop from now on!!

[ultramarine]

Thanks everyone for confirming my fears!

[conisag]

No need to fear, brown rats are very intelligent and the disease spread is exaggerated its so far from fact it may as well be a all out lie. Now, they can be a little damaging in tearing things up, biting thru wires and cables etc, just look out for there numbers, if they start to get high then the answer is simple set a trap up if live you can re-home them far away in your nearest woods or what not or if you prefer you can set up poision or dead catch rat traps, the snap ones..

[Cowgirl]

Originally Posted by conisag

No need to fear, brown rats are very intelligent and the disease spread is exaggerated its so far from fact it may as well be a all out lie. Now, they can be a little damaging in tearing things up, biting thru wires and cables etc, just look out for there numbers, if they start to get high then the answer is simple set a trap up if live you can re-home them far away in your nearest woods or what not or if you prefer you can set up poision or dead catch rat traps, the snap ones..

Not so sure about that, what about Weils disease, they wee everywhere, no wait is that just mice or do rats do that as well?

As for damage, the beggers have got into my shed & chewed through cables & wires & destroyed my petrol strimmer motor...grrrrr

[Dogghound]

I agree they do urinate alot. If you have any fears dont hesitate to trap them. If you do makesure other species carnt get caught in the trap. The issue is there will be plenty trapping will likely have little affect unless it is in a building or you carry out a large long scale trapping project.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Cowgirl

Not so sure about that, what about Weils disease, they wee everywhere, no wait is that just mice or do rats do that as well?

As for damage, the beggers have got into my shed & chewed through cables & wires & destroyed my petrol strimmer motor...grrrrr

the danger of weils is somewhat exagerated - its only an issue if you get fairly fresh urine (or other bodily fluids) in your eyes, mouth or open cuts - the main risk is to contractors working in ditches etc, in the garden context so long as you wash your hands before eating and cover cuts with waterproof plasters there is not a massive risk of contagion

on the damage front , i tolerate them in the garden but if they start entering the house or outbuildings then its time for them to go - I wouldnt use poison because of the risk of collateral damage to non target species - my preference is for a mark IV fenn trap ( I dont agree that live trap and relocate is a humane practice as you are just subjecting them to stress, plus removal from familiar teritory, and possibly hostile residents on arrival)

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by eeyore

( I dont agree that live trap and relocate is a humane practice as you are just subjecting them to stress, plus removal from familiar teritory, and possibly hostile residents on arrival)

Plus you are just shipping it onto someone else who could kill it anyway. And more importantly in conservation terms the actual release site could be an area with few rats and high vulnerability such as a ground nesting bird site. Im afraid this species is realistically delt with best by dispatching it.

[caernerch]

don't try to release rats elsewhere. odds on it will be on another family's territory and it will be killed or just plain die of fright. experiments have shown rats placed in other territories tend to just curl up and die.
caernerch