'I turn dead rats into sexy showgirls - there's so much demand I work non-stop'

Deceased rodents might be enough to make you squrim - but they are one creative business owner's bread and butter.

Caitlin Hillis transforms dead rats into "sexy showgirls" complete with coloured feathers, handmade nipple covers and fake eyelashes. She says the demand is so high that she works 13 hours a day.

The creative mother-of-two has to work round the clock to keep up with the demand, but said it's her "dream job" and is thrilled it's taken off so well. As a child, Caitlin always loved going to the museum and seeing the animals "in real life" but never thought one day she'd become a taxidermist herself.

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Caitlin, from Texas, sells her "quirky and bizarre" rats for $185 (£148) and dresses and poses them as "glamorous" performers. She said the poses are inspired by acrobats, burlesque performers and belly dancers, but are all modified to suit the animal's smaller limbs, but Caitlin says that is part of their "charm".

She added: "I'm crossing into these multiple territories, where people who do like taxidermy like my work because it's fun and it's whimsical, and people who don't necessarily like taxidermy are drawn to it because they like that it's pretty and it's glamorous".

Explaining her process, Caitlin says it typically takes two to three weeks to dry the rodents, which she buys frozen from an ethical local breeder who supplies food for zoos, and she keeps them in a large freezer.

She pays four dollars (£2.99) per rat, and makes sure there is as little waste as possible. Cailin explained how she puts the skin in Borax, a preservative, which she then shapes the skin around specific moulds before letting them solidify.

Once dry after two weeks, she then adds the decorations, including the "signature" nipple coverings, with six on each animal. The whole process takes about a month from start to finish, but she completes her work in batches, meaning she sometimes has up to 100 completed rats around her home.

The businesswoman said: "I love that I can work from home. It gets a little funny though, as I stock up for the shows that I do – the Oddities and Curiosities Expos – and build up my inventory. I don't have a big home, so when I have a stockpile growing, the place that I put them is my laundry room, and I've hung dowel rods across the room so that I can hang them."

"When people think about taxidermy, I think they mostly picture deer and game animals and, just to simplify it, let's say that takes 100 steps,” she said, and explained it's a lot less complicated as she only has a 20-step process. Rather than larger animals like deer, Caitlin hones in her craft by just focusing on rats. And her talents all grew from watching online tutorials.

Caitlin started off making the taxidermy rats with her daughter and sister - but her designs have become "cuter and cuter" over time. "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'." After posting pictures online, Caitlin realised people were not only "delighted" to see her creations but they wanted to buy them as well, which meant her company Showtime Taxidermy was born.

The business owner has been left "blown away" by the demand for the preserved rats online, as well as at the Oddities and Curiosities Expos around the US. "When people come up to me they gasp or they clutch their pearls when they see what I have made and they get really excited, I love it so much.

"It still blows my mind that my artwork is all over the country. I think I've got one in almost every state now. It's a really cool feeling to be weird, to do something different, and to have so many people enjoy it – that's my favourite part, for sure.

"When I started this, this was really coming out of left field in regards to trying to make a career out of something really weird and different,” she explained. Prior to starting her business, Caitlin was a wedding photographer and graphic designer.

"I didn't know if this was something that was going to be a supplemental income – I would work a more traditional job and do this for fun – but right out the gate people loved it, people had fun, and I went into full-time momentum, so I now feel very much like I'm riding the wave."

Caitlin said it's the "coolest job in the world" and it's something she "couldn't improve on" as she loves it so much. To find out more, follow Caitlin’s social media pages @showtimetaxidermy or visit: showtimetaxidermy.com.

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