Cats versus ferrets as rat deterrents and killers

I was keen to write about comparing ferrets and cats as rat deterrents and killers after reading an article in The Sunday Times about a father and son's enterprise in using domestic ferrets to chase rats in Marseille out of their hiding holes, into the open where they are trapped and put in drums and euthanised with carbon dioxide!

My immediate thought on that by the way was that killing animals with carbon dioxide is highly distressing (for the animal and some people 😊) and I wonder whether this father and son enterprise are unwittingly in violation of the animal welfare laws of France. You might find that ridiculous because I am being concerned about the welfare of rats but I don't practice speciesism as some other people do.

In fact, even in Marseille where this couple operate, there are residents there who actually quite like rats and respect them as sentient beings living side-by-side with the Marseille residents.

Anyway, ferrets have a long history of being rat catchers or rat deterrents, more accurately. They rose to prominence during the Black Death when rats were thought to be spreading the plague. The ferret took on semi-mythical status in the 19th century when Victorian Britain was teeming with rodents.

Queen Victoria's official ratcatcher was Jack Black. He lived in south London and became a celebrity. He wore a scarlet waistcoat and a leather sash inset with cast-iron rats. He was known for being able to hide six rats beneath his green topcoat. Black's favoured method for killing rats was ferrets.

The father and son family I mention are the Raynals. They have a team of 20 ferrets dominated by females because females work harder than males. The Raynals ferrets don't aim to kill rats themselves. They just scare them out of their holes into a wide net at which point Alexandre, the son, "tackles them" by which he means he put them in drums and then kills them, as mentioned with carbon dioxide which suffocates them.

The newspaper tells me that "by last Wednesday afternoon, the Raynals had caught about 30 rats in Square Paul Mélizan where [they met the journalist], and in several other small parks and squares. He said he might have 60 by the end of the week. These may sound like modest numbers, but a female rat can give birth to 2500 kittens in a lifetime, which is about three years. If 60 rats means about 30 females, the Raynals will have stopped about 75,000 rats from being born."

Ferrets and cats both have hunting instincts, but they’re effective against rats in different ways, and each has its pros and cons as a deterrent:

Ferrets as Rat Deterrents

• Strong Hunting Instinct: Ferrets are natural hunters and have been used historically for pest control, especially in tight spaces where cats may not reach.
• Scent as a Deterrent: Rats often avoid areas where ferrets live, as the ferret's scent is a natural deterrent. They emit a musky odour that rodents find threatening.
• Aggressive Toward Prey: Ferrets are relentless when chasing small animals and can be very effective at hunting down rats. They’re also more likely to explore small areas where rats hide.
• Challenges: Ferrets aren’t as independent as cats and need more supervision. They can get into small spaces and may harm themselves if left to roam unsupervised. Also, they don’t necessarily seek out rats independently as cats might.

Cats as Rat Deterrents

• Natural Stalkers and Predators: Many cats are instinctual hunters and enjoy stalking and catching small animals, including rats. Their presence alone can make rats wary of sticking around.
• Lower Maintenance: Cats are typically more independent, requiring less supervision than ferrets, and are often content to patrol their environment on their own.
• Ongoing Control: Cats are often better at providing ongoing control since they tend to stick to their territory and are vigilant about their surroundings.
• Challenges: Not all cats are interested in hunting, especially well-fed domestic cats. Some cats might ignore rats entirely, making them unreliable if they lack the hunting drive.

In Summary

If you need a dedicated rat deterrent, a ferret may be more reliable in the short term for flushing out rats from their hiding spots. However, a cat may provide a longer-term solution due to its territorial nature and independence.

What about killing rats?

When it comes to actively hunting and killing rats, both ferrets and cats have distinct strengths, though one might be more effective than the other based on certain factors.

Ferrets as Rat Killers

• Instinctive and Aggressive Hunters: Ferrets are naturally inclined to hunt small animals and are known to be tenacious in tracking down and killing prey, including rats. They are quick, agile, and relentless, which can make them very effective at catching and killing rats once they locate them.
• Adaptability to Tight Spaces: Ferrets can maneuver into small, confined areas where rats tend to hide. This agility allows them to root out rats from burrows, walls, and other hiding spots that cats might not access.
• Focus on Smaller Prey: While ferrets are skilled hunters, some larger rats might put up more of a fight, and ferrets, being relatively small, might not always win against a particularly large or aggressive rat.

