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The other day I took a beautiful big, female packrat down to the feedlot at the foot of our road. the feedlot is 6 kilometers from the house. Her coat was very thick and light coloured, perhaps like a chincilla's, and she must have been female as there was no smell. The males give off an obnoxious odour. I had been setting the live trap lately because we could hear rustlings coming from above the ceiling for some time. Obviously, she had been gathering leaves, etc. for winter.

Packrats (bushrats) can be a horrible nuisance. They can almost destroy your home if they get in while you are away. Urine and feces will be everywhere. Books, clothingand furniture all gets chewed. The smell is horrendous. This happened to me when I was, for a time, working in Abbotsford.

At the same time, these little animals can be fascinating. I was sitting by the fire one afternoon long ago when I lived in the nearby cabin and a very sleepy looking packrat trundled over to small table near my washtub/sink, climbed up the table leg and sat there drinking for quite some time from my half filled wash basin. This packrat had toppled a jar of peanut oil during the night and obviously was needing some hydration. The dog continued to sleep by my feet and the whole incident must have lasted 5 or 6 minutes.