I was up early this morning, around 6:00 a.m., to take the youngest to her ice skating lesson. Whilst waiting for her to dress I sat quietly by the computer as is my way, reading the online news and trying to stay awake. I was sitting in a reverie when the cat began meowing outside the back door… loudly.
Feeling generous… or maybe I was just still half asleep, I’m not sure which… I got up and trotted over to the door to let her in. She shot through the door like a rocket as is *her* way, and I went over to the kitchen for a breakfast snack as she padded about.
After a few seconds the sound of her scrabbling about impinged on my cloudy consciousness so I looked over… in time to see her batting a live mouse about; a *very* live mouse… and a mouse obviously still determined that it’s existence would not end as a cat’s breakfast! She batted at it and caught it twice, yet despite being a carnivore myself, I’m still loath to see something slaughtered in front of me, even it is ‘vermin’ so I went to the larder to get a plastic box intending to wrest possession of the prize from the cat and then free it at the park across the road.
Well, good intentions notwithstanding, I was too late. Not too late to save the creature’s life, but too late to prevent it securing its (temporary?) freedom as it made its escape beneath the piano.
The cat immediately set up a watch station in front of the piano and patrolled back and fore in case the mouse decided to mount a full frontal surprise assault. She needn’t have worried. As she ‘patrolled the perimeter’, I noticed the mouse was ignoring her and was scurrying quickly along the skirting board intent on vanishing, out of sight, under the fridge.
Forgetting my scruples entirely, I grabbed for the cat, and threw her towards the spot where the mouse was in the hope she might catch it again and restore the status quo… but no luck. With a squawk she bolted straight back to the piano and settled down to wait out the mouse… which of course was no longer there to be caught. Even by a cat’s standards of intelligence, our puss isn’t the brightest star in the feline sky.
Of course the upshot of this little episode is that unfortunately, for both myself and the mouse, it means I have to spend a few minutes tonight baiting traps and leaving them around the kitchen floor at strategic spots in the hope the mouse, revelling in it’s new found invulnerability, tries it’s luck with the mechanical monsters… and we catch it!!
Sadly it can’t just be left to live out its life in peace. Apart from the obvious problem that we have *a* mouse in the house… I’m concerned it might be both female and pregnant. And instead of dealing with just the one… we could have a whole brood in the making ready to trash the larder and bring death and disease etc into our sparkling clean and hygienic environment… or something. 🙂
Of course the shock of almost being a cat’s snack might have caused it to keel over and shuffle of the mortal coil shortly after I saw it, but I really can’t take that chance.
So, as I’m sure you’re totally fascinated by this piece of news about the latest species of wildlife to take up residence in Chez Louis, I’ll be sure pass on an update… if there is anything worth passing on.
Just don’t hold your breath in anticipation!!
The Eclectic Interweb 
When M and I and Carol as a tiny baby moved into our first house we were overrun by almost species of wildlife you can imagine in particular mice – catching two in a trap was not unusual – on one occasion we heard a mouse scurrying around in the large pantry we had – I quickly seized the cat and shoved her into the pantry and switched on the torch so that she would be able to see in the dark – and you think you’re potty!
I think it more explains where some of my wilder ideas originate!!
By the way… you didn’t say… did the cat ever catch it??
From my experience with cats and mice you might have had more success if you threw the torch at the mouse!!!:)