Many of the quests in OSRS take players on incredible adventures filled with danger, horrible monsters, hazardous environments, and heroic achievements. Then, there are quests like Ratcatchers that instead task the player with more mundane tasks.
These can be helping make a cake, finding a lost cat, or participating in a fishing contest. While these do not seem as exciting on the surface as some of the game’s other quests, they offer comedic writing, unique puzzles, and mechanics players don’t usually find while questing.
Key Info Up Front
- Members Only:Â Yes
- Official Length:Â Medium
- Official Difficulty:Â Intermediate
- Required Quests:Â Gertrude’s Cat, Icthlarin’s Little Helper, The Giant Dwarf (started)
- Required Items:Â Any cat, Rat Poison, 4x Poisoned Cheese, Cleaned Marrentill, Unicorn Horn Dust, Bucket of Milk, Chatspeak Amulet, Pot of Weeds, Tinderbox, 101 gold, Snake Charm
- Required Skills:Â None
- Quest Rewards:Â 2x Quest Points, 4,500 Thieving experience, 1x Rat Pole, Access to the Rat Pits area, Ability to train wily and lazy cats
Ratcatchers Overview
Like the quest’s name suggests Ratcatchers tasks you with helping various people across Gielinor with rat-related issues. Since the quest doesn’t have any combat or required skills, its official difficulty rating of Intermediate is because of the items needed to complete the quest and some of its more obtuse puzzles.
It also has the official length rating of medium, but some parts of the quest can take longer depending on how hard of a time you have with them.
Ratcatchers is commonly regarded as one of the worst quests in OSRS, and I honestly can’t help but agree. Even the development team has agreed with the game’s community in this regard.
The main elements of the quest that people take umbrage with are how its writing is unusually weak for an OSRS quest and the obtuse nature of some of its puzzles. However, if you want to go for the questing cape or want to do the Medium Falador Diary quest, you’ll need to finish Ratcatchers. So, here’s everything you need to know to do so.
Ratcatchers Required Items
Gathering the items required to complete Ratcatchers is one of the lengthiest parts of the entire quest. I recommend gathering all of them before you even begin the quest so that you don’t have to hunt them down during the quest, making it take much longer than it otherwise would.
This both preserves the pacing of Ratcatchers but will also ensure that you don’t have to take extended breaks in the middle of the quest, possibly making you forget what you were working on or where you were.
Any Cat
Getting a cat pet is possible after completing the quest Gertrude’s Cat. You’ll get one for free after finishing that quest, but if you lost that one, you can buy a new one from Gertrude for 100 gold.
When you first get the Cat it will be a kitten. Before you do this quest, you’ll need to wait for it to at least grow into a Cat, which will only take a few hours. However, it is essential to note that it has to be a regular Cat or Hellcat, not an Overgrown Cat.
Rat Poison
You’ll be able to make the rat poison as you progress through Ratcatchers, so before you start the quest, you only need to gather the ingredients. The first ingredient you need is a vial to hold the poison in. These have a chance to be dropped by certain enemies, but I suggest just buying one as they only cost a single coin.
You can find them at Grud’s Herblore Stall in Gu’Tanoth, Gunslik’s Assorted Items in Keldagrim, Myth’s Guild Herbalist, and numerous other members-only city stores.
The second required item for the Rat Poison is Kwuarm. If you have Farming Level 56, you can grow your Kwuarm, but I suggest grinding for it to drop or buying one from the Grand Exchange.
If you’re looking to grind, killing Fever Spiders is your best shot since they have a drop rate of 1/12 and are only level 49, so you should be able to kill them quickly. If you don’t want to grind for it, they are sold by other players for an average of 1,451 gold.
Finally, you’ll need some Red Spiders’ Eggs. To get these, you’ll need to venture into dangerous areas featuring Deadly Red Spiders. Your options are the Varrock Sewers, Edgeville Dungeon, Karamja Volcano, on the path to Tiranwn, or the Forthos Dungeon.
You can find them in these areas or kill enemies such as Spidine, Temple Spider, and Chasm Crawlers to try and get them through drops.
4x Poisoned Cheese
You’ll be able to make the pieces of Poisoned Cheese after you complete the Rat Poison above by combining it with any normal Cheese. So, before you start the quest, you’ll need to gather four pieces of Cheese.
