Requirements
- Completion of the following quests:
- Access to Keldagrim
- The Giant Dwarf started
QUEST 93 · MEMBERS
Gertrude knows of some ratcatchers 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.

Talk to Gertrude west of Varrock.
STEP BY STEP
Follow the chapters below. Click any screenshot or diagram to view it at full size.
Talk with Gertrude. She will tell you to speak to Phingspet and Grimesquit, the Sisters Grime. They can be found in the Varrock Sewers, East of the Palace exit. After speaking with them briefly, your cat will have to catch eight rats before they will speak to you more. To find out how many rats you've caught, check your quest journal or speak to either of them and they will tell you.
Note: You must have the two sniff your cat before starting to have it chase rats, or they will not count!
Alternatively, a conversation box will pop up when you've caught the eight rats. The success rate of catching rats seems to take into account the proximity of the rat, so if you're using a kitten it may be worth attacking one to turn it aggressive to you, which in turn will keep it close. This trick will not work for rats later in the quest.
Catch eight rats in Varrock Sewers by clicking the "Chase" option on your cat. Then, speak to them again to receive a rat pole, and they will send you to talk to Jimmy Dazzler in Ardougne.




Note: Be prepared to spend some time on this part unless you get extremely lucky. The guards simply having their backs turned is not enough to keep you from being seen.
Jimmy Dazzler can be found in a house to the west of the Flying Horse Inn in East Ardougne on the west side of the river. He needs a house cleared of rats in an unofficial capacity so as not to tarnish his client's reputation; to this end, you will need to sneak around the house unnoticed, avoiding the guards who will think you are an intruder. Jimmy will give you Directions to follow to the house. Read them, and you will be prompted to go to the house (it is not located on the world map — you are teleported there instantly). You will find yourself in front of the house, in the gardens.
To make your way inside the house, you will need to make sure you don't draw the guards' attention; keeping Run on is advised and having lots of patience will help greatly. Guards will not notice your cat. There are three "checkpoints"; upon reaching these points, any guards who see you will send you back to these points, rather than the very beginning. You must also avoid the party guests, but they are all located away from any of the rooms containing rats.
Kittens and cats have increased rat catch rates during this section of the quest. The catch rate for kittens is increased from 10% to 40%, and the catch rate for cats is increased from 50% to 75%. The catch rates of other cat types remains unchanged.
The red and blue tiles indicate where the guards stop along their paths. Note that the guards retrace their steps and stop at each spot on their return. For example, the south guard goes along the path (1-2-3-2-1).
Note that when the north guard would normally move from their position at tile 7, they will instead teleport to tile 5.
For this section, it's recommended to go into your Settings, then "All Settings" and enable the option "Hide Roofs" under the Display category. This will make it a lot easier to see the guards as they move around while you attempt to move inside the mansion.
Note: If the guards follow a pattern that will never allow passage, you are required to either switch worlds or get caught by the same guard several times.
For this section, it is recommended to keep your cat in your inventory while moving about to avoid it becoming stuck on obstacles, or else use the 'Call follower' option in the equipment tab to teleport your cat to you.
To proceed, all six rats need to have been caught. You will automatically start a dialogue with your cat after catching the last rat.
Once you catch all six rats, teleport out of the mansion and return to Jimmy Dazzler. Alternatively, you can return to Ardougne by sneaking back to the trellis. He will give you access to the Ardougne Rat Pits and tell you about the next person you have to find: Hooknosed Jack.

