Me too. wrote:

Hi, just the other day, I noticed there is a rat around our deck out back.
It seems to be eating the bird food that falls to the ground, (2 bird
feeders mounted on deck.) This is a somewhat rural area and has a
population of squirrels, chipmunks, bear, groundhogs, deer, rabbits etc.
So, seeing this unfamiliar site has thrown me. We have 3 large house cats
with full sets of claws, so I'm not too worried about the rat coming in and
surviving, or should I be? Anyway, this is 1st time I've seen a rat around
here and I'm not sure if I need to be concerned?

What to do?

Rat control is easy. Stop feeding them, and they'll disappear.