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Ratcatchers is a quest in which you help various people with rat-related problems, whilst training your cat.

Official description[]

Gertrude knows of some rat catchers in Varrock, pay her a visit and she may tell you of their whereabouts. Perhaps they could show you and your cat a few pointers about rat catching. Enter the subterranean world of the rat catchers and discover more of your cat's true potential.

Walkthrough[]

Start pointQuest map icon Talk to Gertrude west of Varrock.
Member requirementP2P icon Members only
Official difficultyIntermediate Intermediate
Official lengthLong
RequirementsSkill requirements are not boostable unless marked with a [B] for boostable.
Quest Quests:
  • 54 Herblore Herblore (if you want to make your own rat poison)
Items requiredItems from the tool belt are not listed unless they do not work or are not automatically added.
Enemies to defeat
  • None

Starting out[]

Items needed: Cat/kitten. (If kitten, bring some food for it)
Gertrude chathead

Talk with Gertrude in her house west of Varrock, and request her assistance with your cat. She will tell you to speak to Phingspet and Grimesquit; two old women found just inside the Varrock Sewers, accessed via the manhole on the East side of Varrock, on the other side of the palace wall (east of the tree patch). They agree to show you tricks for your "fuzzy", but only if you can catch 8 rats with it.

This stage takes much longer if using a kitten. Be patient, as it can take up to 40 minutes to catch the 8 rats. Hell-rats do count for this.

To catch a rat, simply right click on your cat while it's not in your inventory, select "Interact" and then "Chase-Vermin". If there is no "Interact" option when you right click your cat you will need to un-tick "Hide familiar options" in the Gameplay settings menu. Note the options displayed by interacting using the Summoning medallion will NOT give the option to kill rats. It should be noted that wearing a catspeak amulet during this part causes an extra conversation to commence each time you order them to chase vermin. Thus taking it off will speed this part up considerably.

After the eight rats have been killed, return to the sisters. They will reveal that they can teach you little in the sewers, give you a rat pole, and redirect you to a wealthy business man in Ardougne, named Jimmy Dazzler.

Just the ticket[]

Jimmy Dazzler chathead

Jimmy Dazzler can be found in a house west of the Flying Horse Inn, near the wall between West and East Ardougne (north west of the castle). He appears to be in a predicament, as he needs a house cleared of all rats; however, it has to be done in an unofficial capacity, so as not to tarnish his client's reputation. To do this, you will need to sneak around the house unnoticed, whilst avoiding guards, as they think you're an intruder. As the aforementioned house is located in dense woods, he gives you directions, so you don't get lost. Click the directions to proceed to the garden of the house.

Breaking in[]

Breaking into the Mansion

Evading the guards on the way into the mansion.

You will need to make sure you don't draw the guard's attention; note that guards will not notice your cat. Keeping run on is advised.

There are three checkpoints; upon reaching these points, any guards who see you will send you back to these points, rather than sending you back to the beginning.

From the start:

Ratcatchers hidingspot

Hide by the potted plant.

Catching rats

Catching the rats with your cat

  1. While facing North, wait until the western guards are next to each other at the bridge. From there, run along the south side of the hedges directly to the west. Then run north and hide at the hedges directly west of the mansion.
  2. Run to the North-west corner when the guard is behind the hedges.
  3. Then run to the hedges directly north of the mansion.
  4. From here, run to a nearby trellis and climb up. Be sure to pick up your cat/kitten to prevent separation.
  5. While on the balcony, move as close as possible to a potted plant on the west and wait for the guards to move away.
  6. Go inside the north western bedroom to find the first rat and have your cat kill it.
  7. Find your way into the opposite bedroom across the hall and wait (or wait for one guard to be on the balcony and the second have its back appropriately turned to dash to the next room).
  8. Be patient, and when one guard disappears from sight walking on the balcony and the other has his back turned, enter the big room (south east with a ladder) with two rats and have your cat kill them.
  9. Go down the ladder in that room. You will find yourself in a sleeping quarter with two rats. There's a chance that the 2nd rat is found in the main entrance, west of the sleeping quarter. Directly north there is a kitchen with one more rat. You have a little chat with your cat when you've caught all of the rats so don't leave before that.

