So there I was, quite happily reading RR, when suddenly from downstairs I heard a blood-curdeling scream. Loud enough to wake Nelson from the dead. This impressively loud murderous scream went on quite some time so I reluctantly gave up reading higthepig's travel tips and went downstairs to see what was the matter.
There was a mouse in the house. Scurrying about the living room. My mother had seen it and went hysterical.
She continued to scream right in my face and ran out the room, slamming the door behind her. That left me alone in the room, with the mouse. Hmm. Amidst the screams I managed to decipher the words "under the TV" so that was the first place to look, and sure enough, there was the little fella! A tiny little brown fieldmouse. Just sitting there, looking cute, totally harmless. Now where's the cat when you want him? I thought, and lo and behold at that moment the cat appeared through the cat flap. I put him down by the TV and he immediately caught the scent... pulling the TV away from the wall revealed the mouse and the cat pounced... the mouse then scurried away with the speed of a thousand gazelles to another corner of the room. The cat gave chase.
The mouse got to a corner of the room where there was a display cabinet against the wall, seperated from the wall only by the skirting board. Somehow the mouse then managed to launch itself up in between the wall and the cabinet... and got wedged right in there. Stuck fast. I shined a torch on the little guy and could clearly see his tiny heart beating like he was in mortal danger (well - he was, with my murderous cat around).
So I did what any caring guy would do, I pulled the cabinet away to let the cat (who was lying in wait) get at it. To kill it you see. The idea was good... but the mouse then ran away again and managed to get underneath the setee. By this time the room was turned upside down, TV pulled out, setee pulled out, cabinet moved, all doors closed with 2 clips. By this time the cat was getting bored and decided to lie down for a bit. Anyhow, I shifted the seat it was hiding under and it ran out in one direction; the cat being the stupid thing he is, thought he would look at the other side of the chair - the opposite direction to where the mouse just went. It was now under another chair.
This rigmarole continued for quite some time, the mother still in fear of a tiny mouse. From another room she asked how things were going, "alright" I replied, "will get the cat to kill it". "Oh no!" came the irrational reply. :roll: What did she want to do, keep it as a pet? The cat had again taken to sitting purring away, having a good laugh at what was going on, he was having fun pretending to chase a mouse and play with it.
So anyway. A little while later, having motivated the cat and done a lot of furniture re-arranging, the mouse ended up in the kitchen (which joins on to the living room). Good, I thought, because all doors could be closed to keep the mouse and cat in the kitchen. The mouse was now sitting at one end of the kitchen and the bloody cat just sat down on all fours and looked at it. He must be getting old; in his younger days he would have slaughtered it with vigour. The cat saw me watching him and reluctantly got up to pretend to stalk the mouse which was right in front of him. The mouse joined in the little game.... and ran under the washing machine.
All this had taken about an hour! and I (and the cat) had had enough. So I secured the kitchen leaving the cat and the mouse in there, which I last saw scurrying under the washing machine. I then suggested to the woman of the house, "why don't we switch on the washing machine? The vibration of the machine will either scare the mouse out or crush it."
"Noooooooo!" she whined. "That would be nasty!"
Sigh. Why oh why do wimmen find mice scary, yet don't like getting rid of them via the cat's jaws or rat poison? I have left the cat and mouse to their little game and the mouse may still be under the machine, or may have escaped from the house by that route somehow. The living room is safe again however and soft wooden wedges have been rammed under the doors to block the entry of mice. Tomorrow morning I expect the mouse to have disappeared or to be lying there dead. With a very smug looking cat beside it.
I will never understand women... :roll:
There was a mouse in the house. Scurrying about the living room. My mother had seen it and went hysterical.
She continued to scream right in my face and ran out the room, slamming the door behind her. That left me alone in the room, with the mouse. Hmm. Amidst the screams I managed to decipher the words "under the TV" so that was the first place to look, and sure enough, there was the little fella! A tiny little brown fieldmouse. Just sitting there, looking cute, totally harmless. Now where's the cat when you want him? I thought, and lo and behold at that moment the cat appeared through the cat flap. I put him down by the TV and he immediately caught the scent... pulling the TV away from the wall revealed the mouse and the cat pounced... the mouse then scurried away with the speed of a thousand gazelles to another corner of the room. The cat gave chase.
The mouse got to a corner of the room where there was a display cabinet against the wall, seperated from the wall only by the skirting board. Somehow the mouse then managed to launch itself up in between the wall and the cabinet... and got wedged right in there. Stuck fast. I shined a torch on the little guy and could clearly see his tiny heart beating like he was in mortal danger (well - he was, with my murderous cat around).
So I did what any caring guy would do, I pulled the cabinet away to let the cat (who was lying in wait) get at it. To kill it you see. The idea was good... but the mouse then ran away again and managed to get underneath the setee. By this time the room was turned upside down, TV pulled out, setee pulled out, cabinet moved, all doors closed with 2 clips. By this time the cat was getting bored and decided to lie down for a bit. Anyhow, I shifted the seat it was hiding under and it ran out in one direction; the cat being the stupid thing he is, thought he would look at the other side of the chair - the opposite direction to where the mouse just went. It was now under another chair.
This rigmarole continued for quite some time, the mother still in fear of a tiny mouse. From another room she asked how things were going, "alright" I replied, "will get the cat to kill it". "Oh no!" came the irrational reply. :roll: What did she want to do, keep it as a pet? The cat had again taken to sitting purring away, having a good laugh at what was going on, he was having fun pretending to chase a mouse and play with it.
So anyway. A little while later, having motivated the cat and done a lot of furniture re-arranging, the mouse ended up in the kitchen (which joins on to the living room). Good, I thought, because all doors could be closed to keep the mouse and cat in the kitchen. The mouse was now sitting at one end of the kitchen and the bloody cat just sat down on all fours and looked at it. He must be getting old; in his younger days he would have slaughtered it with vigour. The cat saw me watching him and reluctantly got up to pretend to stalk the mouse which was right in front of him. The mouse joined in the little game.... and ran under the washing machine.
All this had taken about an hour! and I (and the cat) had had enough. So I secured the kitchen leaving the cat and the mouse in there, which I last saw scurrying under the washing machine. I then suggested to the woman of the house, "why don't we switch on the washing machine? The vibration of the machine will either scare the mouse out or crush it."
"Noooooooo!" she whined. "That would be nasty!"
Sigh. Why oh why do wimmen find mice scary, yet don't like getting rid of them via the cat's jaws or rat poison? I have left the cat and mouse to their little game and the mouse may still be under the machine, or may have escaped from the house by that route somehow. The living room is safe again however and soft wooden wedges have been rammed under the doors to block the entry of mice. Tomorrow morning I expect the mouse to have disappeared or to be lying there dead. With a very smug looking cat beside it.
I will never understand women... :roll:
