As far back as I can remember I have been plagued by the dreaded mouse! I hate them. They are small, dirty little creatures that carry germs and poop on the counter. They can go into very tiny places and I read once that if they can get thier nose in a crack they can collapse thier body and slide through. I do believe that. My first recollections of mice as actual creatures in my world was when we lived on Strong Street. I was probably 6 or 7, which is awfully young to be subjected to the rigors of mouse killing, but I was. Mother opened the vacuum cleaner and there was a nest full of baby mice in there.
I must digress here for a moment to say this, never do I remember ever having carpet in any house we ever lived in and there certainly was no carpet on Strong Street for damn sure, so what that woman was doing with a vacuum cleaner is more than I can fathom. I think she had it just as a large mouse trap, because that was the only time I ever recall it being in our home and why she opened it is definitely beyond my reasoning capabilities. Back to the tale.
She handed the bag to me and some other sibling with the instructions to "Take those out on the front sidewalk and mash them with a brick."
I digress once more to interject that not only was the sidewalk in front of the house the front sidewalk, but it was also the only sidewalk any where around the house, or any of the neighbors houses. For that matter it was the only concrete walkway on Strong Street at all! It joined a flat concrete slab that was the front of the house that was cracked and falling away from the house, but it was, nonetheless, the front sidewalk.
I remember peering into the bag and seeing the tiny, pink, hairless mice in there. Thier eyes were not open and they made a sort of squeaking sound. As sure as there is a God in Heaven and a devil under the deep blue sea, I knew I was not going to mash them on the sidewalk. I ran back into the house and pleaded with momma to let us keep them because they were so tiny and so cute. I told her I would feed them and take care of them and they could sleep with me. Needless to say, I was relieved of mouse mashing duty.
My house has a doggie door in the back door. That is so the dogs can come and go. It used to be big enough that I could crawl through when I locked myself out, but over the years the size of my animals has diminished so that now it is about big enough for a cat. Icarus has always been an indoor cat with out door habits which means I do not have the litter box to deal with at all. What I do have to deal with is her eating habits. Or her lack of eating habits. I have been told that cats bring mice into the house to reward the owner for thier care and the cats know the owner is not smart enough to catch thier own food. What ever the reason it seems that sometime during the course of any given day, I will be rewarded with fresh food. Cat brings it in and bats it around until I notice that my dinner has arrived and then she stands back and waits for me to eat!
Ah, but I am wiser and faster then that damn cat! I have 2 of those long handled pinchers that are used to pick something up off the floor that I have dropped. I have become quite adroit at reaching down and snapping up the mouse, taking it to the back yard and flinging it over the fence into the field where it will be safe (broken ribs and all.) If I happen to look out my back window and see her coming across the yard with a treat for me, I slide the doggie door in place. Cats are not very bright are they?
My doggies are getting old and I fear I will not have them too much longer. I am getting a little older myself so I have decided when these animals are gone, they will not be replaced, As it is, if I dropped dead tomorrow, they could never adjust to the real world. But that cat is going to outlive me sure as the sun comes up in the morning. When the dogs are gone, I think I will eliminate the doggie door and get Icarus a litter box. Not sure how that will work, but I am getting too damned old to catch mice!
I must digress here for a moment to say this, never do I remember ever having carpet in any house we ever lived in and there certainly was no carpet on Strong Street for damn sure, so what that woman was doing with a vacuum cleaner is more than I can fathom. I think she had it just as a large mouse trap, because that was the only time I ever recall it being in our home and why she opened it is definitely beyond my reasoning capabilities. Back to the tale.
She handed the bag to me and some other sibling with the instructions to "Take those out on the front sidewalk and mash them with a brick."
I digress once more to interject that not only was the sidewalk in front of the house the front sidewalk, but it was also the only sidewalk any where around the house, or any of the neighbors houses. For that matter it was the only concrete walkway on Strong Street at all! It joined a flat concrete slab that was the front of the house that was cracked and falling away from the house, but it was, nonetheless, the front sidewalk.
I remember peering into the bag and seeing the tiny, pink, hairless mice in there. Thier eyes were not open and they made a sort of squeaking sound. As sure as there is a God in Heaven and a devil under the deep blue sea, I knew I was not going to mash them on the sidewalk. I ran back into the house and pleaded with momma to let us keep them because they were so tiny and so cute. I told her I would feed them and take care of them and they could sleep with me. Needless to say, I was relieved of mouse mashing duty.
My house has a doggie door in the back door. That is so the dogs can come and go. It used to be big enough that I could crawl through when I locked myself out, but over the years the size of my animals has diminished so that now it is about big enough for a cat. Icarus has always been an indoor cat with out door habits which means I do not have the litter box to deal with at all. What I do have to deal with is her eating habits. Or her lack of eating habits. I have been told that cats bring mice into the house to reward the owner for thier care and the cats know the owner is not smart enough to catch thier own food. What ever the reason it seems that sometime during the course of any given day, I will be rewarded with fresh food. Cat brings it in and bats it around until I notice that my dinner has arrived and then she stands back and waits for me to eat!
Ah, but I am wiser and faster then that damn cat! I have 2 of those long handled pinchers that are used to pick something up off the floor that I have dropped. I have become quite adroit at reaching down and snapping up the mouse, taking it to the back yard and flinging it over the fence into the field where it will be safe (broken ribs and all.) If I happen to look out my back window and see her coming across the yard with a treat for me, I slide the doggie door in place. Cats are not very bright are they?
My doggies are getting old and I fear I will not have them too much longer. I am getting a little older myself so I have decided when these animals are gone, they will not be replaced, As it is, if I dropped dead tomorrow, they could never adjust to the real world. But that cat is going to outlive me sure as the sun comes up in the morning. When the dogs are gone, I think I will eliminate the doggie door and get Icarus a litter box. Not sure how that will work, but I am getting too damned old to catch mice!
