EEEK – A Mouse Before Coffee
December 12, 2006 by Anne Wayman
Filed under Jobs
My normal morning routine was rudely interrupted about 4:45 a.m. when I realized MzTiz had captured a mouse that was now hiding in the bathroom. I’ve got a whole rescue strategy for the occasional birds she brings in… it starts with picking her up and throwing her in the garage, which went well.
But mice don’t behave like birds. A bird, when covered with a towel will freeze, making it possible to scoop them up and take them someplace safe. Throw a towel over a mouse and it scurries out from under to somewhere else. Thirty minutes of moving stuff, failed attempts at capture and I stopped to fix a cup of coffee… seems like coffee is a requirement in the morning for me and I was already off track.
Fortified, I went back to try again, only to discover the mouse had disappeared. A few moments later, MzTiz comes strolling into the house – she obviously has found a way out of the garage. That’s a first!
Why does it seem that animals are way smarter than humans? After all, she has a warm place to sleep, plenty of food and lots of time for naps and she never writes a word. Now she’s stalking around the house trying to find the disappeared mouse. I’ve decided to get back to writing. Perhaps a total break in routine will spark my imagination.
Write well and often,
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Anne,
We just adopted to tiger kitten sisters last month who are at the vet today getting fixed. Even at their young age, a cricket bounding through the family room into the living room was no match for Hope and Song.
Good work, MizTiz: now if we can only train our cats to take their conquests outside, we’d all be the better off!
Regards,
MattK
I lived with a chipmunk behind my computer all day, until I worked up a plan to shoo it out of the house (think chutes-and-ladders, horizontally). A lively time was had by all, including my cat who kept trying to recapture it, and me yelling, “Aaack!” every time the critter ran in front of me.
Thanks for the giggle.
lol, Matt if you can figure that out and bottle it, your fortune is made.
Sandy I’d forgotten about the woodrat several years ago… I understand the chutes and ladder approach… now the darn little mouse is somewhere… neither MzTiz nor I have a clue.
Ah, this story reminds me of all the times my dad had to rescue critters from our cats growing up. When they had already met their demise and the cats had placed them in front of the front door, he’d pet them because apparently pets place animals in front of you as gifts. But if he could prevent it, he did. I can’t count how many times we nursed baby birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and yet, little baby field mice, back to health. :)
lovely – btw, the mouse apparently has moved out of the bathroom and under my favorite chair or in it… at least MzTiz thinks its there…