| King Rat Is Dead! | |
| The jingle that plays once the King Rat dies. | |
| Long Live The Rat King | |
| The jingle that plays when defeated by the King Rat. | |
You can find Hooknosed Jack in south-eastern Varrock (look for the minigame icon). He will tell you about the rat infestation in a warehouse nearby. You need rat poison, or he can make you some if you give him a vial, red spiders' eggs, and a kwuarm. Use the poison on four pieces of cheese to create poisoned cheese; then, go to the warehouse south of the pub. Go in and climb the ladder to the top. Use (be sure not to eat!) your poisoned cheese on the four rat holes to poison them. Return to Hooknosed Jack.
He will tell you that his cat, Pox, ate some of the poisoned rats. Go to Apothecary's Potions (the potion shop in west Varrock). He will ask for a marrentill herb, a crushed unicorn horn, and a bucket of milk to make a special cat antipoison. Give the antipoison to Hooknosed Jack to cure Pox, who will then tell you that there is still one rat left - the biggest and most evil. Go back to the warehouse. Climb upstairs and inside a room, you'll see the King rat, but you won't be able to reach it yourself. If your cat disappears log out and back in, or use the Call follower button.
Ensure that you have enough fish (8-10 recommended). Use your cat on the hole in the wall (not the rat holes) to challenge the king rat. You will be presented with two dialogue options:
You can always withdraw and pull back your cat by climbing down the stairs, or by calling it via the worn equipment tab.
The king rat has 10 hitpoints and deals a maximum of 1 damage at a time. Your cat has combat stats according to its type. Whenever your cat takes too much damage, you can use fish on the hole in the wall (not on the cat itself) to heal it.
After you defeat the King rat, go back to Hooknosed Jack. He'll give you access to the Varrock Rat Pits and tell you about Smokin' Joe.
The Giant Dwarf must be started to access Keldagrim.

Go to Keldagrim (you can use the minecart entrance north-west of the Grand Exchange, the Blast Furnace minigame teleport, or the city's entrance east of Rellekka) and talk to Smokin' Joe east of the pickaxe shop (far in the east of Keldagrim), who will tell you about his rat problem. The only way to get the rats out of their hole is to smoke them out, but Smokin' Joe can't do it because of the poor condition of his lungs. Offer to help him. Light a pot of weeds with your tinderbox, and use it on the rat hole to the east of him. Rats will come out the other side and quickly go back in. Place your cat on the ground and wear your catspeak amulet - note that wearing the catspeak amulet is required if Dragon Slayer II is not completed. Use your smouldering pot on the rat hole again, and your cat will offer to help. Accept, and your cat will ambush the rats and kill them. Talk to Smokin' Joe again, and he will give you access to the Keldagrim Rat Pits and tell you about The Face.


