My old cat died
By mysticmaggie
@mysticmaggie (2498)
United States
December 4, 2009 9:18am CST
a year or so ago and since I'm now renting instead of owning my home, my landlady prefers I do not get another one. Unfortunately, I think the mice heard the discussion because with the advent of colder weather, they've decided my Pennsylvania farm home is the place they want to be.
Caught one last night - after finding she had made a lovely nest inside the insulation under the burners of my stove. She lined her nest with the closest goodies - pages from my favorite cookbooks. Thank goodness, she did not have time to plant babies there.
Can you imagine, my cooking a big meal and getting the smell of toasted mouse babies in the mix? Yuck! And how awful to take even those babies little lives in such a cruel way.
Caught mama last night on a sticky trap and removed her to the great outdoors - where she will probably reward me with a return trip to my house. But, I hate hurting and killing things, although I love to go target shooting with my little .22.
How do you feel about having mice in your house? How do you handle it? Are you a leap off the floor and onto a chair person when you see a mouse? Or, do you grab your broom and chase the little rascal? Do you set humane or snap traps? Do you feel sorry for the mouse if it gets caught or figure it got its just desserts? Do you have a cat or must you be the kitty in your home?
1 person likes this
11 responses
@cerebellum (3863)
• United States
5 Dec 09
I don't think I have mice, the bodies I've found look more like moles. I've never known moles to go in the house. The few times I've seen one in the house I've tried to get it to go outside rather than kill it. I have sticky strips in the garage and they eventually die on that. Another reason I don't think they are mice is they never get into any of my food or anything. I use a walker around the house so they can outrun me with no problem. It takes a long time to get them to go outside.
I used to have cats and then I didn't have to worry about critters in the house. When I first moved in I was on the couch and my one cat brought a mouse for me to play with. I scared him when I screamed and he ran down the cellar with the mouse and I never saw it again. All my cats are gone and I'd like to get another but being disabled they would be too much to care for. I am too paranoid to leave them go out and therefore I'd have to change their litter. If they got sick I couldn't take them to the vet myself and many other chores. I do miss them, especially when I have a visitor in the house.
@mysticmaggie (2498)
• United States
6 Dec 09
Yes, even the independent cat is more dependent on us than we sometimes realize. Not being able to clean the litter trays or get them medical care makes owning them a disservice to the animal. It also makes it lonely for us, doesn't it?
@cerebellum (3863)
• United States
6 Dec 09
I always felt if I had to rely on someone else to help me take them to the vet it wasn't fair to them. Not to mention that I couldn't play with them very well or take care of them the way I'd like. I do miss them. I don't think I'd find ones as good as them anyway, but I guess you feel that way about any pet.
@LucaDeVivo (19)
• Italy
5 Dec 09
My 2 cat were escaped years ago, now i have a dog his name il Berry :)
@mysticmaggie (2498)
• United States
5 Dec 09
I now have only a Scottish terrier. Had he been trained from puppyhood for his normal job as a small animal retriever, I think he would be great. But mostly, he thinks those little gray runners are fun to watch! Not much help there. lol
@LucaDeVivo (19)
• Italy
7 Dec 09
I have a pit, he is very intelligent,he seems that understand me when i speak ihih,anyway is true that dogs are the best men's friend
@mysticmaggie (2498)
• United States
5 Dec 09
Old Man, my cat, used to bring me lovely presents of mice and rats he caught. I would thank him profusely and when he went to take a nap, I buried them figuring maybe he would think I welcomed the meal he brought. When he ate it himself, there was little left to say a rodent ever came near our house.
@LucaDeVivo (19)
• Italy
5 Dec 09
My 2 cat were escaped some years ago, now i have a dog, his name is Berry :)
@mysticmaggie (2498)
• United States
6 Dec 09
My Scottish terrier is my only pet now, but he's a wonderful dog to have around. Since my husband had a stroke, Mr. Scotty has made it his job to be protector of the disabled. He does his job well without biting anyone.