Cats as Rat Killers

• Larger Size and Hunting Skills: Many cats, particularly outdoor or semi-feral cats, have both the strength and skills to kill rats, even larger ones. Cats are stealthy and are adept at the "stalk and pounce" method, which can be lethal for rodents.
• Selective Hunting Behavior: Some cats are excellent hunters and will kill rats, while others, especially domesticated cats, might ignore them. Cats are more likely to kill rats if they have a strong hunting drive, but this varies widely between individual cats.
• Efficiency in Patrolling Territory: Once a cat establishes its territory, it will often keep it largely rat-free, hunting down any that wander into its domain. This is effective for long-term rodent control, as cats tend to "patrol" their area.

Who’s Better at Killing Rats?

If the goal is a consistent, proactive rodent killer, a ferret might excel at flushing out and killing rats in a targeted manner. However, a highly motivated cat, especially one with a strong hunting drive, can be very effective at killing rats, particularly larger ones.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.

Necropsy would help solve the mysterious deaths of up to 10 cats

NEWS AND VIEWS. MANSFIELD, NOTTS, UK: This is the kind of story that I see a lot in news media online. It concerns the death of at least five cats (perhaps as many as ten) and the poisoning of a dog. They are described as mystery deaths because at the moment nobody has got to the bottom of them. An investigation has been launched by the RSPCA and council officials. But nobody has reported, it seems to me, that they necropsy has been carried out (an autopsy in human terms).

I'll explain. Where the cats are dying there is the beginnings of a development of a housing estate and the area is fenced off for ecological work before the 169 homes are built.

Nick Brooks' dog, a Patterdale terrier called Rocco suffered poisoning symptoms after walking on the site referred to. He went downhill very quickly and a veterinarian diagnosed poisoning. He recovered. Mr Brooks knew about the cats dying in the area and put two and two together and thought that the same cause of the poisoning of his dog had killed these cats.

Jasper was poisoned. Image: Facebook.

Joe Manning, and his partner Charlan Hopkin live close to the development site. They let their Bengal cat out unsupervised. They know that he went on to the site. They said that "He came back and wasn't well but he went out again on August 29 and we never saw him again."

We are told that an ecologist on the site saw Jasper, unable to walk. He was able to move his head and was clearly in great distress. The ecologist went to fetch a blanket to recover him but when he returned Jasper has disappeared.

It's believed a fox took Jasper but there's no evidence for that. Comment: why did the ecologist want to pick Jasper up with a blanket? He must have believed that Jasper was toxic in some way. Was the ecologist putting down poison to kill rats?

And according to a Facebook group 10 cats have gone missing in the area. One cat was found "on the top of bushes upside down". Many other cats have turned up dead. Cat owners are beginning to keep their cats inside.

Comment: the point I want to make is that the Daily Mail report does not tell us that one of these recovered cats has been taken to a veterinarian for a necropsy. If that had been carried out they'd be able to discover the nature of the poison which killed the cat.

And knowing the type of poison which killed the cat the RSPCA would be better able to decide the origin of that poison. Suggestion: it could be that the developer has put down rodenticides to kill rats in the area before they start work on the development of the site. They might have done this to protect workers who are about to enter the site in large numbers.

If they did that, rats would have been killed. Outdoor, wondering cats will find these rats and probably nibble them instinctively. The cats would have been poisoned by the rodenticide. That's a possible scenario.

Another possible scenario is that there is a sadistic, cat poisoner in the area killing cats because they don't like them. This is possible but I would argue much less likely than my suggestion.

I think my suggestion is credibility because these deaths are linked to this development site which points to the cause of deaths being linked to the development and not to a random individual who doesn't like cats.

It's clear to me that a necropsy needs to be carried out and then the RSPCA will be better able to confirm if my suggestion is a good one.

Also the construction company needs to be interviewed and asked if they are putting down poison. That, at a stroke, would solve the matter in my opinion.

Necropsy

Necropsy and autopsy both refer to the examination of a body after death to determine the cause of death or the nature of any disease or injury. 

• Autopsy is typically used when referring to the post-mortem examination of human bodies.
• Necropsy is more commonly used when referring to animals, although it can also be used for humans in some contexts.

In summary, both terms mean the same procedure but are often used in different contexts.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.

Commons Speaker wants many cats at the Palace of Westminster

The Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, is a known animal lover and loves cats. He currently has two cats, I believe, living in his home within the Palace of Westminster A.K.A. Houses Of Parliament. 

He lives just behind Big Ben in very beautiful accommodation; quite extensive and I believe that his Maine Coon cat 'Attlee' lives there with him. And he has adopted a black stray cat who wanted to be taken in and who he has named 'Clem'. Both of these names come from the former Prime Minister Clement Attlee.

Attlee as an adult Maine Coon who lives with the Speaker in his house within the estate. Photo: Richard Wheeler PA.

