Another invasion this week. Morgan was on it. She spent the better part of two days in the basement, coming up only to eat.
The beloved husband saw the mouse this time. I wasn’t worried. Mice don’t last in a house with four cats. Give it time.
He is not excited about having mice in the house so he bought a mouse trap. He bought a humane trap and release version that made his wife very happy. I didn’t have to worry that a cat would get a paw caught or snapped.
Evening one — set up trap in basement where he saw the mouse. We checked hourly. No mouse. The next morning there was a dead mouse in the dining room. Someone had (proudly) brought it up for inspection. Whaddacat!
Still couldn’t get Morgan out of the basement. I went down later in the afternoon to find Morgan and Hazel playing tag team with a mouse. Gracie was excited. I could hear her yell, “Let me play, let me play!”
I got my trusty rehoming kit, caught the mouse and took him outside (far outside) to a happy place that wasn’t my basement.
Morgan is still down there. Not sure if there are more. So far this summer, Morgan got five (mousetrap – 0). She killed two and I was able to re-home three. In fourteen years, this is the first year we’ve had any mice in the basement. Weird.
Update on Hazel’s diet — lost 3 ounces! Yay!
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My first thought was that your cats were bringing these mice inside and then losing interest and letting them go (this is the case in our house) – but you wrote above that your cats don’t go outside . . . so I am at a loss to explain.
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Somehow the mice are getting in. We’ve gone about 10 days now without any mice. We know it right away. Morgan gets all antsy. She won’t leave the basement.
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We’ve got a (so far) effective sonic repeller….our cat Troy was never a mouser….just sniffed and let them be…a pacifist to the end.
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W have a repeller in the garage and on our heat pump. We get mouse damage in our heat pump (they chew the wires) and they got into my husband’s car a/c. Cha-ching, cha-ching.
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Oh dear…that’s serious..obviously requires at least 4 cats…
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The problem is that our cats do not go outside although they’d love to solve it.
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Ugh, I hope to never find a mouse, dead or alive, in the house! But good thing, there are no basements in So Cal.
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With your cats, you shouldn’t.
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Oh, those gifts — not sure which is worst, – a live mouse, or a dead bird !!
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A half dead mouse that climbs under the fridge to die.
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aaahhh – know that one too,, but under the sofa, which can at least be moved !!!
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Our cat, Licorice, lived for 23 years, and he was still bringing us “gifts” until the end. Once he found a baby opossum nest and proudly brought his kill to me. I almost left home! I am so incredibly squeamish when it comes to rodents that at times I had to call a friend to help me if Jay wasn’t at home. And rodents didn’t have a chance when Licorice was on the prowl! I wonder if your cats are so well fed that they’re letting an occasional “meal” go by!
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Mollie doesn’t have any interest. I was surprised that Gracie (being so young) wasn’t in on it but she wasn’t. It was Morgan and Hazel.
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That’s the only thing about cats I struggle with. I’m so incredibly squeamish about dead birds or rodents in any state of being. LOL! And the poor kitties are typically so proud of themselves! 🙂
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I had to get over it. Jake was a big hunter and he was an indoor-outdoor cat so he caught chipmunks all the time.
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Hazel definitely deserves a treat. Three lost ounces and a corralled mouse… what does a girl gotta do to be richly rewarded?
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I offered her a sip of my Starbucks but she wasn’t having it. She’s holding out for tuna!
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What a team!! My money will be on the cats every time. Good work!!
… and kudos to Hazel. I absolutely love the look on her face. It’s inscrutable, but I detect a faint tone of disdain 😀
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Hazel can get a little uppity. My money is always on the cats.
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Mice are prolific and successful breeders. It sounds like the cats have the situation under control. I imagine you won’t have mice this winter.
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I hope not. Then again, they are hoping for some excitement.
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Cat-escaped. You are such a peep!
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🙂
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They are like the Cagny & Lacy of the cat world.
Love that caption … hahaha! Everything should end with a treat Hazel!
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That’s exactly what Hazel thinks.
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They must have found some small spot to get in. Great job Morgan and Hazel!
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We haven’t been able to find it either.
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Yay, Hazel! Keep going, girlfriend! Mice are so cute. Sigh. Interesting that your cats have the run of the basement. We don’t have a basement and haven’t had one for years, but when we did we always kept the door to the basement shut. But then I didn’t have mice and I didn’t have cats at that time. Perry walked around the house today, by the way (3 of the cats were shut in the bedrooms). After about 45 minutes he was a little frazzled and went in his own room.
