Rats or Cats?

One of the first things we noticed upon moving here was the wide aluminum bands around the trunks of the trees, particularly the palm trees. I remember having a conversation with one of our neighbors about these strange bands, and he told me the purpose was to keep the rats out of the trees. I thought he was totally pulling my leg. He wasn't.


Seems there are some pesky little critters in the area that are drawn to the nuts in the top of the palm trees. I caught sight of one of these tree rats one night, but it was dark and I didn't get a good view.


This could be one of the gang right here, up to no good! Not only do these varmints enjoy the nuts in the palm trees, but word has it they also crave the rubber hoses and whatnot under the hoods of parked vehicles, especially ones that have been sitting for a while. Our neighbor went on vacation and when he returned, his truck wasn't operable because of this nasty little rodent's handiwork.

What can one do about these tree-lovin', rubber hose-eatin' rodents? Well, I have one word which seems to be the best suggestion... CATS! Now, I like cats well enough, but I'm really more of a dog lover. We haven't had the same problem with the tree rats that other folks have encountered, therefore I do not feel the urge to run out and adopt a cat anytime soon. Besides, there are plenty of them roaming around the base as it is.


This is where the cats around our house like to perch. Yep... right on top of my car, the one we just bought a couple of months ago! We find paw prints all over the hood of my car at least once or twice a week. I'm not particularly thrilled, but I have to wonder if the reason we don't have a rat problem is due to the fact that cats hang around here. Which would I rather have... rats or cats? Hmmm...