Taxidermist mother-of-two turns rats into ‘sexy showgirls’ with rhinestones, handmade nipple covers and fake eyelashes

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 185 US dollars (£148) which are dressed and posed as “glamorous” performers – and it all began during a craft night four years ago.

As the creative mother-of-two already had many of the materials and items of equipment at home, including paint brushes, needles and sculpting tools, she began watching taxidermy tutorials online, and soon the idea to preserve rats and dress them in costumes became her full-time “dream job” and she has never looked back.

“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,” Caitlin, who lives in Texas, told PA Real Life.

“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 – and Showtime Taxidermy was born.

Since then she has been “blown away” by her business’s popularity, selling the preserved rats online and at Oddities and Curiosities Expos around the US.

She said: “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.”

Since she was young, Caitlin said she has enjoyed visiting museums and “seeing the animals in real life”, but she never dreamed she would one day become a taxidermist.

Previously working as a wedding photographer and a graphic designer, she thought taxidermy was “too specialised” and not conducive to working from home.

However, when her daughter suggested they try preserving smaller animals such as rats during a craft night, the idea for her business was formed.

With her home “like a craft store” already, she had the ideal set-up to launch Showtime Taxidermy in 2021 – and importantly for Caitlin, she has always wanted to be her own boss.

“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.

“The rats take 20 steps and the process is less complicated, and because I’m doing one thing over and over again I’m really able to hone… my abilities.

“I started out with videos online and then I started practising, and they’ve just become cuter and cuter over time.”

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.

“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,” she said.

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.

“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,” she said.

“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.

Caitlin, who often works 12 or 13 hours a day to keep up with demand, said it is “overwhelming” seeing people’s positive reactions and comments about her work.

She currently sells her “novelty” creations only in the US either online or at expos, with each piece costing around 185 dollars, but one day, she may consider selling overseas.

While she questions whether she will be “60 years old and making rats”, she said she is currently “riding the wave” and wants to continue providing joy and fun to her customers.

“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.

“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.

“It’s the coolest job in the world – I get to be creative, I get to be artistic, I get to have my own schedule, I get to interact with awesome people.

“I couldn’t improve on this, I love it.”

To find out more, follow Caitlin’s social media pages @showtimetaxidermy or visit: showtimetaxidermy.com.