Oddly enough there was an article in our local paper here in S. Ontario just this week about rat damage in local barns.
If people encouraged the presence of cats instead of trying to rid their communities of them the rat problems would have been kept under control.
There are several roaming wild animals as well as stray cats that prey on rats but people drive them off, kill them and otherwise try to eliminate them.
So deal with the rat problem. You deserve it!
Education about nature and the importance of wild creatures to society would benefit us all.