If your cat gets stuck in the wrong room, you can use the 'Call' button from the summoning menu (Summoning icon) to get it back into the same room with you.

Once you've caught all 6 rats, return to Jimmy Dazzler. He will praise you for doing his small favour. Your player will ask about training larger cats, and will be redirected to Hooknose Jack.

Hooknosed Jack[]

Items needed: Cat (overgrown cat will work when fighting the King Rat), 1 bucket of milk, 5-10 raw fish for your cat (even if you're using a fully grown cat), catspeak amulet (or cramulet after Do No Evil), 4 cheese, rat poison or the ingredients for it (vial, red spider eggs, and kwuarm), marrentill, unicorn horn dust.
Hooknosed Jack chathead
Ratcatchers rat hole locations

The locations of the Rat Holes

Hooknosed Jack can be found in the fenced-in area South-east of the Varrock East bank. He will tell you about the rat infestation in a warehouse nearby. You offer to help, to which he accepts, but only because his own kitten is trapped in the building. You now need rat poison; this can be obtained by giving him a vial, clean kwuarm & some red spider eggs. Use the rat poison on four pieces of cheese to create poisoned cheese. Proceed to the warehouse located south of the Dancing Donkey Inn, the building directly south of Hooknosed Jack. Go inside and climb to the top. Use your poisoned cheese on the four ratholes (pictured right) to poison them. Once you have placed the poisoned cheese, return to Jack.

Jack will tell you that his cat, Pox, ate some of the poisoned rats. Go to the Varrock apothecary located in the south-west corner of the city (directly south of the Western Varrock bank). He will ask for a cleaned marrentill herb, a unicorn horn dust, and a bucket of milk to make a special cat antipoison. Make sure you click through all the dialogue when he returns it to you, or you will need to make another dose. Then return to Jack to cure Pox.

Hooknosed Jack will then tell you that there is still one big and evil rat left. Return to the top of the warehouse. You'll see the King rat inside a room, but you will quickly find out you cannot reach him.

Cat and rat fight

The cat and rat fight.

Pick up your cat and use it on the hole in wall (southern wall of the King rat's room two squares east of the ladder; lower part of the wall) to challenge the King rat. If your cat and the rat are located on the same square, run a bit north to un-trap it.


Heal your cat by using the raw food on the hole in the wall (not the cat itself). Your cat can die in this fight if you do not do so, and you will have to get a new one from Gertrude.

If you happen to lose your cat by going down the ladder whilst your cat or kitten is fighting the king rat, logging out and logging back in should return it to you.

After the King rat is dead, return to Jack. Once again, your character will inquire about larger cats, to which he will redirect you to a dwarf.

Smokin' Joe[]

Items needed: Cat (Overgrown Cat will work), catspeak amulet, a pot of weeds
Smokin' Joe chathead
Ratsmoke

Smoking out the Rats

Go to Keldagrim. Information on travelling there can be found here. Locate Smokin' Joe in East Keldagrim, east of the mining shop. He will tell you about a nearby rat problem. The only way to get the rats out is to smoke them out, but Smokin' Joe can't do it because he smoked too much smoke.

Offer to help. Use your weeds on your pot to make a pot of weeds, then light it and use the resulting smouldering pot on the rat hole to the right of him. Rats will come out the other side, and quickly go back in (if you have forgotten your pot, you can find one in the upper floor of the nearby bar to the south-west).

Try it again with your cat out (be sure you are wearing the catspeak amulet), and in the second attempt, it will offer to help you, stating you're doing it wrong. Accept and do it again. During a cutscene, your cat will catch the rats. Afterwards, talk to Smokin' Joe again and he will tell you about The Face.

If your cat disappears after the cutscene is over, logging out and logging back in will again return it to you.

