It wasn't so scary then, when I put up that post, because I had two feline family members, Shaka and Prince. The duo did an awesome job of keeping rats away. Well, those two guys have since gone to cat heaven. Let's just say one didn't get along with our canine crew. (Want to know who ate who? Just look at the poo.)
With the cats gone, and the dog food still in plenty in our outside storage shack, it wasn't long before
these little vermin dropped in and multiplied. With the blink of an eye, literally. And as I do this post I keep checking on Adopt a Cat, a Facebook group, for a possible new pet. I'm waiting for my "Join Group" request to get approved so I could post a comment. We'll take one or two neutered tom cats, because the vermin have brought some venom. Hello snakes!
Now, how do rats bring snakes? You may be wondering. I did too. I first got to hear this from a client who didn't know the name of the cat who lived in the kitchen of their 5 bedroom house. I was a little surprised. She said, "I don't like cats, but they keep rats away and that keeps snakes away. That's all that matters. That's why he (the cat) is here." A little NatGeo for you: Snakes sense their food via sensors on their tongue. Once the snakes discover that you have rats at your home or somewhere within your compound, it won't be long before they move in with you - and even breed in your house if they go undetected. So assuming we successfully eliminated momma and poppa snake, we still don't know if there are some eggs waiting to hatch somewhere nearby. We need to act fast before the rats and their predator stray into our house! Can someone approve my request already?!!
I really don't fear snakes, but since I can't tell which is or isn't poisonous, I'd rather they didn't hang around. Snakes are clean reptiles that eat their food whole. And they're silent and practically invisible. Other than the serpent that just had to tempt Eve in the Garden of Eden, snakes pretty much mind their own business. So I'm ok with that. But we have little children in our compound and that makes all the difference. So the snakes must go.
Long and short of it, if you have guard dogs, chances are that you have a sack of dog food stored somewhere that rats can access. When (not if) you spot ONE rat, just deal with it immediately, or else you won't be dealing with just rats in the near future. Beware.
UPDATE: I got quite some backlash from a group member in Adopt a Cat. I almost got removed! I can understand how we humans don't see our pets as animals with animal instincts. To many, pets are like babies. Thats ok if you will still allow the pet to enjoy its natural habitat. It's not even a moral issue. My adopting some cats to deal with rats is actually glory for the cats as well, because they get to use their natural hunting instincts, which is often overlooked when taking in a pet cat. Remember, cats are hunters. If they don't hunt something outside your house, they will hunt something inside your home: your sofas, curtains, phone chargers...etc. And let's not forget the reason cats got domesticated in the first place - to keep vermin away. Yet above all this, we still get a loving pet.
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