Rat Compassion

Now I know I am really weird!!

I rescued a rat this morning.   Who does that?  What sort of person am I?

It happened that I was in a hotel in Mumbai close to Bandra Station. When you see the photos of the area around that station you will understand how easy it would be to have a rat visit your hotel bathroom during the night.  (I do have to tell you though my hotel was not in the street below.. and was quite nice!)

I went to take my shower.. and there shaking and shivering in the bathroom bucket, nose just out of the two inches of water at the bottom was a small rat.  My first reaction was  – “eeewwwhhh a rat”.. but then I realised that is was alive and SO scared.

What to do.. at first I thought I would pour it out of the louvred window, but it clung bravely to the bottom of the bucket as I clumsily tipped it against the window.

Ok next strategy.  Pour most of the water into the toilet bowl without tipping the rat in as well.  Carefully… ahh that worked.  Now there is the big plastic toilet mug – perhaps I can manoeuvre the rat into that?  Yes! Managed it.  Now to the window and finally it scrambled out discovering its freedom through the dirty glass louvres.  It started its way up the wall outside but suddenly it was spotted by the crows!   Horror – about to be eaten after just being rescued.  Luckily for it there were bars surrounding the window – the crows could not reach their big vicious beaks inside and the rat raced to safety in the circular hole which should have contained the bathroom exhaust fan.

Still wet and shaking uncontrollably it huddled there.  Now my rat compassion was fully awake.  How to help it further?  Perhaps some food.  I poked a piece of biscuit into its safe space only to scare it further into a huddled mess.  Ok I had done my best .. I went to breakfast.  When I returned there it still was – but shaking less and beginning to dry out.

With my movement in the bathroom it galvanised itself back into action and raced away up the wall outside.

Oh I scratched my head.. what sort of a person rescues rats?