Three cats, two mice, no sleep

[sasvermont]

Two nights ago, at around 2AM, I heard my cats goofing around in the kitchen. I figured they were chasing a moth or insect.

Right before I had gone to bed, I notice Lucy and Juni-get-down, sitting near my washing and dryer, in the kitchen, looking as though they were expecting the equipment to "come on" on their own, or something. Little did I know.

Back to the 2M. I finally had enough of the noise and I went into the kitchen, only to find Juni playing with a little dead mouse. She was tossing it in the air over and over again. It didn't look as though she had try to, um, eat it. I flushed the little critter down the toilet and went back to sleep.

About an hour later, more noise, only to find Lucy in the bedroom with another little mouse. That one was also limp and had been tossed around for a few minutes.

I have no idea how they got into my house, but houses are not air tight. Where there are little mice, there must be big mice. Now what? I assume they learned their lesson - and won't be back. RIGHT!!!! ????

My neighbor is having house renovations done, including a new garage built and I think the renovations caused the mice to scatter. They may have come in from the wet basement and through the walls. Who knows.

Now I have to think of a humane way of getting rid of them. Any suggestions? I don't want to break their necks or stick their little feet to sticky paper.... or poison them.

I have not seen any strange cat behavior or any mice since that one evening.

Needless to say, I went to work the following morning, having had far less sleep than usual.

[Edwina's Secretary]

If you can find where they come in...you can put steel wool in the hole and they will not chew through it.

[Barbara]

Oh my- with your house being so close to the great outdoors (that is fields etc.) there will sure be mice and they CAN get in houses. I am sorry that two of them didn't survive but I can see Juni and Lucy having a ball.
You may want to move this thread to General- more people will see it there

[happylabs]

LOL!

I am afraid you are going to have to kill them unless you want your house over-ridden with mice.

I will tell you my little story. Way back when I was young and naieve my husband and I had our first little home. There was an old shed that came along with the house. While cleaning it we found a nest of baby mice. I said "oh don't kill them". BIG mistake. That winter they took up residence INSIDE my house. At night we would hear them running in the walls. I didn't sleep for a week. We did do the unthinkable and get the snap traps. I am sorry but I refuse to have rodents running in my house. At the time we did not have any cats. I don't think my cats have ever had the experience of playing with a live mouse and I hope they do not get to.

Maybe your kitties have exterminated them all.

[Taz_Zoee]

I have heard of humane traps. But what do you do with them once you humanely catch them? Put them back outside so they can just come right back in? I'm afraid the only way (unless you can find where they are coming in and do as Edwina's Secretary suggested with the steel wool) to get rid of them is to kill them.

Oh, I just found this. Here is a link to homemade humane traps.

Taz was my mouse watcher. He'd sit in the kitchen for HOURS if he heard one. Then we'd know to go set traps in the garage. Sorry, not my choice. The owner of the house did the trap setting.



Good luck!!

[Cinder & Smoke]

Boots, da Mouser (NOT) rarely felt the need to either kill or eat a wayward
Mouse that was stoopid enugh to climb up the basement stairs to enter "Kat Country".

He'd discover the Intruder when the lil critter began raiding da Kat's Krunchie Kup
on the bathroom vanity ... "Hey - you wanna PLAY?"

"Play" to da Kat was to have a rousing game of "TAG! You're IT - now RUN!"
One Kat and ONE Mouuse could entertain themselves for about 45 minutes
(often overturning da Kat's litter box in the process).

It was *game over* when either da Mouse got smart and ran back under the
basement door to safety, OR died from a heart attack on the playground.

[sasvermont]

I will go under the sink and basin areas and put steel wool around the pipe area that is open enough for critters to come through. I will consider the traps, but often they catch the mice's leg and the little thing struggles so.

Heart attack sounds a bit cruel too, but at least they've been given a chance to run for the hills.

So far, no more mice......... I am sure the cats would welcome them back with open arms.......

Thanks for the advice.

[Edwina's Secretary]

I will go under the sink and basin areas and put steel wool around the pipe area that is open enough for critters to come through.

That is a usual route - around pipe areas. I had an apartment with mice. The landlord suggested a cat but offered no other help. I shudder when I remember how many mice I found.

Steel wool around the water pipes and drain pipes but also - if you have as I did then -- steam heat pipes.

Anytime I see any kind of opening in my house I stuff steel wool in it. A little quirk.

[Pinot's Mom]

Way back - my husband's and my first house with a mortgage - we had our now RB kitty Jamara. Jamara thought field mice were her toys. We occasionally got field mice. She would bat them around, claws receded, until the poor little things had heart attacks. This usually happened on the basement steps. We had to watch where we walked!

SAS-you probably have field mice, so they won't GET very big, there might not actually be larger ones. Not that this makes you feel any better! You do need to find where they're coming in, though. Ours were coming in with the plumbing behind the refrigerator. We were young, Jamara was young, no one was that concerned and we moved before it became a real problem, so I'm sorry, I don't have a solution! Good luck!

[whomeee]

The advice you got before is all good and works but as long as I have Rex the mouser dog I don't have to worry about it.
I herd a noise in the kitchen one night and looked in the kitchen and Sox the cat had a mouse. I told my husband to put the dogs outside so the cat can kill the mouse. Needless to say she lost the mouse under the washer, so we let the dogs back in and in less than 5 min. Rex (my JRT) had the mouse I herd one squeek and the mouse was dead. He didn't eat the mouse once it was gone he left it lay on the floor. I also don't have to worry about snakes he will kill them as well. Not any help but it is a cute story I think, good luck with your mouse proble.

[sasvermont]

I haven't seen anymore mice, thank goodness. The cats have stopped looking, as well.

I suspect it was due to the construction next door....little field mice found their way through a crack or two in the foundation of the house and then up a pipe.

We shall see what happens this fall, when the temperatures drop ..... !

[Husky_mom]

check you dryer´s out pipe... that´s where they enter at my parents house...

[Catty1]

Also - wash your hands REALLY well if you even hold them by just the tail...or use disposable gloves.

Here in Alberta anyway, there is some very nasty virus that the little dears can carry on their bodies.

Sounds like you have good mouse control - and free (temporary) toys for the Juni and Lucy!

[DarntheCat]

All I can say is when and if the really big ones make a try for the house you might want to dispose of them another way, there is nothing more embaressing then calling the Roto ruter guy to remove an animal from the plumbing. Just kidding, seriously though look at your door frames, specifically the handle side (side that moves when you open the door) and your dryer vent tube. These are high trafic areas for little critters. Good luck.

[sasvermont]

So far, no new mice. The cats have moved on to flies. I am crossing my fingers, hoping the two stray mice were lost ....

I have my dryer vent covered when it is not being used, i.e. a contraption that shuts automatically when not in use. And..... the vent is on the side of the house, on the second floor. Not that mice can't climb! It would be very hard for them to climb the siding and then in to the vent. The door is probably the source. The alternative to the door would be the basement, up the pipes ??? and into the washer dryer area. Who knows?

These mice were little. I think someone mentioned field mice and I would love to think that....... they certainly didn't look like rats! Thank goodness.

This fall will tell the TALE!!