In any event, Ms. Darby said that Katie’s death is far quicker than poisoning. The majority of commercial rat baits include either neurotoxins,.
Which induce convulsions and impair an animal’s ability to control its limbs, or anticoagulants, which result in uncontrollable internal bleeding.
Days may pass before either is killed. (The city has just begun blasting burrows with carbon monoxide in parks, which kills rather fast and painlessly, although poisoning is still the most popular way on the streets.)
Since Katie never eats her prey, Ms. Darby is not concerned about her being poisoned herself. Katie gets vaccinated twice a year against leptospirosis, a potentially deadly illness that is carried by rats.
Although Ms. Darby has learnt to heal minor wounds, a rat may sometimes bite Katie’s face during its fatal fight.
