Surviving the Domestic Jungle

I just got off the phone with my sister in law and I have to share the horrifically awful story she just told me. A few days ago she was mopping sweeping and feeling pretty good about her domestic skills when out of the corner of her eye she saw something….a rat. She said this rat from head to tail was about 15 inches long. Holy S-h-i-t! She said she started freaking out and crying and having pretty much a panic attack. I personally would have been hysterical. My brother is out of town so it is just her and my niece to deal with this hippopotamus sized rat. I’m not sure of the exact details but the next day, her mom came over and was holding my niece while my sister in law went to grab something out of the fridge and the rat JUMPED OUT OF THE FRIDGE AT HER! The damn thing was in her fridge and made a leap for her and she said she doesn’t even remember how she got on her kitchen counter. I thought I would have been hysterical at the first situation, this one I would have just died. She went and bought traps and thankfully has killed the small elephant rat but now she has to empty her fridge and try and figure out how it came in and if there are more. They live in the central, expensive part of the city where there have been issues because of the drought. No food and no water is bringing furry little friends out of the forests and into our homes and I am actually glad my neighbor has 6 outdoor cats. They can poop in my yard all they want if it will keep away the rats and snakes. Texas can be such a scary place and I am officially never going over to their house ever again.