Does it go "SQUEAK" or just "squeak" and was it carrying a little scythe?

Dress it like a hamster and call it Boo.

Check your local laws most of Canada has anti-rat legislation in place and you're required to have it killed -.- as a rat owner the laws about them annoy me no end

They probably don't have it in Quebec then :P.

You're too harsh.

Rats don't have the intellect, size, numbers or drive to even remotely cause the damage we are causing.

Bugs have a far better shot at it than rats.

A few interesting mutations on eusocial insects like bees or ants could cause all sorts of havoc for their environment.

If you had a planet destroyer contest which would consist of creating a species from existing non-primate species that will destroy all life on the planet with as few genetic modifications as possible, I'd put dibs on bees and ants.

Into the pot.

Technically speaking neither ants nor bees are bugs.

Also, I would bet on some sort of micro-organism.

Rat? What rat?

Well, aren't they? Bug is a bit generic (they are insects more specifically), but I wanted to be somewhat more encompassing.

And yeah, bacteria are very deadly, though they tend to specifically target a single specie or a group so while they could definitely drive a specie to extinction, they'd be hard pressed to bring down the entire planet.

Conversely, an angry swarm of ants could take pretty much any specie, at least those that aren't aquatic.

I used to love debates like that as a kid :P.

take it to a re-homing center?

Something being missed: If you caught a mouse in your home, probably there's a spot in your walls where more can come in, along with other slender pests. Before you do anything, see if you can figure out how it came in and block it off, note it for for future repair work. After that, take the mouse to a sizable distance from any residential area, preferably a field that isn't being used for crops, which should hopefully encourage it from returning, if you simply intend not to kill it. If you can determine that the mouse traveled through the walls before coming out in one of the rooms, you may also need to check for any damage to your wiring.

Interesting how Catapult seems to be meant for launching cats after all.
Also I presume there should be a version of Ratapult with increased firing rate called Ratatatapult.

If it were me and I didn't want to cause mischief or problems for someone else, I would take it to a nearby park or riverbank. Some place that they would most likely be found anyway so you aren't just giving your burden to someone else.

We had a rat problem last year, the rats here are massive. We used these traps that look a bit like a pizza, but the topping is this super sticky glue stuff. I came downstairs one morning to find like 6 massive rats glued to the thing trying to get out. I spent like 3 hours deciding what to do. after listening to the squeaking I figured I had to put them out of their misery and kill them asap.

I put the pizza trap thing into a bag, and went at it with a hammer. It was horrific. They died an painful, terrifying death due to my pathetic aiming with the hammer. I could hear their bones crushing and some blood spurted out of the bag onto my hands. I still haven't really gotten over it, and now when I hear rats I just ignore them.....

Sorry, thats more of a "what not to do" than actual advice, but feels good to get it off my chest.

I had a mouse a few days ago and my friend's advice was to catch it one of those aforementioned traps and then pour boiling water on it. Worked for him apparently.
Fortunately it left so I didn't have to resort to such drastic measures, but the thought did make me shudder.