....or if not, what other creature might be responsible for the
disembowelled rat next to my compost heap? Actually, it was only
slightly disembowelled so maybe my welcome predator changed its mind on
tasting it...... TIA.

Stan The Man wrote:

...or if not, what other creature might be responsible for the
disembowelled rat next to my compost heap? Actually, it was only
slightly disembowelled so maybe my welcome predator changed its mind on
tasting it...... TIA.

They certainly do if they can get them.

More likely to be a cat, IMO.

--
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World
War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."
-- Albert Einstein

Sounds like a cat - they play with prey, but don't tend to eat it.

Zoe

In article , bigboard
wrote:

Stan The Man wrote:

...or if not, what other creature might be responsible for the
disembowelled rat next to my compost heap? Actually, it was only
slightly disembowelled so maybe my welcome predator changed its mind on
tasting it...... TIA.

They certainly do if they can get them.

More likely to be a cat, IMO.
Cat would be prime suspect but there are no domestic cats within a mile
and I have never seen a wild one here.

Stan The Man wrote:

In article , bigboard
wrote:

Stan The Man wrote:

...or if not, what other creature might be responsible for the
disembowelled rat next to my compost heap? Actually, it was only
slightly disembowelled so maybe my welcome predator changed its mind on
tasting it...... TIA.

They certainly do if they can get them.

More likely to be a cat, IMO.
Cat would be prime suspect but there are no domestic cats within a mile
and I have never seen a wild one here.

In an area with such a low population density of cats, I would still not be
surprised if it was a cat. If they don't have to cross other cat's
territories, they will roam a long way. Some cats will, anyway. We had one
that roamed at least that far.

--
In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians
called it "Christmas" and went to church; the Jews called it "Hanukka"
and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People
passing each other on the street would say "Merry Christmas!" or "Happy
Hanukka!" or (to the atheists) "Look out for the wall!"
-- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide"

"Stan The Man" wrote in message
...
...or if not, what other creature might be responsible for the
disembowelled rat next to my compost heap?

A ninja rabbit?

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

Stan The Man writes:

...or if not, what other creature might be responsible for the
disembowelled rat next to my compost heap? Actually, it was only
slightly disembowelled so maybe my welcome predator changed its mind on
tasting it...... TIA.

Are you sure it's been disembowelled as opposed to its stomach
bursting due to the gas build-up that happens as the body decays?

Alan

--
Alan Williams, Room IT301, School of Computer Science,
University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, U.K.
Tel: +44 161 275 6270 Fax: +44 161 275 6280

"Stan The Man" wrote ...
...or if not, what other creature might be responsible for the
disembowelled rat next to my compost heap? Actually, it was only
slightly disembowelled so maybe my welcome predator changed its mind on
tasting it...... TIA.

Cat most likely. We get rats in all states of dismemberment on our allotment
and I am certain it is at least one of the cats in the Swan Sanctuary next
door, they have about 27 cats. A fox would tend to eat his kill but these
cats are well fed and leave the carcase for the crows.

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

"Stan The Man" wrote in message
...
...or if not, what other creature might be responsible for the
disembowelled rat next to my compost heap? Actually, it was only
slightly disembowelled so maybe my welcome predator changed its mind on
tasting it...... TIA.
Possibly Jackdaws, Magpies or other corvids, I have seen them do it.

I'd guess cat as well. Foxes don't tend to bother with live food when there's lots of tasty rubbish around IME...

"Stan The Man" wrote in message
...
...or if not, what other creature might be responsible for the
disembowelled rat next to my compost heap? Actually, it was only
slightly disembowelled so maybe my welcome predator changed its mind on
tasting it...... TIA.

There's no end of predators/scavengers which will attempt to make a meal of
a dead or vulnerable rat, and which will slither, scamper or fly off when
disturbed. That would include a fox, of course.

Janet Baraclough wrote:

The message
from bigboard contains these words:

Stan The Man wrote:

...or if not, what other creature might be responsible for the
disembowelled rat next to my compost heap? Actually, it was only
slightly disembowelled so maybe my welcome predator changed its mind on
tasting it...... TIA.

They certainly do if they can get them.

More likely to be a cat, IMO.

Cats tend to eat everything except the bowels, or at least, the liver
etc. It amazes me how they manage to excise rodent organs absolutely
clean and completely unbroken. Dogs just eat the lot.

Possibly, another rat?


You could be right. Rats certainly cannibalise each other.

Janet

--
"In Christianity neither morality nor religion come into contact with
reality at any point."
-- Friedrich Nietzsche

"ZoeM" wrote in message
...

Stan The Man Wrote:
....or if not, what other creature might be responsible for the
disembowelled rat next to my compost heap? Actually, it was only
slightly disembowelled so maybe my welcome predator changed its mind
on
tasting it...... TIA.


Sounds like a cat - they play with prey, but don't tend to eat it.

I take it you don't have a cat?
I have 12 and they eat everything they catch except shrews.

"undergroundbob" wrote in message
...

I'd guess cat as well. Foxes don't tend to bother with live food when
there's lots of tasty rubbish around IME...

Foxes love dead squirrels, I discovered this by accident, when I was
catching
a couple a day, I used to put them into plastic bags into the dustbin, after
a little while I thought it was a waste of plastic bags so i started to try
to collect more squirrels in each bag, one day I went to the bottom of the
garden and couldn't find one of the bags which puzzled me until I found it
some distance away, it had been carefully opened and the contents were
missing, I was a little bit concernded at first that I hadn;t properly
killed the sqirels and they had recovered and got away, it then became
fairly obvious that it was the foxes who were responsible, so I now just
throw the dead squirrels onto the ground, the next day they are gone.

--
alan

reply to alan(dot)holmes27(at)virgin(dot)net

"pammyT" wrote in message
...

"ZoeM" wrote in message
...

Stan The Man Wrote:
....or if not, what other creature might be responsible for the
disembowelled rat next to my compost heap? Actually, it was only
slightly disembowelled so maybe my welcome predator changed its mind
on
tasting it...... TIA.


Sounds like a cat - they play with prey, but don't tend to eat it.

I take it you don't have a cat?
I have 12 and they eat everything they catch except shrews.

Our cats would usually bring the things into the house still alive,
and then play with them, sometimes the blessed things got away then
we would have to find them!

If the cats ate any of their catch they usually left the heads!