lilitu23

So this is how it all turned out.

Around 9:00 pm I'm in bed with the lights out talking on the phone with a friend, venting my woes and anxieties, and I hear the rat scrambling around inside the wall heater. I continue the conversation, then in about ten minutes I hear a big commotion in the kitchen. The rat got stuck on the glue trap under the stove, I shine the flashlight in there and he's stuck all four feet on the trap, he sees the light, starts screeching. No way I'm putting my hand near that thing, so I poke a long wooden piece of molding under the stove to attempt to pull the trap out. Rat starts squirming and screeching loudly. Can't pull him out from under the stove without fear of maybe pulling him off the trap, so I had to maneuver the stove out so I could tip it back and pull the trap out, rat and all. I got my old cat carrier out to try to stuff the whole mess into once I get it out from under the stove. Once the rat is out in the harsh kitchen light he's screeching maniacally, in terror, unable to run 'cause he's all stuck to this big glue trap. Horrible sight, and I'm really squeamish anyways. And this is a pretty big-ass rat: six or seven inches from nose to butt. He clamps his jaws down on the stick (I'm glad that's not my hand he's biting into), and I frantically shove the whole mess in the cat carrier and take it outside. I grab a red brick from the backyard and tote the carrier out into the street, by the curb on the corner. My plan is to drop the trap and the rat on the street, and drop the brick on his head to put him out of his misery. But I'm feeling panicked, like the rat, and dreading having to smash it with a brick. I put it all on top of a storm drain, and then what happens: the rat squirms down through the opening in the storm drain, still stuck to the trap. And I'm unable to pull it all back out, so I end up shoving it all down the storm drain. Last time I look down the drain with a flashlight, the rat is underneath the overturned trap at the bottom of the drain in leaves and rubbish, squirming and screeching, where it will be left dying for the next twelve hours or god knows how long. A long, slow, painful, traumatic death. I really didn't want it to end this way. But I am glad to have that rat out of my home. At least until the next one comes along.

I remember the first time I saw one of those glue traps, I was dumpster diving and I found a mouse stuck to one and it was so weak, and dying, probably of dehydration and weakness from struggle. I took the thing out and smashed the mouse under a big rock, to put the poor thing out of its misery. I said to myself, "How could anyone ever use these glue traps, they are so inhumane, people must be cruel and heartless and mean and hateful". When I was volunteering with the cats at the SPCA, there was a poor cat that had got caught on a glue trap, they had to shave off the fur on one side, the poor cat was so traumatized and afraid. Well, now I know what kind of people would use a glue trap to get rid of rodents. Hypocrites who call themselves 'animal lovers'... like me.

Let the hate comments fly...