Yesterday, I was bitten by a rat…. 🐀

I would have done just as you have Shinamae. I can't bear any animal to be in pain and we have a second cat who is regularly killing young field mice and fledglings so we now cannot feed the birds as it is too upsetting. We have a wild life hospital about 50 minutes away and from time to time take injured birds we find on the roadside or at home. I'm pleased to find others who are kind to animals as there is so much cruelty in the world. I know it's nature and have buried 2 birds recently. I would rather see that the cat has finished them off than find them injured but would always try to get the cat to release them if alive. I once found a terrified frog under my sofa and drove to the nearest stream to release it. I hope your bite heals well.

watermeadow

This happened to me years ago. I was advised to get a tetanus jab but knew that the real risk is leptospirosis. The GP’s surgery had never heard of that and couldn’t spell it so I didn’t bother.

My dog has an annual vaccination for that! I know when I worked at another surgery the doctors didn’t seem to know about Weils (sp) disease even though we’re surrounded by canals

This happened to me years ago. I was advised to get a tetanus jab but knew that the real risk is leptospirosis. The GP’s surgery had never heard of that and couldn’t spell it so I didn’t bother.

Do take it to the vet, I once did this with a rat who was dragging himself along the road because his back legs weren’t able to move. The vet put him to sleep humanely and wouldn’t let me pay. Like you, just can’t bear to see any animal suffer.

MT62

My friend had a rat in the loft, maybe a couple. Anyway council used a sticky pad. I think idea is that they get stuck on this pad & struggle to set themselves free.
Her rat had literary tore off its leg, which to me sounds very cruel.
I don’t actually think they use this method anymore.

I'm pretty sure those sticky traps have been made illegal now, unless you are a professional pest controller.

I don’t like the idea of animals fighting with vermin & then later the owner letting that pet lick their faces 😩

Please do something to get rid of rats. If any of your cats or dogs are bitten, the bite can be very dangerous for them. I had one cat bitten so near his spine that the vet said it was a very good thing I had reacted so promtly with regards to making an appointment with him. He gave the cat a massive dose of antibiotics immediately and a ten day course of them as well.

Check your by-laws - depending on where you live, you may have a legal obligation to report rats to the council rat-catcher.

Well l think the OP sounds like a lovely caring sort of person.
The sort you’d want as a friend and the sort you can rely on. Not much point in everyone telling her about all the grim diseases she’s at risk of getting.There’s nothing that can be done about that or to give advice about bashing the rats brains in. Anyone who had gone to all that trouble to save the baby rat would not now be standing over it with a hammer in their hands ready to splatter it everywhere.
OP carry on being you! Hopefully you won’t contract anything grim and nasty and hopefully your ratty chums will be zipping up their suitcases and wishing you a hearty ‘farewell!’as they flip merrily to their next digs! Good luck! 😉

Oh dear a dilemma indeed. When I lived in New Zealand I had to brick an injured mouse, finish off a badly injured Possom that had been run over and a dying goldfish at work that nobody would put out of it's misery. I hate suffering so did the right thing, horrible as it is\.

Spot on

Hear hear Hannah! 😘 why would anyone want to save rats 🤔🤔

Do you really think a vet will be interested in treating a rat?

You are wasting their time and yours.
I’m afraid you have let sentimentality get the better of your good sense.

I truly hope you haven’t got a nasty disease.
If you have, will you think ‘oh that was really worth the trouble’.?

Janejudge. I’ve managed to shed my cat for now. I’m sure she’ll be back later.

Thanks for vaccine info, Merlot. I doubt I’ll ever have another dog, though I do like a lot of dogs, the non-scary ones!

My friend had a rat in the loft, maybe a couple. Anyway council used a sticky pad. I think idea is that they get stuck on this pad & struggle to set themselves free.
Her rat had literary tore off its leg, which to me sounds very cruel.
I don’t actually think they use this method anymore.

Blossoming

Sorry, I would have let the dog finish it off. I’m a hard hearted Hannah when it comes to vermin. A good ratter will do the job quickly.

Agree. The rat has now suffered in pain for a time when it could of died quickly. The instincts are in the dog and you should of encouraged the dog to finish the rat. Its a lot quicker, less pain and fear for the rat. I've always thought rat poisoning/ traps are cruel and harmful other animals. A small pack of ratting terriers or dogs does the job a lot better.

My dog is on top of me as well and I’m menopausal

Oh, interesting, I didn’t know there was a vaccine

It’s part of the cocktail of meds that all puppies should be vaccinated with and make up the annual booster all dogs should receive.

* inherited

Neither my present 8 year old terrier nor her predecessor, who lived until almost 18, would take on a rat. The old boy was sired by a legendary local Patterdake x JRT ratter but obviously inferred his mother’s soft nature!

I’d have despatched it instantly by a whack on the head with the back of a garden spade.

Oh, interesting, I didn’t know there was a vaccine (I have cats not dogs nowadays). A friend’s partner was very seriously ill with Weil’s four or five years ago. He was critically in ICU for about six weeks with horrible symptoms, though it took ages to diagnose him.

PS why do animals want to sit on you when it’s hot?? My cat wants to sleep on me! 🥵

Merlot that fox looks very smug, in the sunshine

It’s an much older photo than the ones I put up earlier so I can’t be absolutely certain it’s the same fox.

I think it is though.

Weil’s is horrible

SueDonim

I’m glad the situation got sorted eventually, Shinamae. What a cute pup Duke is! My dd has a half-grown kitten - he’s just discovered that they have bats living in the attic of their house. 🦇 😩

A question, though. Are pets also in danger of disease from rats etc? Can they get Weil’s? I assume they could also get bitten by a rat.

Merlot that fox looks very smug, in the sunshine. 😁

Yes. Especially dogs. Weil’s disease is a serious form of leptospirosis but as dogs are usually vaccinated against it you don’t get many cases.

I’m glad the situation got sorted eventually, Shinamae. What a cute pup Duke is! My dd has a half-grown kitten - he’s just discovered that they have bats living in the attic of their house. 🦇 😩

A question, though. Are pets also in danger of disease from rats etc? Can they get Weil’s? I assume they could also get bitten by a rat.

Merlot that fox looks very smug, in the sunshine. 😁

As long as rats stay out of my house I don’t mind them, now and then you see them under a bird feeder.
You’re kind Shinamae but I think sometimes it’s best to leave a rat, mouse or bird where it is and let nature take its course.