He is a very popular Commons Speaker and was re-elected to the post after the general election. There appears to have been no issues about his re-election. And he says that there should be "cats across the House." The idea is to take care of the rodent population and provide therapy to stressed politicians! 💕

The Palace of Westminster is a very large estate adjacent to the Thames River and is in bad condition requiring constant repair and a major upgrade which would cost billions of pounds. The reason why I am saying that is because you can see that there is a great possibility of there being mice and rats on the estate which is the case.

And Attlee, his Maine Coon cat, is sometimes called upon to deal with mice. MPs come up to him and ask if they can borrow Attlee for a while to get rid of mice in their office. That kind of thing.

And Sir Lindsay Hoyle would also like to see a "Bring Your Pet Day" in Parliament. I think he would like to see members of Parliament bringing their pets to the establishment.

Sir Lindsay has a number of pets including a tortoise named Maggie and a parrot named Boris. These are named after Margaret Thatcher and Boris Johnson, two more former prime ministers.

There was a study about the possibility of employing cats to keep down the rodent population on the estate. The conclusion appears to be that the estate is too big and that there would have to be too many cats in order to make it work which would be unmanageable.

His brown tabby Maine Coon cat also helps to keep the peace and keep people calm. Cats can do that for you. He is a therapy cat as well as the chief mouser at Parliament. He goes out to visit people to make them smile and be happier.

He said that "We've had the odd MP ring up and say, including the Clerk of the House, 'there is a mouse in my office, can we borrow Attlee?'"

His cat loves Dreamies which is a dry cat food and a particularly tasty one. The reason why he wants cats across the house, as mentioned, is because "There's nothing better than seeing a cat. Anybody who likes cats are nice people."

He's right. A slight problem is that some people don't like cats or some are frightened of cats but I would thoroughly agree with him. I think more cats at Parliament would be beneficial. And a dog or two would help to of course but there would have to be some management because you don't want dogs chasing cats! The issue is about managing the cats. Feeding them and providing toilet facilities etc.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle soon after adopting his new Maine Coon kitten Attlee. They touch noses in a friendly greeting

When he was interviewed for the article to which I'm referring and which is published on the Independent newspaper online he said that his tortoise, Maggie, was on the terrace. That is the area outside the Houses of Parliament in between the building and the Thames. It's a very pleasant area where they sometimes have marquees for social gatherings I believe.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

The reasons why the majority of cat owners don't stop their cats killing native species

The Daily Mail talks about waging a war on killer cats. The deadly domestic cat. Humans need to wage a war against them to stop them preying on precious wildlife. There is already a news media war against the domestic cat especially in Australia where the citizens of that fine country are gradually being indoctrinated into believing that the domestic cat is the embodiment of the devil; something like the belief of Europeans in the Middle Ages. The era of witchcraft.

Cat predation on crested lark curtailed by Walldorf's administrators. Image assessed as being in the public domain. The cat is starting to be seen in the same way as they were in the Middle Ages.

I don't think it is wise to talk about "waging a war" against the domestic cat because it is likely to encourage animal abuse. But certainly, the predation by domestic cats, a so-called invasive species, on native species is highly problematic and is beginning to upset a lot of people.

Natural process

But it doesn't upset, enough, the cat owning public across the planet (except Australia!). I think the truth of the matter is that most cat owners - and this certainly applies in the UK - are aware that their indoor/outdoor domestic cat occasionally kills wildlife but they don't mind enough about it. They see it as nature taking its course.

It seems that cat owners see the domestic cat as just another wild animal which should be allowed to prey on small mammals and marsupials because it's nature in action. What right have people got to prevent domestic cats expressing their natural desires and motivations? I think that is the reasoning behind a lot of people allowing their cat to go outside unsupervised and kill animals.

Pet owners simply don't care enough about small native species being killed by their cat companions. That's the raw truth of it I believe.

Speciesism

Perhaps this is an example of speciesism. This is when people favour one animal species over another. And it is probably normal and natural for a cat owner who adores their loved domestic cat to favour their pet above small rodents, the typical prey animal of the domestic cat. And birds. Birds are favoured above rodents by nearly everybody and cats kill birds and rodents. They don't mind about rodents being killed but the birds are another matter. This is another example of speciesism.

RELATED: Domestic cats are NOT an invasive species everywhere.

Don't care enough about nature. More concerned about the home

To be brutally frank, I don't think people are sensitive enough to the predation of animals by domestic cats. They just don't see it as a problem in terms of ecology and conservation. Cat owners see domestic cat predation as a problem for them because the cat can bring the animal back into the home and cause a bloody mess. 

