90 HOUR DIARY
Thursday
9.10 pm.
I’m talking on the phone and Cat 1 arrives late, and with my mind on the
conversation, I open the door and let her in.
Cat
1 has a big rat in her mouth.
Cat
2 jumps Cat 1 to get rat.
I say I'll call back and put down the phone.
Cat
1 drops the rat
Cat
1, Cat 2, Cat 3, dog and myself chasing rat.
Yes.
No. Yes. Ummn - whose got it now?.
I trip over the dog.
Yes!
Cat 2 has the rat and I chase them all outside.
I put Arnica on my elbow and knee.
9.30 pm. I
let Cat 1, Cat 3 and dog back inside. Cat 2 is nowhere to be see.
Friday
7.00 am It’s
dawn at this time of the year.
I
let Cat 2 inside.
There
are rat droppings in the kitchen!!
I
talk to Cat1, Cat 2, Cat 3 and the dog and say, “get that rat out of here!” and
put four ‘Temptation’ Cat treats just under the fridge so they can hook them
out. They think there are more under there and haunt the fridge hunting for
more. I believe the rat is hiding under there.
9.30 pm. I
have pulled out my old cage rat-trap and bait it with a piece of bread.
Saturday
7.00 am.
There are more rat droppings in kitchen.
The
bait has gone but the trap is empty.
I
check the trap. Yes it is a bit old and the springs and hinges have rusted up a
bit. I clean them up and oil them.
Cat
1, Cat 2, Cat 3, and the dog haunt the fridge.
9.30 pm I
bait the trap with a crust of bread spread with some dog food.
Sunday
7.00 am. There
are more rat droppings in the kitchen.
The
bait has gone but the trap is empty
I
put four more ‘Temptation’ cat treats just under the fridge to keep the animals
circling it. Plus one or two words added about their competency.
9.30 pm. I
bait the trap with a piece of unripe pear. I think the bread was too soft to
trigger the hook/door release system.
Monday
7.00 am.
There are more rat droppings in the kitchen
The
bait has gone and the trap is empty.
The
animals have lost interest in the fridge – I think they can count.
9.30 pm. I
re-bait the trap.
Tuesday
12.15 am I re-bait the trap
3.00 am – I
wake with a start. I’m damned sure that was a rat I heard on my dressing table –
yes it’s knocked my sunglasses onto the floor.
I
re-set the trap with a really big bit of pear. It’s so heavy I’m having trouble
not setting it off.
3.15. I go
back to bed, but keep the light on and the heavy torch is right next to my pillow,
just in case…
No,
I don’t want to think anything about rats, other than being caught in the cage.
I’m reading my book.
6.05 I
can’t believe I actually fell asleep and there in the cage trap is a Very Fat Rat.
6.10 am.
This rat has survived being chased, caught and re-caught, been fought over by 3
cats and a dog. But escaped only to have his bolt-hole hour after hour constantly
invaded with multiple reaching paws. Then nightly escaped again and again the
cage that would trap him as he gently eased away and devoured the food put
there to tempt him in to his death.
You
can’t help but admire him for that.
I
reckon after all his trauma – if a cat can have nine lives, then this rat can
have his 90 hours – and I took the trap outside and let him run back to the
bush.
7.00 am.
Cat 1, Cat 2, Cat 3 and the dog are circling the fridge.
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