You can find The Face in Port Sarim next to the fishing shop (look for the minigame icon). She will tell you to talk to Felkrash down in the rat pits. Go down the manhole and find Felkrash, who will tell you to get rid of all of Port Sarim's vermin at once.
Talk to The Face and ask the third option she will tell you about a snake charmer in Pollnivneach.
Note: You have to talk with The Face before heading to Pollnivneach, else the snake charmer will not discuss the alternate methods of animal charming.
Go to Pollnivneach in the Kharidian Desert. You will find Ali the Snake Charmer there south of the bar (After completion of The Feud, his name changes from Ali to Badir). Use a coin on his money pot to get his attention. Ask him about charming other animals, and he will tell you that he and Felkrash had a falling out because of Felkrash's killing of animals. When presented with multiple-choice dialogue, offer him some money. Tell him you don't care about his offer and walk away slowly until you get the option to stop. He will reluctantly give you a music scroll and snake charm for 100 coins (if you already have a snake charm from The Feud quest in your inventory or bank, you will not receive another). You can charm him with the Ring of Charos(a) to lower his price to 50 coins, and also skip the walking away part.
Return to Port Sarim and stand near the docks. Compose the tune on the snake charm in the order that you can find on your music scroll (as seen in the screenshot; D, G, E, F#, (raise octave D), B, C#, A). One note is selected per page; note that the fifth note is an octave higher, which requires pressing the Raise an Octave button on the top left of the scroll. Note also that there are two notes with two holes. Once you're done, click "PLAY". Note: You cannot play the tune unless you have gotten the music scroll from Ali (or Badir) the Snake Charmer. If you try, you'll get a message that your fingers are not dexterous enough to play the tune.
Your character will proceed to play the song, which will charm the rats. You'll see a cutscene where you lead the rats into the ocean. Talk to Felkrash in the Port Sarim Rat Pits to finish the quest.
Congratulations, quest complete!
Use this when you already know the route. The full walkthrough above includes explanations and diagrams.
Talk to Gertrude.
Say:
Talk to Phingspet or Grimesquit in the Varrock Sewers.
Catch 8 rats by having your cat chase nearby rats.
Talk to the sisters again.
Talk to Jimmy Dazzler in the house west of the Ardougne pub.
Read the directions to arrive at the mansion.
Say:
Guards will notice you by proximity and line of sight. Nab all 6 rats without being caught. (Being caught does not reset the rats)
The garden
Go west then north around to the back of the mansion. You will spawn here after being caught.
Climb the trellis to the upper floor.
Upstairs
Catch 1 rat in the NW room.
Sneak into the NE room.
Wait in the NE room until either one of the guards is on the porch and the other at the end of the hallway or until both guards step out onto the balcony, then run to the SE room.
Note: If the guards don't step out at the same time, try hopping worlds. Look for one with them in sync.
Catch 2 rats in the SE room.
Climb down the ladder.
Downstairs
The SE and NE room will have 3 rats combined, catch them.
Climb back down the trellis to return to Ardougne OR use any teleport. (Your character will say "Good job puss, I think that just about wraps things up here." once you have caught all the rats.)
Talk to Jimmy Dazzler.
Talk to Hooknosed Jack in South-east Varrock near the Varrock rat pits manhole. He will make you the rat poison.
Run south to the abandoned building and climb up the ladder.
Use your rat poison on your cheeses and use them on the 4 rat holes.
Talk to Hooknosed Jack.
Say:
Talk to the Apothecary south-west of Varrock Square.
Say: [ → if Dragon Slayer II or A Tail of Two Cats is completed, or if One Small Favour is started but not yet completed.]
Return and talk to Hooknosed Jack.
Head back to the top of the abandoned building.
Pick-up, and then use your cat on the corner hole in the wall.
Say:
Use fish on the hole in the wall (not on your cat) to heal your cat as it fights.
If you have access to raw karambwanji, they may be used to heal your cat and preserve inventory space during the quest.
Talk to Hooknosed Jack.
Head to Keldagrim (trapdoor in north-western part of Grand Exchange, or minigame teleport to Blast Furnace.)
Talk to Smokin' Joe east of the Keldagrim mining shop in east Keldagrim.
Say: I could help you.
Use weeds on a pot and light it with your tinderbox.
Drop your cat or kitten.
Use the smouldering pot on the rat hole just east of Smokin' Joe. (Use the Call follower button or relog if your cat disappears)
Try it again and accept your cat's help (don't forget to wear the catspeak amulet).
Talk to Smokin' Joe.
Head to Port Sarim
Climb down the nearby manhole to enter the rat pits
Talk to Felkrash in the east room.
Exit the rat pits and talk to The Face.
Say:
Head to Ali (or Badir) the Snake Charmer in Pollnivneach (just south of the pub).
Put a coin in his pot and talk to him. must ask about charming
Say: I want to talk to you about animal charming. → What if I offered you some money? → Forget about it, I don't care. → Walk away slowly → Stop
If you already have a snake charm from The Feud, you will not receive another one.
Return to the Port Sarim manhole. Don't go down.
Remove items from your hand slots
Click the Snake charm to open the interface.
There are eight pages, select one note from each page and move to the next one: D, G, E, F#, for the fifth page, also select "raise one octave" from the top left corner "D", B, C#, A.
Press play at the top to begin a cutscene.
Return and talk to Felkrash in the rat pits.
Congratulations, quest complete!
QUEST COMPLETE
OSRS WIKI CONTRIBUTORS
Walkthrough text and preparation lists are adapted from Old School RuneScape Wiki contributors under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. Game imagery © Jagex Ltd; individual image sources are linked in their captions. This page is fan-made and not affiliated with Jagex.
Game icons © Jagex Ltd, via the OSRS Wiki. Interface icons by Lucide.