How do I get rid of the rats in my yard?

The rat burrows are destroying my yard. The rats don't usually come inside, although I have heard them in my attic once or twice. I know they live outside, though. How do I get rid of them without poisoning my (outdoor) cats or my neighbors' cats. I prefer not to set out a trap, because the burrows are close to the sidewalk and could hurt neighborhood pets. I prefer to poison them. Can I just use a funnel to get the poison down into the holes?How do I get rid of the rats in my yard?
I say get new cats, if your old ones aren't doing the trick, what else are they good forHow do I get rid of the rats in my yard?
Smoke them out with a burning cloth...
The make special traps that are just made for rats to get in. No cats can get into them. They go in and eat the poison and come back out and take them back to their nests and so forth. Pretty soon they will start getting really thirsty and move on to find a place to die. If they have been up in your attic that means there is a hole or way to get into their. I suggest just having a pest control service come out. It isn't that expensive to have them crawl up into your attic and put out poision and put out the traps.