If you have Cooking Level 48, you can make it yourself by using a bucket of milk at a dairy churn, or you can purchase it for 41 gold each. Cheese can be bought from food stores throughout the game’s world, but it also spawns for free at Aggie’s house in Draynor Village if you don’t mind waiting for each piece to respawn.
Cleaned Marrentill
It is important to note that for Ratcatchers, you need Cleaned Marrentill and that Grimy Marrentill will not work. To clean Grimy Marrentill, you need Herblore Level 5, or you can buy a cleaned version off the Grand Exchange for 49 gold. I recommend just buying one if you don’t have some already from leveling your Herblore skill since it is so cheap.
Unicorn Horn Dust
To get Unicorn Horn Dust, you first need to get a Unicorn Horn and then grind it down using a Pestle and Mortar. The easiest way to get a Unicorn Horn is to kill the Unicorn to the south of Varrock, which only has a Combat Level of 15, making it an easy kill.
If you need a Pestle and Mortar, you can get one from Herblore stores in Taverley, the Myths’ Guild, the Lighthouse Store, Tu’Tanoth, Keldagrim, and Prifddinas for around five coins. If you don’t want to take the time to make your own Unicorn Horn Dust, however, you can buy it from the Grand Exchange for an average of 283 gold.
Bucket of Milk
To get a bucket of milk, head to the field of cows in Lumbridge and look for the prize dairy cow on one side of the field. On the ground next to it, there will be a bucket that you can pick up. Then, use it on the cow to milk it, and you’ll be good to go.
Catspeak Amulet
Note: This item is not required if you’ve already completed the Dragon Slayer II quest.
Like all of the “speak” amulets in OSRS, the Catspeak Amulet will allow you to talk to the various cats that appear throughout the game. It is needed for various quests, and you can get one by completing the Icthlarin’s Little Helper quest.
If you completed that quest and somehow lost your amulet, you’ll need to head to the Sphinx in Sophanem and bring a pet cat with you. Talk to the Sphinx then, and you’ll be given a replacement.
Pot of Weeds
To get the Pot of Weeds, you first need to get a standard Pot. These can be purchased from most General Stores for ten coins, or you can find them in kitchens and random areas throughout the game. Once you get the Pot, you’ll need to combine it with some Weeds. These can be found in Farming plots with no other food growing in them.
Once you find a Farming Patch with weeds in it, grab one of the nearby Rakes and use it on the patch to pull up the weeds and take them. Doing so only requires Farming Level 1, so you’ll be able to do this regardless of your experience with farming.
Tinderbox
Odds are that you’ll have a Tinderbox in your inventory or bank account at this point in the game. You can buy them from General Stores for a single coin if you don’t.
101 Coins
Note:Â You will only need 51 coins if you have the Ring of Charos.
Snake Charm
This item is obtained during the quest, and you won’t need any additional items to get it.
Fish
While some Fish is not listed on Ratcatchers’ official list of required items, I highly recommend bringing some. This is because your Cat will have to go through some combat throughout the quest, and you’ll want fish on hand to heal it so that it doesn’t die.
You can use raw or cooked fish to heal it, and your Cat will eat any kind of fish except for Leaping Trout or Leaping Salmon. If you need some, grab a Fishing Net and head to the closing fishing spot to get some Shrimp or other low-level fish just in case.
Ratcatchers Walkthrough
Getting Started
Required Items:Â Cat
To start Ratcatchers, you’ll need to head to Gertrude in her house to the west of Varrock. Once you’re there, talk to her, and she will ask that you speak to both Phingspet and Grimesquit. These two characters are crazed elders that are found living in the sewers of Varrock.
Find them and you’ll be told that your Cat has to catch eight Rats for them before they will talk to you. There are plenty of Rats around in the sewer, so have your Cat catch them there and then talk to the two women again. If you lost track of how many your Cat has caught, you can check your quest log to see your progress.
You’ll be given the Rat Pole item when you talk to them again. This item is exclusive to this quest line and allows you to hang dead rats from it that your Cat has captured. It is also used in the Rat Pits minigame unlocked by completing Ratcatchers.
Phingspet and Grimesquit will point you to Jimmy Dazzler, so head to Ardougne to find him.
Helping Jimmy Dazzler
Required Items:Â Cat
Once you get to Ardougne, go to the Flying Horse Inn and look to the west of it to find Jimmy Dazzler. Jimmy will tell you that he has a client with a rat problem that needs to be cleared out without raising any attention. To do so, you’ll have to navigate the grounds of the house while avoiding the numerous guards patrolling the area.
