About a month ago we found ourselves with a new pet mouse. Not the kind you get from a store that runs on a squeaky wheel inside a cage. We have the wild kind.
Lucky for us, we have a cat named Roger that practices catch and release when hunting. He catches the critter outdoors, in their natural habitat, and brings them into our home. He keeps them alive, not out of any merciful motivations, as he still murders them once he has them trapped between four walls.
Our first thought was that he was bringing them in to teach his dim-witted runt sister, Lyra, that the cute little creatures are for killing and eating. She may have learned a bit from him, as she now brings in moths and then tackles them as they flutter around. But I have a feeling she would simply snuggle a mouse if she had the chance.
It is more likely that he is showing off his hunting prowess to his human subjects. Without fail he announces the catch with a loud yowl as he pops through the cat-door. This guarantees we stop what we are doing and take notice of his awesomeness. However, as soon as we hear that signature hollow “Me-OW-ow-ow!”, my daughters and I jump to action. Thankfully nobody in our house is the type to jump on a chair and squeal "EEK" if we see a rodent, like in the old TV shows. We hop into rescue mode.
If we see feathers, we throw a shirt or towel on his head. If we’re lucky he backs away while the bird stays tangled in the fabric, soon to be returned to the outdoors. Mice are a little more difficult to catch, but we have made many-a-live catch, removing the rodent from his jaws and out to the greenbelt at the end of the block. The mouse hunt often takes two of us, several containers and plenty of lively hoots and hollers as we chase the brown tail along the floorboards.
About a month ago we noticed Roger poised in front of the stove with ears and eyes aimed at the gap beneath, tuned to every sound and movement. That usually means that there is food under there - the living, breathing kind. Our guess was correct, he brought in a mouse when we were sleeping and lost the little fellow in the kitchen before he could dine on its flesh.
Since then we have seen very few signs that the mouse is here, except for Roger’s obsession with staring at various appliances and cupboards. No torn food packaging or nibbles on the fruit in the bowl on the counter.
Once in a while we will hear a scuffle and squeak under the sink when the cat finally has the mouse cornered. We all come running and the girls grab and toss Roger outside while we try to safely grab the mouse…with no luck. One day Ella and I had the little guy trapped between us, behind the microwave. We each held a plastic popcorn container and a lid. I dropped a banana behind the oven and flushed the brown fur-ball out toward Ella’s side. For a moment she had him in the container, but soon he launched out over her head and ran down her back to the safety of the gap under the stove.
We usually know approximately where the mouse is based on where Roger chooses to hang out. We purchased a humane trap to place near the stove, as that seems to be a favorite haunt, and loaded it with cheese. But I’m beginning to think it is a myth that mice love cheese. We found out that OUR mouse loves chocolate flavored energy gels - specifically the GU brand. The neglected gel drawer was finally opened this weekend. Inside we found that of the variety of 30-40 GUs, Hammergels and Shotblocks, our friend not only opened, but licked clean the chocolate GUs, sampled other flavors of GU but did not eat much and did NOT touch a single Hammergel or Shotblock. We were quite surprised by the picky nature of our little friend. And if you ask me, he has rather good taste!
We have strangely become attached to this mouse. After cleaning out the energy gel drawer, my husband re-stocked it. Not with energy gels, but with three tiny bowls: one full of water and the other two with different types of food. We wouldn’t want him to get hungry or thirsty while out-witting our cat, of course.
I think that, due to the mouse’s discriminating taste and his clear preference for the GU brand, the GU company ought to sponsor this mouse and make him a spokesmodel. I mean, there are tigers, camels, ducks and even a very popular lizard that represent many companies. Why not a cute little mouse? Heck, look what a grand job Mickey does for Disney!
Our only job now is to reload the humane trap with chocolate GU, catch that little fella, outfit him in a GU t-shirt and get ourselves a sponsorship. He’s gonna be rich and famous, and all because of our cat. Thanks Roger!
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