What a lovely name, Charmion, 'Emmeline Pankhurst'. Now my Siamese cats probably prevented any rodents colonising the house. But they were horribly cruel to any they caught out in the fields. They were seen by several neighbours carrying rats like two men with a stretcher, one at each end, while the third ( a very small cat) obligingly opened the catflap for them and pulled while they pushed it through. In Ivory Coast (my husband's origin) rats are a dreadful scourge. There's no removal of rubbish so it lies out in the street, infested by rats, mice and flies, just like medieval times in UK. They get into the houses (shacks) and the cess-cabins. You could get your bum bitten any time. I wouldn't be surprised if there was an outbreak of The Plague!