To reach the house, you need to interact with the Directions Jimmy gives you, as the house isn’t on the actual world map, and you have to be teleported to it.
Completing this section of the quest can be very difficult and annoying. Whether or not a guard notices you are not tied to whether or not they are facing you at all, which can make getting caught feel highly unfair. Luckily, some checkpoints throughout the area will prevent you from completely restarting if you are spotted.
While going through this section, it is important to note that you should have Run on at all times, you’ll need to be patient, and you don’t have to worry about the positioning of your Cat as the guards cannot spot it.
Reaching the Mansion
You’ll first be placed at the entrance to the garden on a ringed path around some flowers. Position the camera so the bridge surrounded by hedges is to your left. There are two guards patrolling the area.
Wait until the one closest to you is up by the bridge and run to the left as far as you can before turning right and going up by the gate near the bridge as quickly as possible.
Keep heading north until you get up by the main building of the mansion, and stay on the left side of the hedges closest to the wall. Stop just behind the tower so you can watch the next two guards you’ll have to avoid before continuing. These two guards are the most difficult to avoid as they need to be in sync.
The first will move around the edge of the hedge wall behind you, and you’ll need him to go on the opposite side of you while the other guard is to the northeast, behind the mansion. If they are out of sync, it is often better to hop to a different world rather than waiting for their patterns to line up perfectly.
Once the first guard is on the eastern side of the hedge, move up to the edge of the hedge wall, where it curves in on itself. Once the guard walks south around the flower patch, you can continue north and get behind the next wall of hedges. Get up between the northern wall and the hedge that runs parallel to it and wait.
Once the next guard starts walking back to where you were before, you can run east and climb up the trellis on the wall. Once you get to the top, walk to the west by the potted flower to avoid being spotted while you get your bearings.
Inside the Mansion
During this section, I recommend adjusting your in-game settings so that building roofs are always hidden, as it will allow you always to track where the guards are without the roof getting in the way. From the balcony, wait for the two guards inside the building to go to the southern part of the second floor.
Once they are both there, enter the building, head straight west, and go through the door to enter a room with two double beds. A rat is in this room, so make sure to catch it. You then need to wait for the two guards to return to the same southern position to run back to where you were on the balcony before.
Once the guards return to their southern position a third time, enter the mansion again but run for the eastern door leading to a room with a green carpet and a single double bed. Wait in that room, but make sure not to stand in the doorway. Otherwise, the eastern guard will be able to spot you.
Wait for the guards to both go out onto the balcony to the north, leave the room, go through the door to the south, and go into the room just below the one with the green rug. In that room, there are two rats for your Cat to catch, and you won’t have to worry about being spotted by a guard.
Once they are both caught, head down the ladder in the room and catch the two remaining rats found there. Then, you can teleport out of the mansion any way you want to and return to Jimmy Dazzler, but make sure that you have all six rats caught before doing so, otherwise, you’ll have to repeat this entire process.
Once you return to Jimmy, you’ll be granted access to the Ardougne Rat Pits, and he’ll request that you find Hooknosed Jack to give him some help.
Helping Hooknosed Jack
Required Items:Â Cat, 4x Cheese, Ingredients for Rat Poison, Bucket of Milk, Marrentill, Unicorn Horn Dust, Catspeak Amulet, Fish
Hooknosed Jack is found in the southeastern part of Varrock, right next to the minigame icon on your map. Head there, and he’ll ask for your help dealing with a warehouse infested with rats.
Give him the ingredients you’ve collected for the Rat Poison, and he’ll make it for you. Then, combine it with the four pieces of Cheese that you have to make Poisoned Cheese.
Once you have the items, head to the warehouse to the south and climb the ladder inside to reach the top floor. You’ll find four rat holes throughout the floor where you need to use the Poisoned Cheese to kill the rats inside.
Once this is done, return to Hooknosed Jack. He’ll then tell you that his Cat somehow ate some of the rats poisoned by the Cheese, so you’ll need to head to the potion shop in western Varrock. Give him the Marrentill, Crushed Unicorn Horn, and a Bucket of Milk for him to make you a Cat Antipoison potion.
