As many of you know we have 5 room tigers and therefore should be mouse free. Theoretically at least. But our cats are different, they kindly bring them home, they are as hospitable as Count Dracula.
Yesterday night I woke up because a bird chirped in my room. I found this rather strange, switched on the light and saw cat Rosie, waving with her tail and looking under a pile of cushions I had thrown on the floor. Now instead of getting up, chasing Rosie away and safe the poor mouse, I thought tomorrow morning the mouse will be gone or I will find her corpse or skeleton one day in an insolite place.
The next morning I saw Rosie running left and right and looking under my wardrobe. I called Mr. G. and declared we still had the mouse in the house. Immediately he started a big saving action. He folded a newspaper to a cone, kneeled on the floor (all bones cracked) and looked together with Rosie under the wardrobe. The mouse was sitting there peacefully and looked at them with its little eyes. Mr. G. asked me to take a broom and chase her out, but in this crucial moment the phone rang and I had to pick it up. When I finished the mouse was gone and Mr. G. swearing in Italian, tried to get up on his feet, he is rusted a bit, but we didn't need a crane or the firemen.
I went shopping. When I came back, the mouse had moved into Mr. G.'s room, under his bed and was this time intensively watched by cat Pookie. Mr. G. kneeled down again to pray and catch the mouse, without any result.
After this exciting morning, we spend a mouseless afternoon. But then came the News and while we watched some clowns who made speaches in the UNO, the mouse suddenly appeared at the door and walked quitely across the room to settle down under an armchair, probably to also watch Khadafi and the other idiot.
and that's what I saw from the sofa, isn't he/she cute ?
meanwhile my cats where sleeping happily and didn't care about the mouse or News.
Mr. G. considered to safe the mouse again, but with the cats around that would probably have turned into a tragedy for the mouse. So we decided for the night to close all living room doors and leave the window door open just the space for a mouse body.
Now the big question is : Is the mouse still in the house, or did it smell the fresh air and went out ?
We decided to keep an eye open. Being retired is a real hard job !
What a funny story, your cats sound as useless as my two. I love cats and collections so will be back for more of your cat news.
ReplyDeleteIt is a little hard to tell but from what I can see from the photograph, the mouse has long back legs, this combined with the fact that you are seeing it frequently suggests that this is a field mouse, that has become trapped in your house, rather than a true house mouse. With house mice, you will find the damage and the droppings but you will seldom see the mouse, they are more streetwise than field mice.
ReplyDeleteThe pest control guy, where I work, says that this has been happening a lot more this year than normal. Normally you see more field mice around, at this time of year, as they run away from the fields where they have been living, when the harvesting machines move in. This year the lack of proper rain means that there is very little water lying around in the landscape and so the field mice have been venturing further into the towns, villages and therefor peoples houses looking for a source of drinking water.
This mouse is out of it's normal environment, so if you don't get it the cats will but if you want to discourage more field mice from coming into your property, leave shallow sources of water near potential entry points, they will have a drink and go away, they do not like being inside, at least until we have some decent rain again. It is important not to leave food because they will keep coming back, even after it has rained, if they think they have found a regular food source.
Hope this helps, it is advice I got from the pest control guy at work, after getting a field mouse in my house.
BBE
Thank you very much for your explanations, but where I live there are no fields at all, only houses and gardens and a little wood. When we have a mouse in the house it's because the cats bring them in to play inside, lol !
ReplyDeleteBelli i micetti...buon fine settimana, Gattina :-)
ReplyDeleteThat's a funny story.It is hard work being retired. Have more fun tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteWell you could always put your photo up for a Jientje style idiom. "Look what the cat dragged in." :)
ReplyDeleteBBE
Being a mouse-carer is certainly full of uncertainty. I guess you could even have begun to wonder if you needed to get in extra supplies of mouse food (cheese, etc.) for the weekend.
ReplyDeleteYour cats probably just wanted to share their 'friends' with you....lol.
Oh dear, I hope that the mouse does not go out and tell all his friends of the nice warm house he has found! lol!
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures of his cute little backside!
LOL! With the window open just enough for a little mouse body, you now have 7 mice in and no one went out! And the cats will still sleep!
ReplyDeleteThe trials and tribulations of retirement!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe mouse is adorable....and the cats?------a hoot.
what a funny story Gattina!!! I had one in my room last week and hope she's out now!!! Your mouse looks particulary sympatical!!! I hope it will go out and not take pension by you and if it does i hope it doesn't decide to create a family!!!!
ReplyDeletebwaaa ha ha ha.. maybe there is a whole family of them running around. Seldom is a mouse celibate.
ReplyDeleteI trapped them with peanut butter... and then threw them out.
But you need to find their entrance or they'll be back.
Let's hear it for your cats LOL. That was too funny. Oh I so can't wait to retire :)
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that mouse is there for good, unless one of the cats gets to it in the meantime. It's probably nice and comfortable in your house and it will drive the cats crazy.
ReplyDeleteHope neither you nor Mr G needed to be cracked back into place after the down on the knees stuff...I know what it's like. We're not as supple as we used to be are we?