cats and brown rats

does anyone here have experience with these 2 interacting?


We have a serious rat issue here we have to poison them or they will take control

I find the winter months i do not see ANY cats around and the rats are EVERYWHERE At night!


In the spring summer sometiems id see one get into our roof and totally take out the birds that were nesting there

I know cats are not a native species here and letting them out is putting other native wildlife in danger but what about the introduced rats which seem to be much more harmfull they can get into areas cats cant and cause hell on nesting birds chicks & Eggs

In the better wearther I thinki the rats are not as common because cats are EVERywhere along with coons skunks foxes etc. way to many predators for them out but the winter they really seem to have it good

Where are you located?

And... my initial thought is that if everyone is putting out rat poison, that could explain the absence of cats...

south eastern ontario

What on earth do you mean by 'cats are not a native species'? There's nowhere in the world that cats haven't been for a very long time, including Antartica where some idiots brought a couple 30-40 years ago and they multiplied (can you imagine the life they have?).

not native = brought here by man that is what I mean

There are native cats to North America. In that area lynx (Canadian lynx in fact..) are native.

That aside, I really hate the idea of poison. You have no control over where the poisoned rat goes before it dies and what eats it. What if a neighbor's dog dies because it munched on a rat? Or if a predatory bird or carrion eating bird eats it and dies? (in winter even hawks and eagles will eat some carrion)
Try traps, snap and live traps, first if you can.

Rats are to smart for traps usually our native cats that should be here like lynx and bobcat are so so rare we probably have 1 lynx per every 200 sq miles very loosly populated they are not very good at being oportunistic like coyotes foxes coons rats that seem to even do better around humans

THe rats stick close to human buildings they cannot survive in the woods they need buildings and serwers for protection if they were to run off in the woods they would be taken out right away as there way to many predators for them as they cannot adapt to forest life they need us for our basements sewers, sheds, barns, garbage, dumps, walls, roofs, drain pipes and the list goes on and on

I'm not sure that I understand the question.

When I had a neighbor who had an (open) shed full of gardening stuff and bird food (read: huge rat's nest)...my outside cats brought 2 or 3 huge rats home every night.

Originally Posted by chausiefan

THe rats stick close to human buildings they cannot survive in the woods they need buildings and serwers for protection if they were to run off in the woods they would be taken out right away as there way to many predators for them as they cannot adapt to forest life they need us for our basements sewers, sheds, barns, garbage, dumps, walls, roofs, drain pipes and the list goes on and on

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Rats are opportunistic, they live on islands where there is no human habitation at all and in inhospitable climates/areas. To say that they cannot survive in the woods at all when this is what they've done long before civilization or large urban areas is silly.

If you still wish to poison, so be it. Make 100% certain that your cat(s) cannot come in contact with the poison or any rats at all. Rats and mice are cats normal prey, whether you see them catching rats or not, it's a safe bet if there's a cat around it's sure as heck going to try.