Thank you Ralje. Viewing the cage, then viewing the rat before dumping solved my immediate problem quite nicely. Don't even need a trainer for the disposal.
I'll keep my lizard, but the rat is definetly going to feed the magma.
Animal stockpile only seems to keep captures that are in their cage/trap.
However, thanks to you telling me how to dispose of the rat without the cage, I think I can figure out something with a 2x1 pit two z-levels deep. I'll put a hatched staircase in for later access.
Now that I've taken care of my immediate cage shortage, I think I'll experiment with pits and taming. See if rats are good for anything- i think I once did get lizard meat, but I'm not sure about that.
Since I can't issue a command from the kennel to capture a large, breedable animal, do you have any suggestions for capturing herbivores? If I'm pointed in the right direction I'll generally wiki out the details. I'll experiment meanwhile and see what I can do. Maybe I'll need a few mechanisms, or wall the horses in first so I don't have to chase them down.
Thanks again.
If anyone wants to suggest an overly elaborate death trap for feline collaborators, I'll set it up and share the results. I should be able to handle a simple execution well enough, though. But if you think the only thing keeping cats from eating us is a size issue, and wish to build a better cat trap!
I'm curious whether cats will go after trained or trapped vermin. My only idea at the moment involves putting a wild vermin at the bottom of a pit near the magma vent. When a cat comes in after it, I shut the hatch and open a channel for the lava to wipe them both out.
Feel free to invent the better cat trap- though it doesn't have to be an old fashioned trap, just an entertaining means of execution.