A Mouse In The House
April 24, 2019
April 24, 2019
I heard ... whirr, whirr ... scurry scurry, a short distance behind me as I sat at my desk. Thomas my cat must have stepped on Hazel, my Roomba floor
cleaning robot, 'cause she, Hazel, started cleaning the carpet behind my chair. I poked Hazel's dock setting and she obediently went to her docking station.
I glanced across the room and saw Thomas, my cat, batting a small brown mouse back and forth and Jack, my 80 pound black Lab, nudging the mouse with his nose. Thomas swatted at Jack, then the mouse. It scurried .. rather, limped away, hiding under the couch. Grrrrrrrr.. a mouse in the house!
Thomas dashed behind the couch, intent on catching the furry intruder. I didn't give it much hope and proceeded to finish typing. Movement behind my chair caused me to leap up onto the chair as Thomas once again batted the bedraggled mouse across the room, landing squarely beneath my chair. I grabbed the camera that sits alongside my laptop and clicked two photos of Thomas It's rather precarious to kneel on a chair to take a picture of the final moments in a little brown mouse's life.
I picked up the limp body and tossed it outside, planning to give it a civilized burial before I went to bed.
As minds tend to shut out unpleasant chores, I forgot about the dead mouse on the porch and retired for the evening.
I awoke in the wee hours of the morning, hearing the familiar sounds cats make when bouncing a mouse from one hard surface to another. Another mouse in my house!
I got up to see Thomas had captured his latest prey between his sharp claws, ready to sink his teeth into the terrified creature. Thomas let down his guard when he saw me approach .. and the mouse made a desperate escape toward the couch. I knew if it got under the couch I'd be awake all night expecting it to pay me a visit. I gabbed the first thing handy - a small, square Tupperware container and dropped it over the not-so-speedy mouse.
Now what do I do? How do I get one very angry .. and scared mouse out from under the container without it getting away?
I grabbed a wooden mallot out of the utensil container on the cabinet, picked up the container and gave the mouse a giant headache. A far better demise than Thomas's plan to send the mouse to the departed rodent- rally in the sky by way of his sharp teeth.
I tossed him/her onto the porch with the previous mouse on the porch - possibly siblings - and went back to bed, hoping not to dream about mice seeking revenge! I went to sleep picturing a spot in the flower garden to give the critters a civilized burial.
I awoke the next morning after a sound sleep - no mice ghosts scampering through my dreams. I let my dog Jack out, and glancing at the deck, what to my wondrous eyes should appear ... aforementioned mice no longer in repose on the porch.
My hope is the mice played dead until I went to bed, then decided this was not a friendly environment and scampered safely away to my neighbor's house where there is no cat on patrol. Or ... the alternative ... they are getting their family members armed and ready to invade and conquer my peaceful existence.
I will keep my handy dandy, mouse wacking mallet close at hand.
I glanced across the room and saw Thomas, my cat, batting a small brown mouse back and forth and Jack, my 80 pound black Lab, nudging the mouse with his nose. Thomas swatted at Jack, then the mouse. It scurried .. rather, limped away, hiding under the couch. Grrrrrrrr.. a mouse in the house!
Thomas dashed behind the couch, intent on catching the furry intruder. I didn't give it much hope and proceeded to finish typing. Movement behind my chair caused me to leap up onto the chair as Thomas once again batted the bedraggled mouse across the room, landing squarely beneath my chair. I grabbed the camera that sits alongside my laptop and clicked two photos of Thomas It's rather precarious to kneel on a chair to take a picture of the final moments in a little brown mouse's life.
I picked up the limp body and tossed it outside, planning to give it a civilized burial before I went to bed.
As minds tend to shut out unpleasant chores, I forgot about the dead mouse on the porch and retired for the evening.
I awoke in the wee hours of the morning, hearing the familiar sounds cats make when bouncing a mouse from one hard surface to another. Another mouse in my house!
I got up to see Thomas had captured his latest prey between his sharp claws, ready to sink his teeth into the terrified creature. Thomas let down his guard when he saw me approach .. and the mouse made a desperate escape toward the couch. I knew if it got under the couch I'd be awake all night expecting it to pay me a visit. I gabbed the first thing handy - a small, square Tupperware container and dropped it over the not-so-speedy mouse.
Now what do I do? How do I get one very angry .. and scared mouse out from under the container without it getting away?
I grabbed a wooden mallot out of the utensil container on the cabinet, picked up the container and gave the mouse a giant headache. A far better demise than Thomas's plan to send the mouse to the departed rodent- rally in the sky by way of his sharp teeth.
I tossed him/her onto the porch with the previous mouse on the porch - possibly siblings - and went back to bed, hoping not to dream about mice seeking revenge! I went to sleep picturing a spot in the flower garden to give the critters a civilized burial.
I awoke the next morning after a sound sleep - no mice ghosts scampering through my dreams. I let my dog Jack out, and glancing at the deck, what to my wondrous eyes should appear ... aforementioned mice no longer in repose on the porch.
My hope is the mice played dead until I went to bed, then decided this was not a friendly environment and scampered safely away to my neighbor's house where there is no cat on patrol. Or ... the alternative ... they are getting their family members armed and ready to invade and conquer my peaceful existence.
I will keep my handy dandy, mouse wacking mallet close at hand.
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