Can you give access to the roof to your cats?? This would be the best way. One week, and the rodents will be gone.

Strange, something similar happened to me. A couple of weeks ago I heard noises at the 1. floor, from an animal decidedly larger than a mouse. In my old log house I have the yearly mouse invasion in late fall, always in the "basement", but never, never rats. There's no rats here, as far as I know. My problems come from mice, mink (http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mink) and neighbours (http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabo)

I set up a mouse trap with some lard smudged onto it. The next day it was gone, the trap intact. Two more traps with lard (I think smelly lard like bacon is best for bait. Wouldn't your cats go for the bait as well?) Next day they were licked clean. I have seen insects (http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munkelus) do that in the rather humid basement, but this part of the house is cold and absolutely dry. Can't imagine any active insects there now. Can't really imagine a rat licking it clean without setting it off either, but rats are intelligent and difficult to trap. Went for poison in the form of wax. Both the wax and the noises are gone. I wouldn't think your cats would eat the poisoned wax (if you have those). The cats would never eat the poisoned grains. Cats only eat high protein food. You could of course use a bait station to be on the safe side.

Spooky?

Kitty, maybe I will see if i can open up a space for my cat to get in. He has pretty much taken over the job of my older cat. I saw him climbing up the grape vine and then jump up to the small, innaccessible-to-him hole in the roof that I think birds used to crawl into. He looked like a flying squirrel.

There's always mice and rats around as there is feed and stuff from other people's properties and just general country stuff for them to munch on. It's the country, so I guess there's always that issue.

Rats really are smart. They have managed to get to the peanut butter on the trap without getting trapped. I could try the wax idea. I know they eat wax because this winter i was organizing my candle holders and had some tea lights with them in wicker baskets. The rats / mice had eaten them, I could see the gnaw marks left on some of the candles that survived the pillaging. I don't think the cats will eat that, either. I hate to use poison, but I think I hate the rats even more.

What's a bait station? I worry that the poisoned critters will come out of the roof and then my cat will try to eat them, and be poisoned too. He will eat the whole thing, except the stomach, which he leaves for presents for me next to the woodstove, or beside my bed (blechhh), bless his soul. I always praise him for that, though.

What kind of poison would you recommend, by the way?

Thanks for the advice Kitty and OldNorseman! We'll see how it goes.

In Norway the only poison you can buy is Vitamin K-blocker. They come in the form of wax or grains. It gives the animal internal bleedings. I gets thirsty and leaves (if you're lucky) your house to drink. And die away from you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodenticide

Bait station:
http://www.google.no/search?tbm=isch&hl ... 51l1.3l4l0

You can either buy one or make one, big enough for rats, but not for cats.

i use peanut butter, but i lodge a peanut, cheerio, or other hard food item in the PB. so far i haven't had any of the hard items taken w/o killing the mouse/rat that went for the brass ring. my theory on this is they can lick off the peanut butter by being gentle, but they tug on the nut and SNAP.

Guess what?

What?

The rats are gone!

i tried a combination of your suggestions. They're gone!