Oh, RATS!

So a while back, one night Bo woke up suddenly and ran up our bed and tried to burrow under our blankets. Now this is no easy feat for him these days. First, he's very old now, from the picture you can see he is very fat, and he has a little arthritis. These days you see him getting lifted up to jump in the low van or the truck instead of his old youthful jumping days. So in his attempt to burrow under the blankets, Randy is blocking his attempt and trying to figure out what scared him. Then he hears some scurrying around on the floor. This is where I get a smack to the rump and a "I'm pretty sure your rats are out, or we have a major mice problem!" I look at the clock and it is 2AM, and I decide not to argue the fact they are Ashley's rats and get up to find them. The rats must have valued their lives because they ran right up to me while I was walking around and I just scooped them up and put them back in their cage. Someone must have told them waking me up in the middle of the night is like asking for a death wish. They had knocked the food bowls out and escaped. So I tied on twist ties and went back to bed. Just in case you are still thinking of the dog. That wimp of a dog made it to the bottom of the bed where he slept the rest of the night. What kind of dog is scared of rats? That dog hasn't been in our bed for a few years now, but Randy is too kind-hearted when it comes to the dog.
Later that night, a crying Justin came in our room and through the whimpering told us the rats were on his bed crawling all over him. "You have got to be kidding me!!!!," comes out of my mouth. Again, the stupid rats ran right up to me. They were probably thinking they were getting someone to play with. I gave Justin some comforting words and put him back in bed with hopefully promises that the rats won't be out again. I put the rats back in, more twist ties. The next day we found this perfect size lock and fix them for good.
So yesterday, I was thinking, "Do I want to mop the floor or clean the rats cage?" Neither since I hate to do both. I decided on the rats because the smell was making me want to vomit when I was near them. The poor girls, how do they sleep near them? Usually the cage just gets some new bedding in the bottom, but today I scrubbed the whole cage. I will spare you the details of all the stuff I got to scrub off. While cleaning it, I am thinking, "Those rats have got to be very stinky."
Hmmm.....
Yep, I threw them in the tub. I thought of all the movies with rats in and they are usually swimming in some sewer. I bet rats love the water. Oh, but our rats did not love their bath. They were jumping and jumping trying to get out, while I was pouring cups of water on them, then scrubbed with some nice smelling bath & body works soap, more water. Then I gave them a nice scrub in the towels and left the rest of the drying to themselves. Needless to say, when Ashley got them out after school they were a little fluffy.

My pictures came out back words so they are not included in the story. Enjoy!

Nothing uglier than a wet rat!

Oh, so much fun! I think I will do it again. Those rats smell great now!

The wonderful lock that has given me worry free sleep.

Here is the wimpy dog who runs to hide under the covers when he gets scared. I took this picture because Bo will find anything on the floor and lay on top of it. He is especially lucky if he finds a pillow to rest his tired, weary head.

Please learn from our lesson: Even though I think rats are better pets than hamsters, gerbils, mice or other small creatures, don't get pets for your kids. They are a lot of work and they stink! I do not keep it hidden that I can't wait until the dog and rats die and then we will be pet free for the rest of our lives!