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I have an acre of litter boxes in the basement so they have access. There is a workshop and that part is blocked off. As for Perry….baby steps….slowly.
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An acre of litter boxes haha. So you have to go down there to scoop ;). I wonder how mice feel about litter boxes anyway?
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They don’t seem to mind running around them.
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We had a baby lizard living in one of our litter boxes once.
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Awww, Poor thing. Hope he didn’t get peed on.
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He was fine and we loved him. Then I had a lady come to clean my house, and she killed him. Who kills baby lizards?!
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People who are afraid of lizards. You are a lot like me. We turn anything into a beloved pet.
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Staff wants to know if Morgan and Hazel have considered running a skill camp for cats? I know one who could use some tutoring HAHA
Loved the soccer game ended with wins all around.
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They will do private tutoring. Hope all is well with you.
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So far so good. Trying to update a little each day…still raining and far too many tornado alerts to get much sleep…on the bright side, Molly’s hair has never been softer – must be the rain water rinses?
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At least you are still posting. TV reports look pretty awful.
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The caption under the last pic is THE BEST! Hazel rocks.
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Hazel does rock in a very fluffy sort of way.
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Congratulations to Morgan on her amazing mousing skills. I now know who to call if we ever have a mouse in our basement. There is NO WAY that I would ever go down there and deal with it myself.
And congratulations to Hazel on her successful dieting.
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Morgan is amazing. She wasn’t happy that I rescued a few.
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You have a mouse police squadron there!
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A very elite squad. Kind of like the Rangers or the Seals.
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Yay for Hazel. I found her ounces 😦
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She’s glad you’re grateful!
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Ha. Mouse trap – 0. When we lived in Florida, we had mice in the attack and one cat named Sneakers. Sneakers didn’t go in the attack, but she was an indoor (nighttime) and outdoor (daytime) cat. She must’ve found their in-and-out exit to the attack, because they were only around for a couple of months and then disappeared. We never set a trap.
Have a pleasant weekend, Kate.
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That works! We must be getting dumb mice. Four cats, really?
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No mice here, but Ray did bring us a badly injured squirrel once! 😦
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And I wonder who injured him….
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There was not much doubt about that. 😦
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So the moral of the story is, more mice = more exercise = more weight loss for Hazel? I think maybe you need MORE mice! 😉
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Umm…no but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so active and happy.
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So maybe you need a domestic mouse and an impregnable liberty ball…
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Good gracious. You do live an exciting life! What a fun story. Hope the mousey liked his new home well enough to stay there.
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Me too. We have a big retention pond in the back (without water). It’s full of vegetation so I’m hoping it was happy there.
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Ah, the humane mouse traps. A friend baited hers with chocolate digestives as suggested, and sure enough the trap had sprung by the following morning. She carefully took it down the road to release the trapped creature into the field. The biscuit crumbs were not impressed and mousey was probably laughing his socks off in her kitchen.
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Yes but she felt very good about herself!
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I tell you, you need to get a Black snake for your yard. 🙂 Yay Hazel!
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NO SNAKES! Creepy!
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Yay for Hazel and Morgan! Hazel you have lost more weight than I have managed to lose! Maybe I need a mouse in the house to chase! No, no, no!
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Tell that to Kate. She keeps an eye on me so I can’t steal any food. 😦
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They’ll get them! Hazel is becoming a lean, mean hunting machine! Purrs, Luna et al
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She has a way to go but she’ll get as close as she gets.
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Just so you know, Hazel, eating a mousie is NOT cheating on you’re diet. They are high protein and low fat–practically a super food! Purrs, Luna et al
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And often carry fleas or tapeworms!
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Well, raw tastes best, but we see your point. Perhaps you could sautee the mouse Hazel will inevitably catch in some heart-healthy olive oil? Purrs, Luna et al
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Lucky Ladies! We wish we had mousies to hunt! We live next to a wooded area and everything. Human Mommy says they don’t come over to play because they smell us. Harrumph! Purrs, Luna et al
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Our mice must have bad smellers. Morgan and Hazel continue to keep an eye on the basement.
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bad times for Fievel the expat…. ;o) please make sure that Mickey survives… a closed Disneyland would be expensive ;O)
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They are not allowed to chase anything that wears shoes! And mittens!
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