Rat Battle

I’m learning to live with a variety of creatures in my house. The presence of some is more benign than others. Some, like the frogs just sit in my dish drainer. Others are more of a nuisance. Like the cockroaches that scuttle unexpectedly from dark corners, or the cloud of flies that billows forth every time I open my trashcan.

It’s interesting though how quickly these creatures have become commonplace and an accepted part of my life. On the other hand, there are some creatures that I will never get used to.

Rats.

Since I moved into my house I’ve been unable to use the bottom cabinets in my kitchen due to the obvious rat activity. I battled it with my arsenal of sticky pads, poison, and traps. All to no avail. A chance encounter last week at 2:00am finally brought my foe and I face to face. Surprised by this chance encounter the rat dived behind the refrigerator and I stood paralyzed, unable to decide if I wanted to make a quick dart past the fridge to the only exit.

While still frozen in this state of indecision, my savior entered from stage left. Greedy Cat. Greedy Cat always wants into my kitchen. So as fate would have it, she was stirred by my nocturnal kitchen visit and came to see what she could get out of me. When her primal instincts did not immediately kick in, I placed her by the crack where the rat was hiding and scurried over to the other side of the room so I could watch the ensuing mêlée.

In the rats last desperate bid for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, it made a bold dash across the kitchen. Towards me. With only the light of my headlamp to determine the rat’s path I misjudged and it ended up running onto my foot leaving two nice scratches in its wake. Rat scratch fever anyone?

In the end the sucker got what was coming to him. Greedy Cat and I walked away quite satisfied by the whole endeavor.

Round one: Lauren 1, Rat 0

Still gloating over the victory I was confused to find, a few days later, my favorite pair of athletic shorts in a corner of my living room where I know I didn’t leave them. Strange. When I went to pick them up, I realized I had to tug, for they were halfway lodged down a previously undiscovered rat hole. Curtains were thereafter discovered as a victim of the late night rampage. A new adversary has emerged.

Poison and traps were again strategically placed. Feeling confident in my enemy’s imminent demise I was shocked to find my second favorite pair of athletic shorts in the same corner the next morning. Again, half way pulled into the hole. I don’t understand its fixation with my nylon athletic shorts. It does not please me to know that it’s nesting happily, breeding its army, in my favorite form of loungewear.

Round two: Lauren 1, Rat 2. This is war.