Victory for the ape decendents

A number of weeks ago our feline owner bought a live rodent into the house. As we attempted to stop the cat playing with it's food it managed to make it's escape into the bowels of our kitchen seemingly disappearing into the skirting behind our sink. After a fruitless hour of poking with sticks while wearing a head torch we gave up assuming the cat would finish the job next time it ventured out. Unfortunately the rodent proved to be smarter than the average pussy cat and made a life for itself pinching fruit and other scraps it was able to find at night. The carefully baited mouse trap also failed to attract it's attention. In the end we resorted chemical warfare and went for the utilitarian "Rat Kill Station" which presents a one stop bait and poison delivery mechanism in a handy enclosed plastic box. Visions of the rat retiring after a large hearty meal never to wake again were shattered on Sunday afternoon when the noise of it's death throes in the base of our oven summoned our attentions. The thing had grown significantly and we were left with the dilemma of leaving it to finish it's death or handling a rather pissed off but terminal rat out of the house. Next time I think I'll just leave the cat to finish the job and appreciate the relative cleanliness of the circle of life.