Morgan: Here mousey, here mousey.
Cats are like kids. When it’s quiet they are up to something. Or sleeping.
I count noses every night before we go to bed. I want to be sure all the cats are in the house. No one is allowed in the screened porch overnight. Or locked in a closet!
Sometimes it’s easy peasy as they are all watching TV with us. Sometimes we have to search high and low. We had one of those “high and low” experiences last week.
Every cat has their “usual” spots. Morgan was in none of hers. Earlier the beloved husband had spotted her lying in the cat litter room in the basement. It made no sense to me. The room is the size of a walk-in closet with storage. If she wants the coolness of the basement, she usually sleeps on a chair in the finished room.
I went to check on her when I noticed something dark and small. I thought someone had taken a toy mice downstairs. That’s not unusual. What was unusual was that this mouse ran around. By itself. Without a battery. Morgan had found a friend in the house.
Morgan: She took my mouse! That mouse was my friend!
Argh. I had to catch the mouse and get it outside before any cat caught it. Did I mention it was 11 p.m.? And I was tired?
The mouse did not have teeth marks or injuries but it must have been shell-shocked as it moved slowly (or maybe just old, I don’t move fast myself). It took about 10 minutes but I secured it in a bucket and relocated it into the back yard. (I considered the neighbor’s back yard but I didn’t think that was neighborly. Besides I had slippers on and the grass was wet.)
In the back of our yard there is a water retention area that doesn’t get water with a lot of wildlife. Maybe he had dinner with relatives. Or was dinner for non-relatives.
Morgan: Call me if you need help. It’s 1-800-catchamousie. I’ll rest up until my next gig.
I haven’t had a mouse in decades because mice don’t like live-in cats. Cats LOVE indoor mice because they are so fun to play with. It’s all fun and games until the thing goes splat and I have to clean it up!
Morgan was rewarded for her efforts although she should have alerted us. The amazing thing is that the other three cats were oblivious. Perhaps they need to get retrained on their mice-catching duties!
Views and Mews by Coffee Kat 
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I cannot handle being anywhere near a mouse, so I had trouble even reading this! LOL! Our cat was allowed outdoors and was always bringing me “gifts,” no matter how often I told her “No thank you!” From what I’m reading, Kate, you and your beloved husband have a lot of distractions and events that either lead up to bedtime or wake you in the night! No wonder you need your Starbucks!
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Nothing exciting happens here during the day. Put on bed clothes and all hell breaks loose.
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Ha! Morgan is your family’s secret asset mouse catcher….or locator anyway. A virtual kitty Sherlock Holmes.
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Yes, she’s hanging around down there a lot lately. I don’t know if she knows there’s another one or she’s being hopeful. So far nothing.
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Good Morning, Kate! Back from a few days vacation… don’t think I am going to get all caught up! Morgan must have been a happily entertained cat for a bit. I have a had a lot of cats during my lifetime and not one of them knew what to do with a mouse. Two of our cats did love lizards and toyed with them and then bit their tiny heads off… 😀 I know you have probably heard of B. Kliban and his cartoon cats… “Love to eat those mousies, Mousies what I love to eat. Bite they little heads off… Nibble on they tiny feet.” I wore a tee with that on it until the tee just became no longer fit to wear.
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I know that poem very well! Jake was a killer. Most of the rest prefer to play. They had good meals so didn’t dabble in wild snacks. Jake on the other hand would eat stuff. Yuk!
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Good work Morgan!
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Woot woot! Now she wants to be called Wonder Cat.
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Oh geez, a mouse in the house? I would’ve called for the hubby to deal with it! And speaking of usual spots…with our new foster in the house, I haven’t figured out where is spot is yet. But he keeps disappearing! I’ve searched all over several times and haven’t been able to locate him. He’s not hiding – because half the time, he’s just lounging next to me grooming, so I know he’s not scared. He just likes small, cozy places apparently. He always comes out when it’s time to eat, though. Imagine that. 🙂
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Sounds like my cat Mollie. She’s small and sometimes I can’t find her because she’s tucked behind clothes on a closet shelf or somewhere equally bizarre.
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Oh, that poor mouse. I am so glad you were able to rescue him. Now Morgan thinks you are the tough hunter in the family!
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She keeps patrolling the basement for friends. She doesn’t give up the title easily.
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She’s addicted now . . . .
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You were very brave to catch the mouse yourself (even with a bucket)! In our household that is definitely ‘husband work’!
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Unfortunately my husband is not mouse savvy. He would have either squashed it or not caught it at all! I am the official critter-catcher.
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No mice foolish enough to be lured inside so far, but I’m keeping Morgan’s number on speed dial just in case with the heat and all the rain. RC can’t be bothered with even the occasional roach – she’s got Molly trained to flip them and notify. …RC may ask Morgan to do video tutorials for indoor mouse Olympics (Impressed to managed to snatch it up and get it out!)
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With a woofie dog and a cat, I don’t think any smart mouse will come in. I’ll talk to Morgan about tutorials.
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I haven’t seen mice around here, but our neighborhood seems to have had a rabbit population explosion recently. Fortunately, we’ve also had an uptick of coyote sittings (and, people keeping their small animals inside). Nice of you to relocate Morgan’s mousie outside.
