Cats, Rats and Mice
I've seen the occasional argument that cats shouldn't be contained because they keep the rodent populations under control. Unfortunately there is no evidence that our domestic cats are doing anything significant to keep rodents under control, and I think that the people arguing this case are often the same people who claim they don't have rats or mice on their property, or just want to justify not keeping cats safe. Rats and mice species in New Zealand Rats and mice are a huge problem in New Zealand; they wreck havoc on our bird life and make themselves unwanted guests in our homes. We have 3 rat species and one mouse species - all imported. The main rats are the brown rat, or Norway Rat, and the Black or Ship rat. The Brown is the biggest and an adult makes a fearsome opponent that few domestic cats will take on. The ship rat is much more manageable, and looks more like a very large mouse. Noomi will take on all comers. Top is an adult ship (black) rat, and below