We have a very old house near woods.  Rats are often a problem and we
would like to get rid of them without poison because we have two dogs
and a cat.  We tried poison last year; our cat must have come upon our
success because she became sick and almost died. Can you suggest a
bait that would not impact on our pets?  Traps occasionally catch
some, but in general don't work.  Thank you

Dear Fritzie, 

Several sites offer advices concerning pest control without poisons. I
collected the advices:
(1) More and more traps. However, rats can scent the human smell and
avoid the trap - so always use gloves when handling the traps. This is
advices in several sites, including by the professionals in the
British Columbia (Canada) Ministry of Health
(http://www.hlth.gov.bc.ca/hlthfile/hfile37.html).
  
(2) The British Columbia Ministry of Health also suggests also some
perventive moves - such as eliminating sources of food and drink for
the rodents (see again
http://www.hlth.gov.bc.ca/hlthfile/hfile37.html).

(3) The BBC HG2G (yes, it's the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but
it's not only humorous - it's also helpful) site has couple of
interesting suggestions that are sound related. First is that they
"fear" sounds, so playing noisy music in their habitat could be a good
idea; there are also sounds which cannot be heard by humans but
apparently drive away the rats. You should buy something with
ultra-high frequency - however, dogs might also suffer so keep them
away from it. More of the HG2G can be found here -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A418592 and
www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A357112

(4) According to this environmental site -
http://www.antiguanracer.org/html/project/removal.htm - Klerat is a
poison that kills rats without killing other animals. I can't vouch
for it.

Moreover, if you have no "moral"/environmental objection to poisoning
(only the fear for your pets), you may want to consider contacting a
pest-control professional, who would "clear" your house while you (and
the pets) are away for a day or so. May I note, that there's a problem
with using poison (except for the danger to your pets), since the
rodents might crawl away to die in hide places - where it would be
hazardous for you, when their bodies will decompose (see again
http://www.hlth.gov.bc.ca/hlthfile/hfile37.html).

My search terms were: 
"getting rid of rats" without poison

I also suggest you'll use for further advices: 
"getting rid of rodents" without poison
"getting rid of rats" poison
"pest control" without poison 

And try these sites: 
http://www.pest-tips.com/OurGurus.asp (you can also use the function
and ask the expert in this site).
http://www.environment-tips.com/OurGurus.asp (same) 

I hopre that helped a little. Please contact me if you have any
further questions.