A MAN who was left for a month with no bin collections says he was forced to take on rats – armed with rubber gloves and oil.

Given the rat's age and clinical examination, do you think the foot mass is neoplastic? Do the clinical pathology data, cytology and brief histological description support a diagnosis of neoplasia?

The native rat has telltale black feet and a long black and white tail. Weighing up to 800g, it's considered enormous compared to its more common relatives such as the golden-backed tree-rat at ...