@lynkshadow (299)
• Canada
5 Dec 09
I'm sorry to hear about your old cat. My condolensces. I have 3 and love them dearly. Now in Canada the tenant has a right to own a pet in an apt regardless of what the lease says. So I am not sure where you are from but I don't think it's legally viable for a landlord to tell you that you can't have a pet. They may require a damage deposit, so prepared for that. There are sooo many cats that need homes that I really hope that you do adopt one, not just for the mice but as you know the company that they provide us. Their unconditional love and hilarious ways. I would get 2 because it's always better for one to have company iteself when you are not around. Look into your tenant rights and if all is up to par then RESCUE A FELINE! They need you too. Cheers!
@mysticmaggie (2498)
• United States
6 Dec 09
I can own a pet. The landlady just prefers it be a small dog or even two dogs and not a cat. I can understand way, since I own a condo and the renters brought in cats they couldn't control. The cats literally tried to climb the walls and ripped the screens on the new porch to shreds.
I make it a habit to train any animal I own and refuse to let them destroy my home or anyone else's, but when a landlord has one tenant who is irresponsible, it's hard to trust anyone else.
@Amber4106 (540)
• United States
4 Dec 09
Thankfully we don't have a problem with mice in our home, but we do have problems with field mice getting into the trucks. Then there's always pack rats that can literally chew every wire imagineable in a vehicle. I do have one cat, but he is declawed so I don't let him go outside. So I guess he doesn't do much good as far as keeping the mice away outside. I would get a cat to keep outside for that purpose, but we have a jack russell terrier who will rip a cat to pieces if she gets the chance. And no, I don't feel sorry for the mice when and if they get caught. We've even bought the larger rat traps for the pack rats. You can also get bar bait for the rats, but you have to make sure to secure it to a board or other sturdy surface because they will pack it off instead of just eating it. 
@mysticmaggie (2498)
• United States
4 Dec 09
When my husband had a prolonged illness once upon a time, squirrels built a nest under his car's hood. I got in to drive it and it wouldn't start. His buddy came over to help and when he popped the hood, he almost had heart failure when Mama Squirrel barreled out from under it! Thankfully, she didn't attack him, but went up a tree to see what would happen to her babies. We put the next in the center of a three-pronged tree and eventually she built a new nest higher up to move them into.
@allknowing (137548)
• India
5 Dec 09
Even with cats around these daring mice make their presence as there is so much for them in my house! I keep poison here and there and in a few days they all vanish! I am an animal lover but if I feed these mice our lives would be in danger and so I have no other choice!
@mysticmaggie (2498)
• United States
5 Dec 09
I do my best to put everything in cabinets or the refrigerator so nothing is left out, but I forgot about the dog's dish. He leaves a few pieces of kibble every now and then - more than enough to feed a hungry mouse. So now, his bowl gets emptied every night, too.
@nukay81 (25)
• Indonesia
4 Dec 09
My dad used rat traps, because my father is very upset with rats running aroung the house. My dad bought a car to avoid the existence of the rats. But my father did not realize, if a cat chasing the mouse will make the house a mess. Though somehow these mice are still many around...!!!
@mysticmaggie (2498)
• United States
5 Dec 09
When you figure a mouse has dozens of babies a year and a cat probably only has one or two babies, the odds are that the mice will win every time. A friend of mine has eight cats and says she's never seen any sign of mice in her home in all of her 65 years. Only one of her cats is too lazy to chase them, but he's always right there to share in the bounty if the other cats find one outside!
@mysticmaggie (2498)
• United States
5 Dec 09
Have to get my landlady's approval first. Would hate to have to move. She and her husband are so wonderful about helping with everything since we got here. They even came over and dug a grave when my little Shih Tzu passed away.
@kaylachan (71514)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
5 Dec 09
This area I am now living isn't well-known for attracting mice. If one made its way through all the trafic and what not of the complex, I doubt it would last long. Any one of our three cats would use it as food. Or, in Precious' case play toy.
Now when I lived back in St. Augustine, our home would get rats that would live under our house. Every so often one would sneak in, but it wouldn't last long of course. Between my family members trapping them, my brother-in-law poisining them, or the cats having a field day they wouldn't survive.
I hated the idea of killing of course, but I had no say in the matter.
@mysticmaggie (2498)
• United States
5 Dec 09
Looks like you definitely have the rat problem covered! Great to have everyone working on it.
