Disposing of the dead rat on my doorstep is, of course, quite gross.  But trust me, nothing is more dreadful than lying in bed at nights listening to rats scampering about in the ceiling, all night long!  As happened when we lived in Sydney inner city (Camperdown).  Cockroaches we were prepared for, and aircraft noise, and fleas.  But rats!!  And they seemed indestructible.  We tried poison, blocking up the entrances with steel wool, talon baits, the exterminator.  And I had to ask the next-door neighbour to remove their pile of mulch from the corner nearest our house, which is where the exterminator said they were breeding.  She was deeply offended and didn't speak to me again.

No rats in the ceiling here, I'm pleased to say.  Thank you, cat.