There's a Mouse in the House

or Caution: This involves dead mouse talk 

 'Tis the season for field mice to come into our house seeking warmth.  This is an occurrence we have every year and we've gotten used to. We usually find them in the same place--between a couple of studs in our coat closet. Apparently, they enter from somewhere above and fall into this area. Then, they are the ultimate, "I've fallen and can't get up" victims.  We finally figured this out after Ward followed his nose and cut a couple of holes in the wall where he eventually found a stinky mouse graveyard. After that, he put a plate over the hole so it could be opened and he could rescue any fallen mice.*

This seemed to work pretty well until this week. Then we got a smart and determined mouse. This one chewed it's way out of the graveyard and has been able to elude our four cats for a couple of days--an unheard of feat until now. The longest any creature (bugs, mice, moles, voles) lasts in our house is a couple hours before the cats have taken care of it. Just when we think that this mouse has escaped or is dead, we see the cats very attentively watching under a door or a piece of furniture. And there's only one thing that that can mean--there's still a mouse in the house. And as much as I hate to admit it, I'm scared of this little mouse. So wish me luck that today will be the day that this smart and determined mouse will be gone.



Update: I found the mouse and I think the cats won. Now to put on some gloves and toss it outside.


*We have an ongoing discussion about rescuing the mice or if we should let nature take its course between the cats and the mice. I vote for the cats because one, it is very natural and two, I don't want to handle the mice.