I fed Kitty one live rat, and I tried twice. The first time Kitty didn't take it and I was terrified that it would hurt him. I probaly didn't leave the rat in the long enough I was so worried about Kitty's safety. The second time I had waited until I knew Kitty was really hungry. I sat like a hawk, I was so scared for my snake. Kitty got him, he screamed, scratched, and fought as much as he could. It was pretty nerve wracking. I mean, the rats head is bigger than Kitty's head. I vowed, never again, whatever it took. The following feeding I switched to prekilled, then two after that I went to f/t. Now I am not scared and can leav kitty with his prey all night if he doesn't eat inicially. It is way better on my nerves. The fate of the rat really isn't what bothered me, not to sound cruel. I don't care about the rat screaming or any of that, I was in fear of my Kitty's well being, so I had to switch. I really isn't that hard to do. I just didn't feed Kitty as often so he was prett hungry and more ready to eat what was put infront of him