You can then give this potion to Hooknosed Jack to cure his Cat. He will then tell you that there is still one rat to deal with, the King Rat. Return to the top floor of the warehouse, and you’ll find the King Rat, but only your Cat will be able to reach it. Equip your Catspeak Amulet and use your Cat on the hole in the wall to send it in to fight the King Rat.
Having the Catspeak Amulet will allow you to tell your Cat to be careful, making it return to you for healing when it has one hit point left. Otherwise, you’ll have to use the fish in your inventory on the hole in the wall to heal your Cat.
Once you have the Rat King killed, go back to Hooknosed Jack, and he will grant you access to the Varrock Rat Pits and ask that you help a person named Smokin’ Joe with their rat problem. Smokin’ Joe is found in Keldagrim, so head there.
Helping Smokin’ Joe
Required Items:Â Cat, Catspeak Amulet, Pot of Weeds, Tinderbox
Smokin’ Joe stands just east of the pickaxe shop in the easternmost part of Keldagrim. Talk to him there, and he’ll ask for help smoking out the rats infesting the store. Use your Tinderbox on the Pot of Weeds on the rat hole to the east.
After doing so, rats will run out of the hole but quickly back in. Complete the action again, but ensure that you are wearing your Catspeak Amulet.
This time, your Cat will offer to help by ambushing and killing the rats as they run out of the hole. Once that is done, talk to Smokin’ Joe to get access to the Keldagrim Rat Pits and be told about the final person in distress for the quest, The Face.
Helping The Face
Required Items:Â Catspeak Amulet, Snake Charm, 101 Coins
Before proceeding through this part of the quest, ensure only 101 coins on you or 51 if you have the Ring of Charos equipped. You will be asked for all the coins you have in your inventory, so make sure only to bring the minimum to avoid wasting money. Once you’re ready, you can find the Face in Port Sarim by the Fishing Shop.
She’ll tell you to go to the Port Sarim Rat Pits and talk to a character named Felkrash. You can reach Felkrash by going down the maintenance hole, and they’ll propose a plan to kill all of the rats in Port Sarim in a single sweep.
Return to The Face, and she’ll tell you to travel to Pollnivneach and find a Snake Charmer there. Head to Pollnivneach, and you can find Ali the Snake Charmer just south of the tavern. Use a single coin on the money pot next to him so that he will talk to you, and make sure to offer him money when it comes up during the dialogue.
Then, choose to say that you don’t care about his offer and walk away before picking stop when the option comes up. This will get his attention, and he’ll sell you a Music Scroll and Snake Charm for 100 coins. Buy them, and return to Port Sarim.
Once you’re back in Port Sarim, stand on the tile next to The Face. Use the Snake Charm and play the notes D, G, E, F#, Raise the Octave, D, B, C#, and A. Click on the play button, and your character will play the selected song, which will charm all of the rats and trigger a cutscene. Talk to Felkrash one last time, and you’ll finish up the quest.
Ratcatchers Rewards
For completing the quest, you’ll get a range of rewards. The first are two Quest Points and the Rat Pole item you received early on in the quest. It also will unlock the Rat Pits minigame in all of the locations that you had to clear rats from. This minigame allows you to train your cats to fight against rats in matches that spectators bet on.
You’ll also be able to train Overgrown Cats into Wily and Lazy Cats, improving their stats for combat in the Rat Pits. You also get the ability to give them a name. Finally, you’ll receive 4,500 Thieving experience as well.
FAQs
Question: How Do You Get a Replacement Catspeak Amulet in OSRS?
Answer: If you unlocked the Catspeak Amulet and lost it somehow, you can get a new one by talking to the Sphinx while you have a Cat pet with you.
Question: What is the Rat Pole for?
Answer: The Rat Pole is a weapon that allows you to hang dead rats on it that your pet cats catch. However, it does not have good combat stats, so it is primarily used for bragging rights or its appearance.
Question: How Do You Unlock the Rat Pits Minigame in OSRS?
Answer: The Rat Pits minigame is unlocked by completing the Ratcatchers quest.
Conclusion
While Ratcatchers is not regarded as one of the strongest quests in OSRS, it is far from being outright bad or unenjoyable. Having a quest that revolves around using your pet cat is a lot of fun, and the ability to train and name your Cat is a great reward.
The stealth section is where the quest suffers the most, but it’s not frustrating enough to make it worthwhile to avoid the entire quest.
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