Year of the Rat - 2008
Feb. 3rd, 2008 05:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jwg2008 starting on Thursday is going to be the Year of the Rat. In our household it started early.
We've had either mice or rats in the house. And I think it is a rat since there have been no signs of mouseshit which usually accompanies mice - at least when they appear in our house in Gloucester that is the case. And the destruction was somewhat severe.
Most seriously, we discovered them because they attacked some of our people.
Michael is currently bandaged on a leg and an arm because of missing skin - no innards were taken and is awaiting a nose job as well as skin grafts.
Burningbright and Balthazar have some skin punctures and Balthazar lost a bit of seed innards. That's Timothy, the zebra watching next to him (these guys always hang around together); he wasn't harmed.
Edward is in Intensive Care. Many of his seeds innards were scattered all over the place. I did a couple of skin grafts, but haven't yet decided how to deal with his completely messed up foot. And as is common with medical care in this household there is a long waiting period before surgery is scheduled.
They/it also attacked some food in the pantry closet (all-purpose flour, pasta, a package of Ryvitas, and some wheat gluten). I've plugged up the holes. I put out mouse traps in various places but they've seen no action - at least they didn't turn into mouse feeders as has happened when I used Worser™ mouse traps. A rat trap yielded nothing either. I then resorted to rat poison which has been eaten. Hopefully if they/it die in the walls/ceilings it won't smell too bad for too long.
In the old days we had a cat and never had any mice - but we've been catless for quite a few years. Too bad there isn't a ZipCat station near by or Hurtz rent-a-cat. Our current non-working cats: Burning bright, Paul, Andrew, Daniel, Miss Griggles, Xerxes, and Agamemnon have done nothing similarly to several other of the predators.
We've had either mice or rats in the house. And I think it is a rat since there have been no signs of mouseshit which usually accompanies mice - at least when they appear in our house in Gloucester that is the case. And the destruction was somewhat severe.
Most seriously, we discovered them because they attacked some of our people.
Michael is currently bandaged on a leg and an arm because of missing skin - no innards were taken and is awaiting a nose job as well as skin grafts.
Burningbright and Balthazar have some skin punctures and Balthazar lost a bit of seed innards. That's Timothy, the zebra watching next to him (these guys always hang around together); he wasn't harmed.
Edward is in Intensive Care. Many of his seeds innards were scattered all over the place. I did a couple of skin grafts, but haven't yet decided how to deal with his completely messed up foot. And as is common with medical care in this household there is a long waiting period before surgery is scheduled.
They/it also attacked some food in the pantry closet (all-purpose flour, pasta, a package of Ryvitas, and some wheat gluten). I've plugged up the holes. I put out mouse traps in various places but they've seen no action - at least they didn't turn into mouse feeders as has happened when I used Worser™ mouse traps. A rat trap yielded nothing either. I then resorted to rat poison which has been eaten. Hopefully if they/it die in the walls/ceilings it won't smell too bad for too long.
In the old days we had a cat and never had any mice - but we've been catless for quite a few years. Too bad there isn't a ZipCat station near by or Hurtz rent-a-cat. Our current non-working cats: Burning bright, Paul, Andrew, Daniel, Miss Griggles, Xerxes, and Agamemnon have done nothing similarly to several other of the predators.
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no subject
Date: 2008-02-03 10:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-03 10:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-04 02:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-04 02:51 am (UTC)in terms of recuperative surgery for the injured in these dastardly attacks: the medical team might consider replacing the stuffing with plastic beads (the stuff for beanbag chairs) that will be non-appetising to invading and peckish rodents.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-04 04:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-03 10:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-04 04:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-04 04:06 pm (UTC)onwith Timothy, everybody knows they don't mean anything by it.no subject
Date: 2008-02-04 02:46 am (UTC)Well, that's socialised medicine for you, I guess.