Hundreds of large feral rats found in N.M. home - size of 4/5 month old kitten!

[Liberal_in_LA]

Hundreds of large feral rats found in N.M. home

Thursday, May 20, 2010

City animal control officers have started removing hundreds of large, feral rats from inside a Las Cruces rental home. Animal shelter director Beth Vesco-Mock said the rats — some sickly and displaying evidence of fighting — are about the size of a four- to five-month-old kitten.

Animal control officers had taken two skinny dogs and about 170 rats to the shelter by mid-Thursday, and officers estimated there were at least that many rats still hiding in the home.

Officers also found the fur and skeletal remains of two dogs that were presumed to have been eaten by the rats.

Authorities have charged a 55-year-old woman with three misdemeanors for excessive waste, improper care and maintenance of animals and dead animal removal. Each of the charges carry a maximum fine of $500 or 90 days in jail.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/05/20/national/a134032D29.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0oWRUlmZx


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/05/20/national/a134032D29.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0oWRDAI9g

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Wow

[Horse with no Name]

2. Very sad.

I think I saw this house on "The Hoarders".

[RandomThoughts]

3. I think of rats with a different meaning then many other people.

And because of that different thought and meaning think and feel with great respect, and I think sometimes the name is used to repeat some of the reasons not to hate or feel superior. Specifically in the cases when they never were rats and also to some extent because I do not believe in livestock or animal doctrine.


Although the way I think of it is not like most peoples thoughts.

[Codeine]

10. Try as I might,

I cannot parse a single bit of what you just wrote. :shrug:

[BrklynLiberal]

4. After 90 days in jail..then what???

[pitohui]

17. animal collectors are mentally ill so...

in our society we throw the mentally ill out on the street, i imagine i'll meet her one day panhandling in vegas

do you really think anyone is going to help this woman? are we even sure that it's known how to treat this disorder?

i know people who collect animals and i don't report them because, as you say...then what? i don't believe they will be helped, their lives won't be improved, we don't know enough about what causes this and i really think our society doesn't care

it's faux outrage...

[donco6]

5. "Feral" as opposed to pets?

??

[terrapinwelcher]

6. That's What I Was Thinking Too

[msanthrope]

7. Why are they taking the rats to a shelter?

Kill 'em.

[haele]

12. Pet rats, even feral, are far different than roof rats or wild rats -

This case would be similar to a horder with a hundred cats in their house. You take the ones that can be rehabbed to a shelter. The local pet rat society probably will help with the care, depending on the breed of rats recovered.

If it makes you feel any better, as in the case of the possibly feral cats, the survivors that won't get adopted out during the first month of availability will probably be adopted by the local university for biology labs within the next two/three months. :(

Haele

[kas125]

15. Another article says they're being offered as pets or food

for reptiles. Here's the article http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_15126259 , which also has a picture of some of the rats.

[Canuckistanian]

8. You know you've hit bottom...

When you live in a rental house filled with rats and animal corpses.

Somehow, I don't think she'll have the money for the $500 fine.

[malaise]

16. She clearly has other issues

probably mental health issues. How sad.

[Canuckistanian]

19. Oh, yes. I agree.

I had a great aunt once who was a cat lady. The city condemned her house after she died.

[tomm2thumbs]

9. wonder what the person who owns the house thinks

[Tejas]

11. "size of 4/5 month old kitten" - pics or B.S.

Sensationalism at best.

[happyslug]

13. I suspect Black (roof) Rats instead of Brown (Sewer or Norwegian) Rats

Blacks rats are generally smaller then Brown rats, but unlike Brown rats, Black rats can be much larger then the average for their spices. Black rats are known to grow to be 2-4 times the size of Brown (Sewer) rats (Through most Black Rats are smaller then Brown rats). The rats in this story sounds like extra large Black Rats, well known to exist.

Black (Roof) rates get their name for being black and have a tendency to go on roofs. Brown (Sewer) rats get their name name brown their brown fur and their tendency to live in sewers (And the belief of the English in the 1700s that the Brown rats came from Norway).

More on Brown Rats (Average 12 oz):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_rat

Black Rats (average 10 oz):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_rat

Growth chart for cats:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2138&aid=1067

[jsamuel]

14. it is now a felony to do something like this in Arkansas

[pitohui]

18. it's a felony to be mentally ill?

oh why am i even surprised?

for the love of pete, one day our society might get a heart and figure out that no one CHOOSES to be an addict, drunk, crazy cat lady, etc

it's a disease of the brain that we haven't figured out how to catch and treat