Shall we try it again?

It was suggested that we do another getting to know you thread. How about a cat vs mouse story? Here's mine.

I had a Siamese when I was a teen, living at home. We had mice. He would come up in my bed at night after I was asleep. One night I reached down to pet him in the dark and felt a wiggly mouse he had brought me in his mouth. Ugh!

 

We've had a few mice in the house (to clarify: not because my house is filthy. We have a really big lot and it's been I think a total of 3 mice in roughly 10 years...). The last one I actually found because I was cleaning the litter box and saw blood on the floor. I panicked for a minute until I realized it couldn't be from them peeing blood (not watery enough). I figured someone cut their paw and was trying to figure out how to lift them all up to find out who. I followed the blood trail cleaning it up as I went until I found the little mouse huddled next to my boyfriend 's shoe (that he wasn't wearing) shivering. I am not a fan of mice, especially in my house, but I felt bad for the little guy! I asked my boyfriend if we could save him, so he grabbed a broom and shooed him out the door while I blocked the cats. I'm a bit of a bleeding heart sometimes...I don't want mice in my house, but I don't want them to die either!! Since then, we've had no other mice...I feel he warned the others away.

 

I have a similar story as Sue, we lived in the big woods and the house was an old house, so lots of mice and critters would get in, including a bat. My cat at the time, caught a mouse at night while I was in bed and brought it to me. I woke up when she had dropped it on the bed and was playing cat and mouse with it! I kicked the covers so hard, cat and mouse went flying up in the air and safely landed on the floor. I couldn't find the mouse, but she kept hunting around for it, needless to say, I slept with one eye open the rest of the night!

I also saved a few mice in my time too Rachel, I felt bad for them and would rescue them if I was able and let them go outside (away from the house).

 

This New Year's Eve @ 10 pm, Dave & I were nodding off on the sofa when suddenly we heard two LOUD thump-thumps accompanied by much crashing about, then I saw Bat furiously zoom by. She came to a screeching halt in the middle of the kitchen floor, tail twitching furiously. Jumped up to look & saw something long & brown hanging from her mouth. Said to Dave, "Oh no, she's gonna eat a shoelace?!!" And THEN realized what it was ... & screeched: "Dave, Dave! SHE HAS A MOUSE!!!"

So he jumped up, too ... and I could not believe how strong Bat-Bat is! It took BOTH of us to pin her down so that Dave could carefully extract the mouse from her mouth. (At this point she's growling like a cougar, mouse tightly clamped in her jaws like she's some sort of Venus fly-trap, and the full length of her tail puffed up like a big, fat bottle-brush.)

Talk about a crazy start to 2016: First thing in the morning, she eats part of a Christmas ribbon ... then she ends the day by catching a MOUSE! I was so floored at the skill level of the ol' girl that I almost forgot to be upset that there had been a mouse inside my house. (This was a first for us.)
After everybody's adrenaline levels were back to normal, I whipped out the vacuum & vac'd the whole place with a vengeance (not that it needed it; I'd just done that a couple of days before), but just because ... well, ick - there'd been a stinkin' rodent in my house. I even vacuumed every inch of Bat-Bat. (Believe it or not, she actually loves this: I use the little round dusting brush on her! We have a Miele canister vac; so incredibly quiet, yet really sucks - in the best sense.)

So ... I certainly everyone else's New Year's Day was rodent-free!

 

Rachel - I'm so glad you did that - poor little guy shivering!! I have no mice stories - never had one in the house (only huge palmetto bugs when I lived in Atlanta - they can be as big as mice)

 

@Carol & Murphy - Lucky you, Carol! Yikes, palmetto bugs - we had those down in Cocoa Beach, FL; giant cockroaches... and the darned things can fly! (Gave me the willies every time I saw one ...)

 

My cats catch mice all the time. Sometimes they eat them, sometimes just play with them then let them go, but they always try to bring them in the house! So far I've been able to prevent that... @Bobbie And Bubba ought to have a few good mousin' stories

 

Yes, palmetto bugs - my cats had more than a few of them in their mouths and I always thought they were mice- yuck - would prefer they eat a mouse than a palmetto bug

 

I hate palmetto bugs, which are really just a big roach that flies! I would rather have a mouse in the house anytime! Unfortunately Florida is "the" place for palmetto bugs. So far only seen a few outside in the shed. The only critters my cats have caught here are lizzards. I see the tail sticking out of their mouths. I am constantly catching them from the lanai (aka catio) and taking them out. I haven't been able to save them all though, poor things.