Or the mouse runs under some furniture and you can't get it out and the animal starves to death and starts to rot making a smell in the home. Once again the problem with domestic cat predation for most pet owners is not the killing of prey animals but the disruption to the way of life of the human caregiver that predation causes.

Until the wider public have been indoctrinated into believing that it is their duty to protect wildlife and the planet in general, I don't think we going to see a big change in attitude by cat owners in the UK and other countries.

Perhaps another reason why many people are distanced from nature and therefore don't want to really get involved in protecting nature is because they've become emotionally distanced from the natural world. People often live in the urban environment and are not really connected with nature and wildlife. Global warming is an example of how humankind has become distanced from nature and addicted to products and a way of life which harms the planet. Think big diesel SUVs (still sold) and sport hunting (still prevalent).

A lot of people enjoy wildlife and one can't generalise because there are many people who really are sensitive towards wildlife and nature and the natural world. I'm afraid not enough people are genuinely concerned about the predation of native species by the domestic cat which is an invasive species. Although, we have to question the phrase "invasive species".

Invasive species?

How long has the domestic cat got to live in a country to become native to that country? There are no hard and fast rules on that.

RELATED: Making the case that domestic cats are not an invasive species in America.

We can't pass the buck

Whatever happens next, people need to remember that it is humankind who domesticated the North African wildcat and created 500 million domestic, stray and feral cats on the planet. It is the work of humans. The cat is an innocent victim of human behaviour. Anything we do needs to be humane and decent. The problem is ours. We can't pass the buck onto the domestic cat.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Rats as big as cats in the UK! Rat catching cats don't stand a chance.

To those of us living in the UK we are seeing more headlines about rats getting larger. They say they are as big as cats. If it's true there is little prospect of domestic cats being usefully employed as rat deterrents. Today's domestic cat ratter will just run away from these monsters.

Massive rat as big as a cat. Image by MikeB based on an image in the public domain.

But in general, I think they are mythical. People like to believe that they are very large. It adds to their story of woe. But if they are larger, it must be an evolutionary process over a very long time.

Animals may evolve to be larger over time as a result of natural selection. Larger individuals may have advantages in terms of survival and reproduction. For example, larger animals may be better able to defend themselves against predators, compete for resources, or attract mates. Additionally, larger size can confer other benefits, such as the ability to travel further or withstand harsh environmental conditions.

However, it's important to note that evolution is not always directional, and animals can also evolve to become smaller or stay the same size over time, depending on the specific environmental pressures they face. Furthermore, evolution is a slow process that occurs over many generations, and there are many factors that can influence the size of a species, such as the availability of resources, predation pressure, and climate change.

AI says this about rats getting larger

There have been reports in the media suggesting that rats in the UK are getting larger, but the evidence for this is mixed and controversial.

Some studies have suggested that rats in urban areas may be increasing in size due to factors such as access to more food and reduced predation pressure. However, other studies have found no evidence of size increase and suggest that the average size of rats in the UK has remained relatively constant over time.

It's important to note that size variation in rats can also be influenced by a number of other factors, including genetics, environmental conditions, and disease. Additionally, different rat populations may exhibit different size trends depending on their location and specific ecological conditions.

Overall, while there may be some evidence to suggest that rats in certain areas of the UK are getting larger, it's difficult to make generalizations about the entire population without more comprehensive data.

Cold climates

Normally animals of the same species living in cold climates are larger such as the puma in North America compared to the same species in South America.

The same difference applies to the tiger. The Siberian is larger than Bengal. The Sumatran is the smallest. Evolution ensures that the bigger animals can keep warmer because of an improved mass to surface area ratio.

This is supported by prey animals also being smaller in warmer climates which feeds into the evolutionary process ensuring that predators such as the tiger is smaller too.

On that basis rats in the UK may be getting bigger to keep warmer as it enhances survival and the evolutionary process is supported by the presence of abundant food supplies because of an increased human population in the UK.

Ratters

The old idea that domestic cats are good at deterring and killing rats hardly applies today. Domestic cats are not great rat catchers. They can be intimidated by a big rat. 

They don't want to risk being injured so leave it alone. It depends on the individual cat. They may even run away from a marauding rat. Rats can be very aggressive and courageous. They are good predators themselves. They've been involved in the extinction of some species on islands.

GB's greatest rat catcher

The UK's greatest rat catching cat was a female living in and around the now non-existent White City Stadium. She is said to have killed no fewer than 12,480 rats in her life. A daily average of 5-6.

A formidable achievement which reflects the reason why the wildcat was domesticated in the first place around 10k years ago. They were utilitarian, working cats as well as companions.

Companions now

Domestic cats nowadays are almost exclusively companions and entertainers to their caregivers.