Animal Magic.

Sunday 10:25 a.m.
So I went into the hut yesterday afternoon and the shoe box, which had been sitting on the ledge half full of tatties, was lying on the ground. The tatties were supposed to be chitting on the ledge; waiting to start sprouting. Where had the tatties gone? Had something eaten most of them for there were only three or four on the ground near the box. Hmmm?

I sat down with my back to the ledge and the shelf behind me is just below shoulder height. It's an old kitchen unit. Was feeling a little uneasy somehow. Closed my eyes. A wee while later, I thought I'd heard something and got up to have a look, feeling a bit stupid since there was probably nothing going on. It's hard to see all the stuff on the shelf since I'd just shoved things in there. I pulled a piece of cloth and a huge rat came jumping out. It looked as big as a ... a fung big one anyway. It jumped down onto where I'd been sitting and disappeared pronto round the back and, assumedly, out of a hole round there and under the hut. The only way it had of escaping while I was sitting there was by jumping over my shoulder. Heart attack stuff that!

I pried away some stuff from the shelf and found all the missing tatties. The rat had knocked the box onto the floor and then picked up the tatties and put then into the back of the shelf space. This is about nine inches off the ground. How did it do that?

I tried to convince Poisonous yesterday that his cat needed a holiday in my hut, but he was having none of it. What should I do? I need to dissuade the rats somehow.