This one may have been eaten by other rats as they are not picky. A while back we found a dried out frog under our kitchen cupboards. No idea how it got there.
I'm looking into rat-proof chicken feeders. Current one is hung up, but the buggers jump onto it and even get into it. I've not seen so many around this week, but there may be other food sources now. In the winter our chicken food must be very tempting and they burrow into the run.
There's loads of cats around here, but they are crap at ratting.
Cats are only good at hunting birds and injuring them. They suck at the rest of it. Too pampered!
I found a toad and a newt in my garden the other day when I was digging stuff up. It made me quite happy. I would have been less happy to have discovered a rat but I know they are out there, few places wont have them. I can imagine them thinking it is Christmas time with the chicken feed!