And Finally...

A mother who transforms frozen rats into ‘sexy showgirls’ with coloured feathers, handmade nipple covers and fake eyelashes has said her novelty taxidermy business regularly requires 12-hour days to keep up with demand.

Caitlin Hillis, 36, runs her business called Showtime Taxidermy from her home, where she sells ‘quirky and bizarre’ rats for £148.

The rodents are dressed and posed as glam performers – and it all began during a craft night four years ago.

Caitlin said: ‘We watched videos online and we made our first taxidermy together, me, my daughter and my sister, and it was comically bad, but we loved it. We had such a fun time, so we did it again and we made others, and the natural next step was, ‘Let’s make it sexy and fun and add costumes’.’

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Caitlin explained that she buys the rats frozen from an ethical local breeder who supplies food for zoos, and she keeps them in a large freezer.

The rats cost four dollars each, but Caitlin ensures there is as little waste as possible, as a friend uses the bones to make jewellery.

With materials such as clay, foam and wire, Caitlin puts the skins in borax, which is a preservative, and then shapes the skins around her desired moulds before letting them solidify.

Caitlin said the rats’ poses are inspired by acrobats, burlesque performers and belly dancers, but tailored to suit the animals’ smaller limbs, which is part of their ‘charm’.

The drying process typically takes two to three weeks, and she then adds decorations such as coloured feathers, rhinestones, velvet and fake eyelashes, and she even makes her own ‘signature’ nipple coverings for the rats, with six on each animal.