Mouse Capades

What appeared to be a 3" cockroach came from under a door heading straight for my feet while I was sitting here at the computer. So naturally, I shrieked pretty loudly. I hate cockroaches, and I was thinking this was the scariest thing ever and I would never recover from the horror. Thankfully, in mid-shriek, before I could fully inhale for a bigger and better one, I realized it was only a little mouse. Mike jumped up from his computer desk and leaped to my side yelling "Whaaat?!?!?!" I was a little embarrassed to have to admit I screamed over a mouse that was by now under my bookshelf. Mike made me feel worse when he said, "Now that's just embarrassing!" but turns out he was talking to Diego who was sleeping on top of the sofa and let a mouse run in without even knowing it.

Pixie was the only cat outside, neglecting to come in for the dinner bell, which meant that when I opened the office door to see her sitting there with Chino, trying to look a little too innocent, I knew exactly how a mouse got in my house. Remember the kitty door I mentioned in the previous post? Well, there is one drawback to those things. We might have to make an adjustment to the Hotel California "in-only" policy at night if they are going to hunt and bring home the bacon. Usually this only happens in the summer and then I know to do a spot check of their mouths to make sure they haven't caught something they want to play with indoors. A couple months ago, Pix got by me with a baby bird. That was fun to catch inside let me tell you. I did it though. Turns out the mouse was alot harder!!! Even with three cats supposedly helping. I thought I would have a problem with a front and center seat to the killing, but after several close calls, I realized the cats were more interested in a long drawn out affair.

So, there was Mike with the business end of the feather duster trying to poke the little guy out of his hiding places and into, conveniently, Diego's mouth. Dumb Diego was trying to create a shortcut to the mouse by clawing his way through the bookshelf directly to the critter. I was trying to anticipate alternate mouse routes and line up another cat. Chino let the little guy run right through his legs. Pixie just sat back and smiled, enjoying the chaos she had created, the little she-devil. The mouse figured out his minutes were numbered and he started to climb up the back of the computer hutch. Mike left to get a tool to remove it from the wall which I didn't think was a very good idea. There's got to be a better way to get rid of a mouse and still have a house left standing when we do. I had come to the conclusion several minutes earlier that this was going to be like the bird, and we would have to catch it ourselves. So I emptied my trash and while it was quiet the mouse thought he might try under the sofa for awhile.

I thought of a brilliant idea to open the windows so he could scootch out under the 2". Noooo, that's too smart for a mouse to do. Mike returned and we pulled the couch out as fast as we could...the plan being that the mouse would run out the window or get caught by the cats, one seriously interested in catching it, one curiously crouched nearby, and another watching from the sidelines, all with tails swishing madly. Well, hilariously, there were several fake toy mice under the sofa that when we moved it, confused the cats, and the real mouse got away and went back under the sofa instead of out the window. Frustration!!!

So we pulled the sofa again. Gotta hand it to Diego, he wasn't fooled again by the fake mice. He snagged that little guy. I didn't even see it happen. Mike told me Diego had it so I looked away to miss the killing. What killing?! No, he's just gonna make it start squeaking for kicks, toss it around, throw it up in the air, and let it go. Now the mice is fighting for its little life. How sad is that?! I opened the windows wider, figuring who cares, I'll catch the cats later if they get out, surely the mouse can see that there's a way out of the house now, can't it?! So I take my trash can and Mike and I through a comedy of errors much like a tennis match go from one side of the room to the other chasing the little mouse from his computer to my computer desk, all the while running right under the open windows, dodging cats, me with the trash can and Mike with the duster. At one point I had the duster and I have to say it was a good tool to use - I was able to manuever the little guy by bopping it on the head with the feathers and it would turn away from wherever it was heading that I didn't want it to go.

Right before we caught it, the mouse made a dash right towards Mike's (ahem) inner legs - I thought it was going to run right on up...boy, did Mike move fast! That part was funny, but I knew better than to laugh too loudly at that particular moment. It's much more appropriate to do so now! Then we got lucky and Mousie ran into the trash can. I yelled at Mike to put the duster on top of it, visualizing the little guy jumping out of it. The Mouse was released outdoors. I hauled Chino-my-meat-only-comes-in-cans, back in through the open window. As soon as I locked them Diego wanted in. Repeat the same pattern with Pixie - 3 times. Everytime I opened the window she got the Feral Kitty Face again and took off. Like she was hunting in here!! Not!!! Finally, she ran like a nut in through the front door. They all had major friskies. For about 15 seconds.