Thursday, September 3, 2009

Mouse 2.0

It's been more than two months since I found the empty mixing bowl on the back deck. In that time and longer, we have had a few problems with flickering lights and electrical outlets (unlike Dooce, my brand-new washing machine stopped working because of the wires in a nearby socket). So when my sister swore she could hear mice scampering up the wall behind one of the vents in the living room, I started to have visions of the little rodents eating through the wires and causing unseen damage inside the bowels of the house.

Literally days later, as we are hanging out in the living room during nap time, there is a huge crash. Then Oliver - the more skittish of the cats - steps gingerly into our line of sight, a mouse dangling from his mouth. His eyes are a bit frantic and you can almost hear his voice: Look what I've got for you, Mama! But what should I do with it? Where should I put it? Halp!

My sister and I jump onto the coffee table, alternately hissing at each other and praising Oliver: "Oh my god, it's a mouse! Good job, Oliver! A real mouse? Well, it's dead! Good work Oliver, catching that mouse. Is it? It could just be pretending. DON'T put it down, Oliver. Good kitty! How are we going to get rid of it?" My husband starts looking for some kind of container. Oliver turns around in a circle and then darts downstairs.

In the basement, the mouse gets dropped and stays "dead" for a moment before running for its life. It's caught and cornered by both cats, then dropped again before disappearing.

Meanwhile, Will has gotten up from her nap and is recruited into carrying a flashlight into the basement to help my sister look for the mouse. Although we see lots of places for mice to congregate (ewwww!) we think we've lost it, until we notice Pasha staring into my rolled-up yoga mat.

Five minutes later, with the help of a pasta pot, we are out on the deck staring down at this:

A little closer:



We get the mat off and the top on:


Doesn't that seem like a fat mouse? As in, clearly not starving in my apparently hospitable house? Here's a closer look:


Also, I had no idea mice had such beady eyes. Ugh!


After convincing my husband that we could not in good conscience free the mouse in our annoying neighbour's flower bed, Will helps him carry the pot to the far corner of the back yard.


Freedom!

You can just make him (her?) out to the left in the top part of the picture.

Although I'm still not too freaked out by the idea that there are other overfed rodents living in my admittedly old house, I am not excited about the damage they could be causing inside the walls. I have already contacted the wildlife removal people, who don't kill the animals (I would never consider using poisons, especially with Will and the cats in the house) but apparently install "one-way exits" and block all the other entry points.

I will let you know how it goes.

1 comment:

Mom with three boys said...

Good luck, Lasha, with your wildlife. I guess it beats the ubiquitous raccoons in Toronto! I suspect, however, that the wee beady-eyed one might make his/her way back into your house. :) Mom with three boys