 

My cat in the big woods also caught a bat that was in the house, talk about freaking me out! It came down our chimney in the summer. I was worried about rabies, but luckily she had her rabies shot. The darn thing was flying around in the house darting everywhere, I ran into the bedroom, no door on it since it was a new addition, and waved a blanket every time it flew my way! She nailed it out of the air and we let her outside with it, even my husband didn't want to take it from her, he was freaked out too! lol Another time in SD, I got up early to go to work and just about stepped on something lying on the floor, on closer inspection it was a weasel! Must have got in somehow and my male cat killed it and left it, guess weasel doesn't taste good. I felt bad, it was so pretty in it's winter coat of white with a black tip on it's tail. Obviously, we lived in some pretty primitive places, I swear I am a good housekeeper! lol Sorry, Sue, this was supposed to be cat vs mouse stories, but our kitties are master hunters and they don't stick to just mice!

 

My sentiments exactly!

 

I bet they really help keep your barn free of mice, your kitties are earning their keep!

 

Sue, that happened to my friend daughter! The cat brought the mouse into her bed and the mouse was still alive and started running through her hair! Yuck!!!

 

Ugh!!! I hate palmetto bugs! We used to get those...well we still do just not nearly as bad since we starting putting out bug poison around the house. I hated to do it...worried about other animals that might get near, but those things invade!! We had one that I swept out the door once (can't stand to kill them because they crunch) but it turned around in midair and tried to fly back in my house!!! I slammed the door so hard.

 

I had never heard the term Palmetto bugs-we just call them flying roaches! We had the big flying ones in NOLA, and I'm sure they're here too, but all I see are the earthbound ones and only a few of those, I think because of so many cats! Thank you kitties!!!!

 

Ha! When we moved to FL and I heard them called "palmetto bugs" - then saw for myself that they were just honkin'-big cockroaches - I figured that was a romanticized term that the local Chambers of Commerce/tourism bureaus came up with so as to not freak out the tourists!

 

Lynn, your adventures with the bat and weasel are creepy! Much worse than mice.

 

I think I'd rather have mice than palmetto bugs. Those things are creepy.

 

Only had a mouse in my house once. The cats were stalking it. I only had a bucket handy, I was not going to use anything I cook in. Tried to catch him but it got away. Went between dishwasher and counter. Cats posted themselves in front of dishwasher waiting.

We do have them in our attic. Just the other night as I was feeding the cats I heard one scurry by in the drop ceiling. When dh came home I told him. He went and there it was in the trap. That's the only kind of mice I want around , dead ones!!

 

We were living on 15 acres right next to a huge wildlife preserve in northern Minnesota, so there were lots of critters and bugs. Then moved to SD, 40 acres on the prairie, lots of critters there too! I could not see any other houses in either place, but sure saw lots of wildlife. I miss that here in FL and I would rather have the mice and weasals over the palmetto bugs and ginormous grasshoppers.

 

As a public health person, I just have to say beware, beware, beware of bats make sure your cats (and other animals are vaccinated) and if they are in the house (or you see a dead one) call the health dept so they can test them for rabies

 

In AZ, we get scorpions in the house and wouldn't you know it, I heard that cats are immune to their poison. I don't get many in the house but occasionally the cats will corner one and will eventually eat them if I don't get to it first to release it back outdoors. I don't let my cats outside due to raptors, coyotes, etc. but once in a while, I let one out at a time and I will stay by them as they walk around. I have two kitties who love going outdoors, Kita and Slugger, that are really good hunters. Even if I am standing right next to them, they can successfully catch lizards before I even see the lizards. One time I was standing right next to Kita, and a small bird flew by me and she jumped up about six feet and caught it and ran with it. I was so startled and shocked, I froze and couldn't believe what I just saw.

The one thing I don't like is the feeding of live mice at the raptor rehab center that I work at, however it is a necessary need. Many of our inhabitants are baby owls, falcons or hawks that are found and brought in to the center in which they usually stay an average 7-8 months before being released back to the wild. The last three weeks before they are released, they go through live training to ensure they can hunt and survive. I didn't know that hunting is not an instinct to them so we have foster birds who teach them how to hunt. Anyway, I was in an empty Barn Owl aviary cleaning and was down in the pit where live mice were once placed. As I was cleaning, one little white mouse popped out of a layer of dirt. I was shocked to see a mouse because the raptors are really good at getting all the mice. Within minutes, another one popped out of the dirt. I filled their water bowl and gave them some kibble before a couple more popped out of the dirt who all managed to hide successfully from the owls. I gave them treats and fought the urge to let them go. So I let them enjoy their time eating and drinking while I finished cleaning the aviary and before I brought them back to their own little house. The mice are treated very well there and even have toys to play with. Prior to taking the mice to the aviaries, they are given a prayer and/or thanks for their sacrifice.

 

Bailey loves to go to my grandparents' lake house. There are lots of big windows for him to lounge in and plenty of wildlife out and about for him to watch. In the spring and summertime he'll sit in front of the screen door and the hummingbirds will hover just beyond the screen, taunting him, haha!

