Feline Redemption; Rodent Eradication

There is so much to write about. But given I have… SIX MINUTES before my afternoon clinic, I will limit this to a lighthearted update on last week’s critter crisis.

I had found a mouse in our bedroom. This despite owning two huge male cats. We had a talk with those cats, and they decided to take some action.

The next day, they were chasing something in the living room. And yes, it was a mouse, and no, it was not the same mouse who had evaded capture the day previous. It was a BABY mouse. Our athletic tuxedo cat Leo captured the prize, which, after some hesitance and a brief ethical discussion, we decided to grab it away and flush. This appeared to be the most definitive/ least humane manner of disposal… Seriously.

What do YOU do with a half-dead baby mouse that you do not want? You could throw it outdoors in sub-zero weather, and it will slowly freeze to death, or make its way back into your toasty home. You could step on it, ew, if you’re a sicko. You could let the cats have it, ugh, messy AND mean. So, flush it was.

Later that same night, the cats assisted with a second capture, in the BABY’S ROOM. Ugh. Flush again. At this point we were kind of on edge. How many mice were in our house anyways?

So with daylight came a call to the best recommended local exterminator.

“We can get someone out there later this morning,” they assured.

“We’ll take it!” we exclaimed. And they sent an experienced exterminator, a serious guy in suspenders, who obviously has alot of passion for the job. He shared an abundance of knowledge on mouse behaviors. He waxed philsophocal about bedbugs (which we do not have, but do not want.) He inspected the house for access points and pluggd them. He spread around some “environmentally safe mouse bait”, which really is mouse poison. He set snap traps. And, most importantly, he set a date to come back to check the traps. WE certainly were not going to dispose of any more tortured and dying mice.

It’s been a week, and we haven’t had one more mouse, and none in the traps either. We’re “clean”. This all for the surprisingly affordable price (I think so anyways) of $300.

A small victory!