Need advice about rat behavior...wild rat in the home, PLEASE

[Shawnpatrik1]

I live downtown Sacramento a few blocks from the river. I have recently had to completely rebuild my car as the rats infiltrated my car and just destroyed it. In my home I live on the 3rd floor of an 8 years old building, and the rats on the streets are just insane! recently I have noticed my fur baby, Wyntour, a very loving and kind solid white cat, has been acting very strange! She is very skiddish when it comes to eating at her bowl, has one eye on the food and the other eye almost scanning around her, and its almost like she'll hear something and immediately leave her food, run over and take shelter in her window bed, or a distant corner from her food. Her litter box is cleaned on the daily sometimes every other day (because there isn't anything in it) but I have been finding chunks of her stool in very odd places in my home. I am a very clean person, but I found a very large (not from a cat) piece of poop on my recliner the other day, and it was just the day before when I cleaned that piece of furniture with my carpet cleaning machine. I have been finding entire white whiskers and BIG tufts of Wytours hair around the house, and today I found what appears to be a bloody "claw" print in on my bathroom floor and a very large solid black claw/nail on the bathroom floor not far from the bloody print. This claw is LARGE and looks to be pretty whole, minus the foot it came off? But I have never seen a mouse or rat ever...and the poops I have found 1 here and there but nothing consistent or multiple? PLEASE advise if you have anything at all to offer me here, Im desperate to know and understand what I am dealing with here. Thank you in advance.

 

[Pepper_rat]

That doesn’t sound like a rat. Their poops are usually tiny and in a cylindrical shape. I also know that their claws are pretty small and clear not black. At least for domestic rats. I’m not sure about wild rats as I’ve never seen one. A quick google search might be able to show you what wild rats look like in your area and how big they get but I don’t think they can get very big. I think that’s something else. Also cats usually aren’t that afraid off rats as they’re predators so that makes me think you have another predator like another cat breaking in or maybe another wild critter. I hope that helps!

 

[Kye]

Photos of claw and poop will help us identify the animal but it's definitely not a rat. I'm thinking maybe raccoon or an opossum but photos/videos will 100% help

 

[ben]

My thoughts too, a racoon.

 

[Dena]

I also think raccoon. Or possibly some sort of ferret-like creature, like a Martin or something? I'm not sure if they are a species that may be in your area or not. I wouldn't think opossum, since they are usually really docile and shy. But you never know. I'd start with a Google search of each, for the poop, then look at the claws and see if that looks familiar.

 

[Dena]

To add, you might also talk to your neighbors, specifically downstairs ones, or ones in adjoining buildings, and describe what you found, and see if they've had similar issues....or possibly even know what it could be.