Two dogs and three cats in the house...

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Why am I still the one catching the mice?!!!!

The morning began with crashing and squeaking from the front bedroom. Bright and early, I might add. "Go get 'em, boys!" was my non-coherent crack of dawn thought. Had we caught the tiny, little, itty-bitty mouse by the time I crawled out of bed? Nope. We were toying with him. Oh well... as that is their only job in the entire world, I let them continue hunting. All three of them had it cornered behind a dresser. Surely they could take care of it. Nope. The nasty little thing scampered out past the baby gate that keeps the dogs away from the litter box. Now it was in the living room with ME! I hate the little beasties. The dogs joined the fray at this point. Two 50+lb boxer mixes. Surely between the 5 of them they can catch it. I stood on the sofa and encouraged them all. "GET IT!!!! GETITGETITGETITGETIT!!!!!!!"
There was a great deal of crashing and careening about and still the mouse ran free. Sigh. My animals are useless I tell you. I ended up getting a box, catching the mouse and tossing it outside. Fred the outdoor cat was looking interested as the little mouse scampered free, but I have very little hope for Fred. I suspect he has signed peace treaties with the mice and bunnies.

 

[Southernbelle]

I think a Shop Vac may have been called for in this situation. That would've done the trick, I'm sure.

Don't shoot me!

 

[Goose and Fig]

I went to bed one night and both cats were staring under the refrigerator. Next morning- same thing. When I got home from work later, it looked as if there had been a massacre in my kitchen. Who would have thought mice had that much blood!?

They don't bother me- as long as I don't find poop in the silverware drawer

 

[12GAGirl]

You do know if you throw the mouse outside of your home it will just return!

 

[lauralou]

I'm boxing up my Kitty for you right now. I'll put her in the mail today, and she'll take care of your little problem.







Just kidding.

 

[StupidBird]

My cats belong to the Good Sportsmen Club, and practice catch-and-release as often as they can. Yup, catch the rodent (mice, field rat, chipmunk, bird) outside and release it unharmed. In The House. Total chaos. I now can pick up a mouse barehanded by the tail. Rats, chipmunks are too mean and turn and bite, I use work gloves with those. Birds get a towel, quick inspection for damage, and gently released.

 

[Moxiechick]

We coddle our vermin.

The dog and cats will be the first to discover a mouse. Sometimes we hear squeeking if someone has actually caught the mouse. Sometimes we can tell by the sudden interest everyone has in staring under the fridge or the hoosier cabinet. If it is a baby mouse, I usually just scoop it right up, as they don't know enough to bite yet. Adult mice get captured with an old tennis ball container. If they don't cooperate, we set out the mouse size havaheart trap. The mice are then placed in a 10 gallon aquarium which we keep on hand just for this purpose. It has litter, nesting material, a water bottle and a wheel. We give them some bird seed and keep them overnight to make sure the are ok before releasing them. If the have injuries, we treat them with a general wound cleaning solution we got from the vet. Once they have a medical "all clear", we let them go on the far end of the property, in a small woodpile. It borders scrub brush and woods and has a small stream nearby... everything a mouse would need to survive. We toss out a handful of bird seed into the woods, so they will have something to forage for in the first few days until they get settled. If the weather is bad, we will wait until it is better before releasing them. I don't think the realeased mice are coming back in. They'd have a fairly long walk back to the house over mostly open lawn. Plus the volume of mice has been the same ever since we moved here. We always have a few batches in spring and fall, and I haven't noticed any increase. Perhaps a slight decrease if anything.

Some folks might think we're nuts, but we like doing it.

 

[redhen]

I have 5 indoor cats..and one is super duper mouser..
Him and i have had many a fight over mice... because i HATE the way they scream when he catches them...

So.. i see him chasing a mouse.. i shove him outta the way..and try to grab the mouse...FORGET IT! I cant catch the stinkin thing...
so..then i let Rosco (cat) chase the mouse again..( he always catches the mouse in a hot second..)... Then... i jump on the cat (before he runs away with his prize)..he growls at me...(cause he knows i'm gonna take away his prize..)..then i have to grab a towel.... pry the cats mouth open... and grab the poor little scared mousie from his jaws... All the while the cats growling..the mouse is squealing... and hubby is standing there looking at me like i'm nuts...

 

[Southernbelle]

Quote:

Now I feel guilty for my drawer full of mouse traps designed to kill mice.

 

[StupidBird]

snap traps are great for training pets to stay off the kitchen counters. just set them (upside down if you;re really afraid the pet will get hurt) out along the counter, maybe with a paper on top. the snap scares everyone in the room.
so don't feel bad! and I still use snap traps in the corners of the garage, cat doesn't go there.