When we were visiting a couple of months ago, my grandmother got up one Sunday morning to find Bailey sitting in the kitchen staring intently at the bottom of the fridge. She figured something must be under it so when my grandpa got up, he pulled the fridge away from the wall just a bit and a mouse ran out into the living room. My grandma started screaming, which got me out of bed real quick, and Bailey gave chase, cornering the mouse behind the TV. My grandpa and I tried for about 30 minutes to catch the thing, all the while Bailey is sitting there like, "Will you silly beans just get out and let me do my job?" When we were sure the mouse was in a room he couldn't get out of (hiding behind a bookcase), we closed Bailey in with him and went to church. Sure enough, when we came back a few hours later, Bailey was curled up sound asleep...with the back half of the mouse on the floor in front of him! I was less than pleased at having to dispose of the body, but my grandmother was at least glad to know for sure that the mouse was gone. Never has a cat been so praised for simply doing what a cat is supposed to do! ;-)

It's fun reading all these stories- neat idea, Sue! (p.s. I feel your pain about the live critter in the bed - Bailey brought me a live cockroach one night! I didn't think I'd ever sleep again...)

 

Thanks Carol, that is very true and it was one reason I was so freaked out! My cat did have her current rabies shot, tg, but I still didn't want her to catch the bat, but once she did, we thought it best to let her outside with it. She didn't eat it and we buried.

 

I'm pretty sure it was a mole and not a mouse. But I was in 7th or 8th grade and a latchkey kid. So I was responsible for getting the cat in the house from his morning romp then getting myself to the bus stop. We had an attached garage and my parents had just left the bottom of the garage door open about 6 inches so the garage was dark. So I'm calling the cat in just before I'm out the door to the bus stop; Stubby responds and makes his way in. I don't notice until he's in the house proper that he has a small furry animal in his mouth. I say drop it, thinking I'll put it on a dust pan no big deal. Well he drops it and it runs away. Stubby apparently decided it was time for me to learn how to hunt. I grab the cat and shove him in the downstairs bath. I then run all over the first floor moving at least 1 sofa and a grandfather clock all the time thinking I'm going to miss the bus until the fuzzy thing runs out the front door on it's own. As I let the cat out and make a run for the school bus I noticed stubby sniffing all around the house with an expression of where the heck is it.

 

Oh Palmetto bugs. Mine miss the ones that they use to stare at until I found them; we left them in Georgia 3 years ago. I bought them a robot one to make up for it.

 

I have been reading this thread with interest! Right now I am exhausted, but I would really like to contribute a story. Maybe tomorrow? My kitties have caught all kinds of things! Some of the stories are incredibly gross, as you can imagine!

 

I totally agree Robin! The palmetto bug should be the FL official bird.

 

"Palmetto bugs" are actually American cockroaches. As opposed to Asian cockroaches which are smaller and redder. And the worst roach of all, the German cockroach which is small and brown. THEY are the worst because they'll nest in your house and are nearly impossible to get rid of. Palmetto bugs tend to nest outdoors. Here we call them "surfboards" because of their size. What you want in your yards are skinks because they love to feast on palmetto bugs. So do possums!
I rarely see palmetto bugs in my house, but they are all over the place outdoors. You want to see something beyond creepy???? Flip the lid on a manhole or septic tank. Hundreds of palmetto bugs and some are even ALBINO!!! I think it's because they've never been exposed to sunlight. How gross is that???

My GA, Mullet was the king of mousing. Bob was too fat and slow to catch one. I've rescued two mice from Polly in the two years I've had her. They can squeeze under the screen porch door where she spends a lot of her time. She brought both of them into the house, but they hid under furniture until I caught and released them back to the wild. Polly was not pleased. I don't think she would have eaten them. She was just batting them around.

 

Carl, if I saw an albino palmetto bug...I would have a heart attack! I can barely stand the ones around here (in Alabama, so I feel the pain of our Floridians!). I try not to be creeped out by them...but it doesn't work!

I'm kind of glad to hear all the stories of the rest of you who have "rescued" mouses. Makes me feel like less of a freak! My cats won't eat them, but they play until the mouse dies..and then leave it in a doorway for me!

 

I have a few pieces of plywood on the ground because bugs collect under them and when I flip them, chickens can grab the bugs, there is occasionally an albino under there.

 

Carl, I always knew the Palmetto bugs were just a big ole' cockroach! When I was a kid, in West Palm Beach, we used to open the water meter covers, poke a hose in there, turn on the water and watch a horde of them come flooding out! Ewww! I never saw an albino one though. Agree about the German roaches, they get into everything and are really hard to get rid of. I also try to keep my lizard population healthy, they eat a lot of the roaches outside. Good lizard.

 

That's a smart idea, Sharon! Your chickens have a smorgasbord of bugs and sardines!