The Face and Felkrash[]

Items needed: 300 coins (125 coins with a ring of charos (a))
Items recommended: Waterskins to avoid the desert heat, and a snake charm if you have completed The Feud
The Face chathead

You can find The Face in Port Sarim, roaming directly north from the fishing shop. She will tell you to talk to Felkrash, who is standing nearby. Your character will inquire about teaching your cat, but she states that she will only help if you are able to kill all of the rats in Port Sarim at once, like she (claims she) did. Return to The Face. She will tell you Felkrash's story has more to it than Felkrash lets on, and to proceed to Ali the Snake Charmer, located in Pollnivneach.

Head to Pollnivneach in the desert south-east of Al Kharid. You can take a magic carpet ride directly there from Shantay Pass. Other quick ways to get to there are to use a ring of slaying to teleport to Sumona, use a Pollnivneach Teleport scroll, or break a Pollnivneach tablet after completion of Love Story.

Ali the Snake Charmer chathead

You will find the Ali the Snake Charmer to the South of the bar. Use one coin on his money pot to get his attention. Ask him about charming other animals and he will go on to tell you that he and Felkrash had a falling-out because of Felkrash's killing of animals. Try to persuade him with the wealth option - "What if I offered you some money?". He will offer to give you directions to kill the rats for exactly one more coin than you are carrying. Refuse to give him that much by choosing "Forget about it. I don't care", then select: "Walk away slowly" followed by "Stop". He will reluctantly give you a music scroll and snake charm for 100 coins. You can charm him with the ring of charos to lower his price to 50gp.

Playing the flute

The rats jump off the dock

Ratcatcher pipe music

Music scroll notes to play

Get your snake charm from the bank if you do not already have it with you. Back in Port Sarim, stand beside Felkrash & read the music. Note that there are 8 notes (or positionings on the flute). Each note starting from the left corresponds to 1 page on the flute. You will only play one note per page. Jot down these notes if need be. Now pick up the flute. Go to page 1 and select the matching note from the music. Then do page 2, etc.

Note that sometimes the "<" symbol is used to indicate a higher octave option (usually page 5). Select that icon when appropriate while playing. Also note that there are two flutes that have 2 holes covered, one with the top 2 holes covered, and one with the second and third holes covered. Make sure you select the correct one.

You can go back to any pages you want to ensure you have them all correctly chosen (remember to move up an octave for the 5th note). When you are sure they are all correct (8 pages - 8 notes), click on the word "PLAY". If correct, you will be taken to a cutscene of you playing the flute and the rats jumping off the dock. Talk to Felkrash to complete the quest.

Rewards[]

Ratcatchers reward
Music unlocked

Required for completing[]

Completion of Ratcatchers is required for the following:

Transcript[]

Trivia[]

  • The Ratcatchers quest used to allow the player to access Rat Pits as a reward, however the minigame has since been removed.
  • Upon completing the quest, your Adventurer's Log states: "After training my pet cat to catch rats in various odd places, I gained access to the Rat Pits, where I can challenge other cat owners." This is no longer true as Rat Pits has been removed.
  • During the Smoking Joe section of the quest your cat screams "Exterminate! Exterminate!"; this is a reference to the Daleks, one of the most infamous enemies from the long-running British television series Doctor Who.
  • While conversing with Felkrash, she will mention that she needs "just one task," to which the character will reply "experience has taught me to expect as much," referring to the quest One Small Favour.
  • During the conversation with Ali the Snake Charmer he mentions his break up with Felkrash saying "It used to be about making love not war". This could be a reference to the acrimonious breakup of The Beatles and the subsequent John Lennon/Yoko Ono song, "Make Love Not War".
  • The last part of the quest could be a reference to the German legend Pied Piper of Hamelin, a man who uses a flute to drown rats to rid the town of Hamelin of the rat infestation.
  • While in the Jimmy Dazzler part of the quest, one of the guards will say "sigh, I miss Billy and Bob." which is a reference to a cutscene in the quest Garden of Tranquillity.
  • Additionally, the old graphics for regular trees, oak trees and yew trees can be seen in the mansion garden. The old model for Ceril Carnillean can also be seen within the mansion.
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