Originally posted by luckies4me
I am sure most cats can kill a rat, but don't underestimate them. They have a hard bite, and chissel teeth, that can do much more damage than a cats nail. Trust me, I've seen it several times. Compare rats attacked by cats, and rats attacked by other rats and you would see a BIG difference!


Yep, I know. I have nice scars from rattie teeth. It's not Sam's nails I am worried about, it's his extremely sharp teeth that puncture my skin when we are PLAYING let alone attacking prey.


As far as them being outside, usually rats do not act that agressive when loose. They most likely would have still came back. It's extremely hard for a domestic rat to live in the wild, and even though their personality may have changed, they do not forget where their food source comes from, and they would have been looking for a way into the house eventually, knowing that they would have starved if they had stayed out longer.
We live right across the street from a swamp. The coyotes and hawks would get them before they'd get hungry. That's why I was so worried about them. We have a hawk in our yard everyday!

My rats free roam my house all the time, and have never had problems. Usually you just call and them come to me. One of the great things about owning a rat, is that they actually come when called, sometimes better than dogs!
I do not let mine roam the whole house. Way too dangerous. We have too much junk for them to chew on, most of it all antiques, and lots of heavy stuff that could fall on them. I rarely let them out of my site when they are loose. They only roam my room, kitchen, and bathroom. My rats never come when they are called, they are too busy exploring. Phoebe and Fred answer once in a blue moon.