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  • ZumbadorZumbador@mefi.social
    Oct 13, 2026, 10:10 AM

    The score so far today:
    Me 0
    Rats 3

    Woke up this morning to some chaos in the lounge. A pot plant had fallen down from a shelf. Hmm. Could it be the rats? Nope, all the cage doors are shut.
    The fact that I didn't see them meant nothing, they often bury down deep in their beds.

    Had breakfast. Felt a gentle touch on my foot. Then I knew.

    All three of them got out of the cage in the night, and they're *at large*. I think what happened is that I dangled a cloth on the side of the cage for enrichment, they enjoy pulling it through the bars. They pulled it through one of the doors in such a way that it slid temporarily open.

    Found some evidence of their partying in one of the drawers, they'd eviscerated a tube of malt paste (there's a reason why beaphar malt paste is also called Rat Crack).
    I've switched off the electricity in that part of the house, removed everything edible, and am waiting for them to move back into their cage.
    We'll see.

    #rats #RatFosterDiary

    A tube of beaphar malt paste that's been ripped open and licked out, surrounded by scraps of tube. It's in the bottom of a wooden drawer. There are traces of malt paste still in the tube. The lick and nibble marks are clearly visible.
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Replies

  • ZumbadorZumbador@mefi.social
    Oct 13, 2026, 1:21 PM

    Outlaw Rat Update:
    They are still at large.
    One is sleeping on top of the cage, one underneath it, and one is roaming around behind it. Sleeping off their malt paste feast I suppose.
    I've removed all the electrical cords they could have access to (it's going to be Such Fun setting up my media center and aquariums again!)

    OK I just heard something and went to look, and two of them had scaled the burglar bars on a window and were perched on a pot plant that's up on a shelf near the ceiling. They instantly rappelled back down again into hiding the moment they heard me and are hiding again.

    So the score is still: Me 0, Rats 3

    #rats #RatFosterDiary

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  • ZumbadorZumbador@mefi.social
    Oct 13, 2026, 4:37 PM

    What happened is that I set out a small cage thinking maybe they'll prefer that to their usual cage. After a few hours I gave up and moved it back into my workroom. Then about half an hour later I was sitting at my desk working, and I heard: "Rustle. Rustle" behind me. There was a rat in that cage! Whipped round and closed the door.

    #rats #RatFosterDiary

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  • ZumbadorZumbador@mefi.social
    Oct 14, 2026, 7:58 AM

    Rat Fugitive Update:
    One more rat in the cage. This happened at about 10pm last night. I finally gave up on the last one (Jeera) joining her friends at about 2am in the morning.
    At one point Dhania was inside the cage eating and Jeera was on top of the cage reaching her little hands through the bars to the food. So hungry! So lonely! There was a moment when the two of them were up against one another, then Jeera was off and nibbling at something. It looked as if Dhania, in the cage, had given Jeera something to eat. But Jeera might also just have managed to grab something.

    My husband left the door to the bathroom open and it looks as if Jeera might have moved into her favorite place: inside the toilet pedestal. Those of you who saw previous #RatFosterDiary updates will know!
    There are some newspaper scraps there so it looks as if she did a bit of nesting, transporting bits of paper all the way from the open cage I set up for her into the bathroom.

    #rats #RatFosterDiary

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  • ZumbadorZumbador@mefi.social
    Oct 14, 2026, 11:28 AM

    No changes to the Rat Fugitive situation yet other than I'm sure now that Jeera is in the toilet pedestal. This means I can put the rest of the house back together. I had to remove a lot of electric cords that she might have nibbled, and cleared entire bookshelves to give her less destructive places to hide in. I must admit that this has meant a much needed cleanup happened. There were THINGS behind and under my sofa that I've been ignoring for a while now.

    The small cage is set up in the bathroom complete with food and soft, private beds ready for whenever ma'am rat decides to move back.

    I told my husband "I bet you didn't know what you were in for when you married me" and he laughed and said "Of course I knew. There were animals from the very beginning"

    Which is true. The first time we went for a walk together, long before we were in a relationship he commented on how I greeted every cat I saw.

    #rats #RatFosterDiary

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  • ZumbadorZumbador@mefi.social
    Oct 14, 2026, 6:30 PM

    First time I'm 100% sure Jeera is hiding in the toilet pedestal. I can hear her moving around. I'm going to stay here till she's safe in the cage.

    She must be so hungry!

    #rats #RatFosterDiary

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  • ZumbadorZumbador@mefi.social
    Oct 15, 2026, 9:32 AM

    I had to abandon my post late last night as Jeera didn't emerge from her hiding place. She was wandering around the bathroom this morning but never quite went into the cage.
    (It's impossible to catch her she's far too fast and I also don't want to stress her)
    I still have hope!

    #rats #RatFosterDiary

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  • ZumbadorZumbador@mefi.social
    Oct 16, 2026, 8:15 AM

    The fugitive is back behind bars, reunited with her sisters who were very happy to see her. Lots of mutual grooming going on.

    I finally got Jeera last night just by sitting perfectly still in the dark until she eventually climbed into the cage.

    At several points she came right up to me, almost touching, stretching out her little neck towards me, sniffing and peering intensely. Then she'd go "silly me, nothing to worry about" and continue trying to get bedding out through the bars of the cage.

    She'd been lining the inside of the toilet pedestal with scraps she dragged out through the bars.

    I'm completely exhausted today. But it's nice watching the 3 of them sniffing one another's butt's and wrestling.

    Jeera doesn't seem to be unhappy to be back in the cage, she's exploring every inch of it and hiding all the snacks she's finding.

    #rats #RatFosterDiary

    A brown rat looks out through the bars of a cage. Another rat sits behind her, her tail wrapped around her sister. Both are framed inside a white PVC pipe
    A brown rat looks out through the bars of a cage. Another rat sits behind her, her tail wrapped around her sister. Both are framed inside a white PVC pipe
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  • ZumbadorZumbador@mefi.social
    Oct 16, 2026, 9:15 AM

    Another thing:
    I had a live trap set up the entire time the rats were out. There are lick marks in the yogurt puddle I put inside it. Jeera must have balanced on the trap door and reached inside the trap just enough to get at the bait.

    Clearly I positioned the bait in the wrong place but I doubt it would have made a difference, they were all 3 wise to what the trap is for.

    I'm going to work on making them a dark and "toilet like" place in their cage so the three of them can live out their sewer rat urges in safety. I tried before with a ceramic plant pot but it was too small.

    #rats #RatFosterDiary

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