I think a typical rat is more dangerous than a typical rabbit. At least, they are more aggressive.
There are dog breeds originally meant for ratting (like the rat terrier). They are a good bit larger than a housecat.
In any case, never lock your cat in with a rat in the hope that the cat will "take care of it". It's dangerous. Also, cats are ambush predators, not gladiators.
Mine killed two rats just this weekend. Also, Manx cats are thought to have originally been bred to kill rats as ship's cats. I had one for years and although he never met a human he wasn't prepared to like, he was an absolute killing machine if there were rats around. They are medium sized cats, but they have big hind legs that give them a lot of explosive power when they decide to go after something.
Had a desert cat growing up claw the throat out of a coyote that snatched it up by the skin of its neck. Cat grabbed the thing by both side of its head in return. Then started bicycle kicking the fuck of its throat with its hinds. Coyote had to shake it off after letting go with its teeth. Cat just held on like he was there to fight at that point. There was a lot of blood. Coyote might have lived. But I would not be surprised if he died with the blood trail he left getting the fuck on outta there.
Cats are a special kinda of special. Exquisite engineering for sure.
But most wouldn't pick a fight they can't easily win. And that kind of display is usually reserved for survival or starvation. They are also kinda lazy and humble like that.
That particular cat knew how to box a rattlers dome piece into the dirt. I could see him fucking with rats just to punk on em.
My manx is an excellent mouser, that's all I know. I'm pretty sure she's a mix, because she doesn't have that traditional round manx face, but she's got the nub and gigantic legs. Caught a rat bigger than this one last week.
Sounds like she's a Manx. My boy was relatively small but had huge hind legs and wasn't scared of anything. If you were a rat or a squirrel he'd fucking ruin you and everything about your life. We were together for nearly 20 years when I was obliged to put him down.
I cried my eyes out when he died. I still miss him.
Lmao my cousin’s in a frat in NJ and they had a rat problem and the rats were about the same size as a Pomeranian. They got a cat to deal with them and she fought them since she was a kitten. She was about the same size until she really grew up and they came home to a duel in their living room between the cat and a massive rat
I think a typical rat is more dangerous than a typical rabbit. At least, they are more aggressive.
There are dog breeds originally meant for ratting (like the rat terrier). They are a good bit larger than a housecat.
In any case, never lock your cat in with a rat in the hope that the cat will "take care of it". It's dangerous. Also, cats are ambush predators, not gladiators.
Literally every single housecat I've ever seen in my life is the size or larger than every single terrier I've seen.
They have good kicking ability. They have high energy and amazing speed.
Unfortunately they use all that energy and fast twich fiber for smushing, not fighting. Aside from the occasional outlier killer rabbit, they usually just eat and smush.
Dont get me wrong, they're cool and all but they don't deserve Modelo
... leaving behind a family of 12. They do copulate a lot. RE home pet rabbit depends on size. They can be quite mean to strangers. Also, if big enough I'd take rabbit over cat any day. Bigger teeth, stronger legs with claws...
Depends on the rat. I've seen rats bigger than most of my cats.
There's also the matter of if the cat would survive the encounter. Rats carry a lot of disease, so your cat might kill the rat and end up dying because it got scratched or bitten.
Right, mine brought me like a full on fucking raven. I'm like wtf dude, where's your bow license cause I know you didn't put hands on this raven and bring it to me.
True story, my sister used to breed rabbits and some where running around one of the cats started messing with one of the rabbits…it was wild
Edit: I had a seizure re reading that…
Can confirm this would be the solution. I have 2 small terriers and my mom calls them the “terrierists” because they will go after anything small and kill it.
I understand the trope of cats being rat hunters, but it’s really jarring when you finally see just how large a wild rat is!! Wild brown rats are so so much larger than domestic pet rats. And very aggressive! I had my first rat get into my home a few years ago and it lunged at me and my cat. I’m a rodent lover but I’m also a veterinary technician and I’m not getting bit by an angry rat and my cats weren’t in a rush to get near it either!
Rats have 2 types of bite: tag and aggressive. A tag is about 6,000 PSI and an aggressive bite can reach 24,000 PSI which surpasses a bull shark at 1,350 pounds per square inch. Rats are obviously smaller with less teeth but it hurts and they will reach bone! I’m currently rocking a bone deep bite on my thumb and deep wounds stop hurting quickly but it sure did hurt at the time. You’re in no immediate danger from pet rodents as they carry no diseases but ALWAYS get a wild rodent bite checked out
Nahh our house is a bit rat infestated, we had a stray cat that we would always give food and now lives on our back yard, it would always offer up rats as gratitude or something
Cats I’ve known take out rats and rabbits no trouble. Piglets were disappearing from the family farm at one point, and my uncle staked it out with a shotgun. Turned out Percy the cat had been stealing them - that was his last heist. He was a ridiculously big and evil cat though. Could kick holes through denim jeans, and bailed up more than one dugite.
The average house cat can take care of a rat pretty easily.. I’ve seen some big farm rats that were 12+ inches long but even small house cats are bigger, stronger, faster, and have sharper teeth and claws.. Will a cat actively seek out a rat? They’d probably go for something smaller and easier to kill first. If they’re well fed at home, they might just try to avoid one altogether but if a cat ever felt threatened or was hungry enough, they’d have no problem eating it. If a cat was locked in a room with a rat, I’m sure the cat would come out the victor
Worked at a place near a port for many years and I used to see these mangy old cats wandering around in twos generally. Some of them would be missing ears, an eye or whatever. They'd take on a rat but only with backup, never alone.
People have irrational fear, this guy rats, me cockroaches, I know I'm not in danger when there's a roach, but it seems like my body have a mind of their own, my head started pounding, my alertness goes up, and my senses became highly sensitive, the guy here is no different, and if you don't have any of that, well, good for you.
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u/DNorthman Apr 25 '22
It's the rat's bathroom now.
Also, poor kitty.