Mouse in the house

alie

Tonight our beloved cat brought home a live mouse which is now camped out downstairs , we are camped upstairs, the cat has lost all interest and has fallen asleep, please help, i would rather not kill the mouse but if i have to i will , anyone with any help to offer would be great, my husband put my tesco finest cheese on the floor so i reckon the mouse thinks hes in heaven!

anniehoo

alie wrote: »

so i reckon the mouse thinks hes in heaven!

Nothing worse than your cats finest offering of a live present Trust me, the mouse is certainly not having a great time either but terrified and panicked.

It basically depends on how you feel about rodents.Kill or save! If it was me, id let the animal calm down,let it try and find its own escape route and tomorrow morning leave every available downstairs door and window open as long as its safe.Theres not much you can do now tbh.

You have the option of a routine mouse trap (cheese is a myth btw). A freaked out rodent that dies behind worktops etc is not something you want to deal with, so let it lie for tonight if you can. The less panicked the rodent, the more chance you have of getting the result you want.

cruais

I think normally when cats bring mice home alive, they play with them for a few hours before they kill it. So maybe your cat will kill it tomorrow.

I'm saying this because two of my cats both brought mice back to the garden and played with it for hours, letting it run to escape, and catching it again etc and then hours later they killed it.

I think it's a "look how good I am" catching prey for you.

I could be wrong, but that's my look on it.

alie

She gave it one swipe and then went off to.have her dinner then fell asleep. She sent it flying under the sofa. Sometimes I know they die of fright , however we used to have dwarf hamsters , when they were in the cage she was very brave but when they were out she would run a mile. I'm hoping she picks up the courage to kill it.

Jimbob1977

We had unwelcome mice on two occasions. Both were trapped alive and released into the wild.

They escaped from bags of firewood that were brought into our house (we didn't have an infestation).

Instead of cheese, you should try small pieces of burnt rasher. Get a match or cigarette lighter to singe tiny chunks of rasher. Alternatively, tiny pieces of Cadbury's Dairy Milk will work too.

Place the rasher or chocolate in a mouse trap. The best type are the modern plastic mouse traps that resemble a sea shell or gum-shield box when open.

When the mouse triggers the trap, the hood drops sharply. Sometimes it will trap his head and other times it will trap his tail.

On both occasions, the mouse was captured alive at night. The traps sprung on their tails. Mice hate the daylight and will avoid it. You could hear them dragging the mouse trap along the skirting boards by their tails. The sound was like a large animal or burglar in the dead of night.

Hope this helps!

alie

I do remember my late father using rasher rind before, wil crisp some up now, will I get one of those traps in a hardware shop?

Jimbob1977

alie wrote: »

I do remember my late father using rasher rind before, wil crisp some up now, will I get one of those traps in a hardware shop?

Yes indeed, Alie.

Somewhere like Atlantic Homecare, Woodie's, etc.

The mouse trap resembles the black plastic container for a rugby gumshield or orthodontic retainer.

alie

Will try homebase, thanks

kylith

A good quality snap trap is your best bet. I find that the best baits are cheese and ham spread, or hot buttered toast, though the fresh bacon rind would probably also be good.

alie

kylith wrote: »

A good quality snap trap is your best bet. I find that the best baits are cheese and ham spread, or hot buttered toast, though the fresh bacon rind would probably also be good.

That sounds painful ! Does that kill them?:eek:

christmas2012

you dont have to kill it,catching a mouse is easy and less dangerous than a rat,leave the door open one day and put a big mound of cheese outside and watch that fecker sniff the air and run for that bit of cheese,may take a while but he/she will do it,i did that once and it works!!

alie

christmas2012 wrote: »

you dont have to kill it,catching a mouse is easy and less dangerous than a rat,leave the door open one day and put a big mound of cheese outside and watch that fecker sniff the air and run for that bit of cheese,may take a while but he/she will do it,i did that once and it works!!

Not sure if that will work , have the windows open , there is a cat next door too so might put it off and i dont want it upstairs.:)

Ellis Dee

cruais wrote: »

I think normally when cats bring mice home alive, they play with them for a few hours before they kill it. So maybe your cat will kill it tomorrow.

I'm saying this because two of my cats both brought mice back to the garden and played with it for hours, letting it run to escape, and catching it again etc and then hours later they killed it.

I think it's a "look how good I am" catching prey for you.

I could be wrong, but that's my look on it.

All mammals have glands that inject large quantities of the hormone adrenalin into their bloodstream when they are shocked, in fear or stressed. That's what gives you the sudden surge of energy that enables you to jump out of the path of a speeding bus, for example. Other animals can smell the adrenalin. Dogs tend to react aggressively to it, which may explain why people who are afraid of them are more likely to be bitten than others.:cool:

Adrenalin also alters the taste of meat and, in the case of a mouse, make it more appealing to a cat's palate. Although it would be nice to think that the cat is seeking your admiration and approval, what is is actually doing when it "plays" with a mouse is "seasoning" it prior to eating it.

Just get a couple of mousetraps for roughly a euro each, or the guillotine-type ones for around 3 euro each, or else let the cat get on with it. Bon appetit!

kylith

alie wrote: »

That sounds painful ! Does that kill them?:eek:

Absolutely instantly and painlessly. One second they're thinking 'Food!' and half a second later they're not thinking anything.