Vole or mole? what's the diff?

Found this poor little guy drowned in our pool. can u tell what it is? tks for ur help. I don't think we're ever had either in our area. Could it be a baby squirrel? we certainly have a gillion of those rascals.

The feet don't look quite right for a mole...they usually have wide front paws for digging, but I also notice that the eyes are very small....

Squirrels have a "squarer" snout... http://www.google.com/imgres?q=baby+squirrel&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=ZTP&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1580&bih=731&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&imgrefurl=http://naturescall.typepad.com/weblog/2008/10/index.html&tbnid=uwfa1noZuJiiUM&docid=65fUD4RANNGOCM&ved=0CD4QhRYoAA&ei=zgHiT-2ePJOi8QTr15WHCA&dur=12560

and this is a baby rat for comparison http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2008-09-11_Dead_baby_rat.jpg


http://www.dirtdoctor.com/Mole-Gopher-Vole-Newsletter_vq2444.htm

http://www.aallanimalcontrol.com/mole_removal_austin_texas.html





This message was edited Jun 20, 2012 12:16 PM

hmmm, i'm feeling dense today. are u suggesting it is a baby rat? if yes, my kitty is not earning his keep, lol. also, I haven't noticed holes or tunnels in our property, which makes this more intriguing.

DH gave it a look....he says it looks like a rat to him...maybe the cat chased it into the pool...TRYING to earn his keep. I just put those links up because they had pics of the common rodents, mole, vole, rat, squirrel....

poor kitty, I should not underestimate him, lol

thanks

I would say with gardens being tilled and fields being bush-hogged that it may have sent a few field mice and rats scurrying for cover. Please do look at the pics and let me know what ya think....and give that kitty-boy a treat...grin

It appears to have a short tail? It's a vole.

Your cat is darling. I'd give him a hug!

thank you Donna, he's a sweetie.

back to the orig. question, I started googling baby voles,moles,rats and was so grossed out by the pics,that I had to stop looking. The short tail does make it look like a newborn vole but again, we've never had vole problems at this property. rat or mouse seems more likely. yuck! i'm still grossed out by the pics.

You're better man than I am - LOL! I coudn't bring myself to google the stuff.

Terribly off topic, here are my honies. They "parents" moved to new Zealand, so I took them.

I adore them so much that when they claimed my heated seed starting mat and lamp, I gave in!

Looks like a vole to me. We have lots in Sulphur Springs, TX. My cats love to "play" with them!

No, don't underestimate him - he comes from good rat catching stock. I had one just like him - called him Jack - miss him dreadfully. He brought me a little treasure in the middle of the night - called at my bedroom door to tell me, I put my foot on it in the dark! Oh, the good times! LOL There was nothing left of the rat in the morning by the way! Midnight snack?

You have a "Jackalike" too! Lucky you! He was our lucky black cat - our luck sadly changed for the worse after he died! True story!

Happily, I had known theTiny (the black American Shorhair) and Sophie (the very loud Siamese) for six years, so they accepted me as their staff.