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We have coyotes too but I haven’t seen one in a couple of years. Scary!
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Only if you are a small creature. They pretty much leave large animals (including human animals) alone.
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That’s true. One was eyeing up my old cat Jake. Lucky for Jake I was there and he wasn’t interested in me.
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We had mice here when we first moved in. Reboot seems to have taken care of the problem and scared them off.
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A very good cat!
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Some cats are mousers, some are not. A friend had a pure bred Persian who was the best rat catcher she ever had. It was the craziest thing!
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This is the first I’ve seen of any talent in the 4 I currently have. Although we don’t get many critters in the house.
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We’ve had a few mice adventures too..not many, thankfully. When all the cats are gathered around the fridge, something is up. And then there was the very dead and shredded mouse in the bathtub one morning. Not my favorite.
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Usually that’s how I tell something’s up. All are together staring at the same spot. It’s happened twice with bats.
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Cat brought in a lizard two days ago, because those are also so fun to play with in the house. It somehow managed to get between the kitchen counter and the kitchen wall. Now I have to wait for it to emerge — hopefully on a wall or ceiling where I can get it and not dog or cat.
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I had some of that too. I was surprised I was able to catch it but it was slow. It may have been batted around a bit or just terrified. It moved freely under the door and between cabinets but I got a bucket over it and slid something underneath. I wasn’t sure I would be able to catch it and I know Morgan wouldn’t give up.
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Hate mice but fortunately we live in the feral cat motel and there are usually several of them roaming our neighborhood and backyard so I never see mice. Occasionally my husband will tell me of one in the garage but then he’ll also tell me of a “gift” one of the cats left for him. Glad he just tells me, not shows me!
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My old cat Jake used to go outside and bring home gifts. He was amazing. He was still killing stuff and he had 2 teeth.
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Love your posts! Guess I live them, too, while reading them. Typing on the phone causes accidents.
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If you want to live them, I’ll send you a cat! 🙂
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No offense to your darling cats, but I think I’ll pass. My typos could get expensive!
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Home entertainment without a big screen! Live your posts!
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Whenever I wonder what I will blog about next, something happens.
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Glad that you have a Catch & Release policy, Kate. We do too!
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There are very few things I kill but I will kill flies and mosquitoes. Even spiders get rehomed (unless they are in the shower with me and I’m naked!)
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Ah bless. Mice in the house is not funny though. We had sonar plug in thingies in the cottage and they kept them out. I didn’t mind them in the garden (at the bottom of course).
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We have those sonar things in the garage (where they previously got into husband’s car’s a/c system and cost $$) and in the grill (where they like to nest) and in our heat pump (chewed wired — damage $600). They work where you put them but their range is short which is probably good. Not sure if they would bother the cats but none of them have ever shown interest in going into the garage.
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We had one of those sonar things, too. They work, but we had to keep it in an area where it didn’t annoy the dogs. Living near a pasture meant strange visitors – mouses not invited inside
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Yes you have to be careful not to disturb the ones you love!
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She wasn’t about to share her find! I think she deserves a special treat for her efforts.
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She got bragging rights with the other cats (who were a little ticked that she didn’t share!).
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You had me laughing through this! What nice cats you have 🙂
We have a Yorkie and she will catch mice. She doesn’t have the courtesy or patience of Morgan! 🙂
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Morgan still patrols downstairs just in case there is a reappearance. Makes me nervous because I wonder if she can hear or smell something that I don’t know about.
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LOL!
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Well, she’s a clever one! To think she caught it and didn’t make it go “splat”. And you are amazing to treat your prisoner-of-war so humanely!
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Jake would kill them with a bite in the neck. Morgan seemed to be more interested in “playing” with it than biting it.
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maybe it was Mickey Mouse himself… he probably is a little slower now after all that years on the stage ;o)
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Maybe. I was lucky. Mice are harder to catch than chipmunks or birds. They fit anywhere there’s a slight crack.
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Must be the season or something – our boys caught two mice last night in the house! Reiner did the honours of removing the corpses.
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Usually they are more likely to come in during the fall. There’s a lot of food outside but this guy found his way inside!
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That’s what I thought – they came in from the cold. The boys have captured four so far. :s
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You are a spoil sport, aren’t you? Taking away a kitty’s toy, just because you don’t like mice in the house! Honestly, the things your cats have to put up with! 😉
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I know. There were pickets at the house yesterday protesting.
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I think our resident black snake keeps the mice away. I haven’t ever seen one in our house. That last photo is adorable!
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Resident snake? I think I’d rather have the mice! We have had a lot of mice damage (outside or in the garage) but the field below us is full of them. We have a lot of hawks and other predators but there are still mice.
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Yes, he’s huge but he keeps the bad snakes (copperheads) away. 🙂
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Snakes are one thing that gives me the willies.
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Aww, poor Morgan. Losing her friend! Her terrified, traumatized, not-ready-to-meet-my-maker friend!
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Yes and the friend had been invited for dinner too.
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Ha! And in both senses of the term!
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