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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

big mistake




ok, so I’m talking to my mom on the phone last night when one of the cats – Mel – lets out this noise and I look over and see she’s got an effing mouse in her mouth! I get up and say, “OhmyGod!”

Instantly Mel and the mouse disappear under the bed.

I walk around and catch a glimpse of the mouse scurrying into the closet. He vanishes into the forest of everything I can hide in there – chests and unworn footwear, a painting of something, the vacuum.

My mom wants to know what’s wrong and I tell her and she wants a play by play which I give her, all while listening to this awful scrabbling noise that sounds like a cat trying to find a mouse. And all I can think is, wow. Big mistake, mouse. Do you have any idea how many cats live in this house?  

Still, I’m afraid to go look. I don't want the mouse to be caught. I want him to find his way back outside. I want to tell him to hunker down in that closet for the night and sneak out once the cats are sleeping. Maybe he can escape. Not that I hold out much hope. I mean, the odds are very much in the cats’ favor.

It’s quiet right now except for whoever is in the closet at the moment, searching for that poor mouse. A few minutes ago they were all gathered round, listening, looking, knowing something was up. Ready to pounce.

I get up finally to look, and see Mel and Narsa slink out of the closet, as if nothing’s going on. I turn the light on, move a few things, thinking maybe I can catch him myself – before one of the cats do. But there’s too many places a mouse can hide so I go back and sit down.

My mom tells me about the Woman’s Club and the money they’ve raised for charity and I tease her about liking Dancing With the Stars. Mel slinks out from under the bed.  


I wonder if the mouse will make it through the night.

I hope he does.

I really don’t want to wake up to his remains in the morning.  


ps that's Evie in the pic. But Mel looks just like her except littler and fatter with eyes like saucers and a black spot on one toe.

10 comments:

  1. Oh, you are much kinder than I am! I would have been dancing on the bed, shrieking: "Get the mouse! Get the mouse!"

    I'd be afraid to look in the closet.

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  2. I would have been like Dianne too, I must admit.

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  3. Awww poor mousie!! I had to really seriously force myself to bite down bile whenever kitty brings home live creatures - so I'd do my best to save them. My late sister was so fearless in this way. We shared a house decades ago and had 5 cats between us and she was forever diving in to rescue creatures brought in by the kitties - she never paused or thought things through she just went in there and grabbed the prey from the kitties while I screamed and hid and screamed some more and was completely useless! These days I try to channel her spirit - oh but it's hard!! I hope the mousie is clever and resilient enough to find a way out!

    And hugs to your adorable kitties!

    Take care
    x

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  4. Our indoor cat was seven before she had reason to test her hunting instincts. Thankfully my husband found her first victim. I found numbers two and three. No repeats since...

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  5. Natalie and Dianne, you guys are like my mom. I remember her when I was little when a mouse got into the kitchen. She was just like that cartoon lady on the chair shrieking in her high heels.

    Old Kitty, I always try to rescue whenever possible. Unfortunately, my closet provides a number of nooks and crannies for a wee mouse to hide in. But I haven't found anything yet and heard no ruckus in the night. Hopefully mouse found his way outside to safety.

    Liza, Mel is a primarily indoor cat. Occasionally she goes out to the porch and immediate vicinity in the summer. Evie (pictured) is my little huntress.

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  6. "Big mistake, mouse. Do you have any idea how many cats live in this house?" I could seriously see this tale (tail?) morphing into a picture book...

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  7. Yuck. I know I wouldn't want to see the cats catch the mouse, but I also wouldn't want a mouse in the house.

    I have a chipmunk living under my back porch, and every day my little terrier wakes up thinking she can catch it. She is so out of her league. If I had cats, it would be another story. :)

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  8. I think I'd rather the cat caught the mouse and ran outside with it than to know it's still somewhere in my house...

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  9. It's in a cat's nature to hunt, but still, it would break my heart if one of our cats killed a mouse or bird. Since they're indoor cats, hopefully, they'll never do it. However, they do go into intense hunting mode whenever they spot a bug of any kind.

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  10. ah! give me my big dumb dog!
    chased a chipmunk! yesterday =)

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