A rat would be able to kick off and get out of that bucket pretty easily, it should have a funnel to prevent them jumping to freedom.
Under the protection of mammals act 2018 it would be an offense to drown them like that in the UK.
Just telling it how it is; there is a long list of acceptable traps for vermin. I'm only making the point because I can't endorse breaking animal welfare legislation on a public forum."were going to need a deeper bucket" and deeper water to get over that problem.
Would the addition of a mini life saver ring attached to the outside of the bucket overcome the regulations.
If it were in our house causing mischief it would be in the bucket...... No hesitation.
No worse than a lingering death from poison.
Can't say for sure if they picked it up from the cat but our dugs used to be fascinated with the cat playing with a mouse now they're into mousing themselves. They're a pair of Flat Coats so not really built for it but will root out any mice in the fields. Would imagine they would be the same with rats.
My dogs also join in with the cats when they're hunting rats and mice but their real passion is hunting voles, they must taste better. The rabbits and squirrels are also up there when it comes to what interests my pets.If they hunt mice they do it from alone.
But should they really play with the dead mice, they surely picked it up from the cat.
If the cat is older than the dog, it had a function of an aunt or uncle. And they copy the behaviour. It's the same in the other direction and even stronger.
Cats who grew up with dogs really behave a bit like dogs.
My rats started in the end to eat out of only one hand, like I eat my bread. That was absolutely fascinating to me. Even that small guys are quiet similar to us and copy human behaviour. After a while they lie on the back, like we do it on a sofa. No young domesticated or wild rat does it. But old domesticated rats see us, try it out and discover that it is very comfortable and so they copy the behaviour.
In the end the rat lies around at the sofa when I do it, eats his bread with one hand when I do it, sleeps in my sleeping bag when I do it.
Everybody knows this from dogs, but most mammals copy as much as they can.
The more I know different species very well the less I believe in big differences between us and them. Goat and sheep are quiet similar to us too. Even parrots and crows!