Mouse!

We've a lot of mice that live around these parts - they don't usually make it into the house. But yesterday I was taking the wash down to the basement - and there was a small hole chewed into the bag of cat food we keep at the top of the basement stairs - and there was the mouse, trotting down the stairs!

Now - we've had too many problems with parasites and blood diseases for me to want the cats to get after the mouse, but other than put out the trap, what can you do?

I came downstairs - and Lazlo was so intently crouched in front of the bookcase that I knew he'd cornered the little guy. Tuxedo is our most aggressive guy - and lived outside the longest - so I called him. I used one of the cat wands to chase the mouse out from under the bookcase - and Tuxedo had a field day, lol!

He nabbed that thing in about 3 seconds - but then BOLTED upstairs with his prize! THANK GOD he didn't run into the bedroom. He ran into the "cat room" (a room we use for isolation of fosters, rescues, new kitties, whatever - which also doubles as a guest bedroom when necessary). Thankfully I got up there before he dropped the mouse, which, of course, wasn't dead. Gary ran up with a plastic bag, and we shut the door. Tuxie cornered the mouse again - and then chased it right into the plastic bag Gary was holding. There was no blood or any visible damage to the mouse. Don't know if he survived, but Gary released him up the road.

Tuxie spent the rest of the day searching for the mouse. I'm sorry we couldn't let him keep it - but those couple of minutes were like kitty Disneyland for him, lol!

I have to say that I love the little things, and hate it when my cats catch them.

You can get humane traps and trap them and let them go if they bother you.

Thankfully, there have never been signs of mice living here (and we check!). This is the second time we've had a mouse in the house in almost two years (I know - can you believe it's been that long?????), so I'm not too worried about it.

I like mice and think they're cute - but I don't really want to share my house with them. They carry parasites, and I'm not into it even if we didn't have the cats to worry about. I did hesitate to chase the mouse out from under the bookshelves - it seemed cruel to me, and I worry about the cats getting parasites. But I wasn't going to let any of them eat it (if they even tried to). On the other hand, we don't have a trap small enough for a mouse, and it's something that didn't occur to me (and doubt I'll invest in given the infrequency of the problem).

But with six cats, I figured that between them they would have kept the mouse penned in under there until it died of starvation - which seemed to me to be even more cruel.

Fortunately, I think we got the best situation out of the options we had at hand.

And I'm glad for Tuxie that he got a good chase in - and I'm happy little mousey is probably doing just fine.

Originally Posted by Satai

I have to say that I love the little things, and hate it when my cats catch them.

You can get humane traps and trap them and let them go if they bother you.

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I wouldn't suggest the glue strip version of the humane trap. My friend used them and the mouse's mouth got stuck on the glue strip part and it suffocated.

I love little mice...not as household uninvited guests, but I've had quite a few pet mice and rats in the past....very smart individuals.....cute too!

Originally Posted by lookingglass

I wouldn't suggest the glue strip version of the humane trap. My friend used them and the mouse's mouth got stuck on the glue strip part and it suffocated.

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I would never have guessed that anyone would suggest that a glue trap is humane - even exterminators don't use them here as far as I know.

No, a humane trap (at least the kind I mean when I say humane trap) is very similar to the kind of traps used to trap cats, only smaller. They are also available from the same suppliers.

Originally Posted by LDG

But with six cats, I figured that between them they would have kept the mouse penned in under there until it died of starvation - which seemed to me to be even more cruel.

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In that circumstance, probably, yes. If you had a humane trap in your home, however, you could have just kept the kitties out of the room (I know how hard this is!) and waited until the mouse took the bait. No chance of parasites, no chance of injury, mom and mouse happy, though cats very annoyed I'm sure!

Have any of you tried these things or even know if they work? I don't have a mouse problem, but when my boyfriend and I get a place together we will be in the country. We will definately have a problem then.

http://www.promolife.com/products/ratmice.htm

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