[Dailydrool] Mousies

[Drew McQuade]

We have plenty of experience with mice, here. Unfortunately, a c at t is not 
always a solution. Any cat that does not learn the mousing skills as a 
kitten is nothing more than an irritant to a mouse, as I both heard on TV 
and discovered in real life. Take our c at t, Duncan. One day Jane flushed out 
a mouse and chased it into a closet. Delighted, Duncan darted after it, but 
did not quite get the hang of what to do. He chased it into our living room 
(thank you, Duncan) and lost it. He never stuck close enough to really 
threaten it. He certainly was not in danger of catching it. Ever since, he 
has sniffed around that closet, which has never again contained a mouse.

One of the best ways to keep them out of your living area is to get some 
fine steel wool, sold in hardware stores. You pack it around any wires or 
whatnot that would allow a mouse access to your living space. Mice need only 
a small space to slip through. We had a wire going from our attic to the 
light switch in our kitchen. The little monsters came down it and got into 
our cupboards. As soon as we filled up the spaces, they disappeared. We've 
never again seen any sign of them. Though they may get in the attic and 
basement, our living space seems safe.

We tried the live traps. Drew took a couple of critters to a park and let 
them go. But after a while we decided the park didn't want them any more 
than we did. Live is nice, but what do you do with them?

We did have poison up for quite a while, until Bel nosed out a dead mouse. 
Fortunately I got him to drop it for a split second, so I knew what he'd 
gotten. But he swallowed it almost immediately. I dashed for the hydrogen 
peroxide, and we got it out of his tum with no problem. I didn't want to 
have to take him in for the vitamin K shots, which I understand are not 
always succesful.

I love animals, but I am not fond of mousies. I certainly do not want to 
find inert ones and even less want the hounds to find them. Anyone have any 
successful methods for getting rid of them kindly. Has anyone tried those 
things advertised on TV that supposedly uses some sort of electronic method 
to make them leave? They sound too good to be true, but I'm open minded on 
the subject.
Pam, food slave to the Dashing Bassets

PS Thanks to everyone who slung drool for my surgery. I am back home, and 
most of the anesthetic is now out of my brain. But I caught a cold, as one 
often does in the hospital, so I am pretty drippy. The heart is doing fine 
for the time being.