Mouse Adventures

My childhood was one of Disney and Mickey Mouse but I was scared to death of live mice. Whether it was the shock of their appearance out of no where or how quickly they moved, I'd scream every time!

Growing up on a dairy farm, mice were a reality. They liked the grain bin most of all - MRE's for mice! But I had to shovel from that grain bin every evening. Thank God for our dogs, barn cats and a good set of lungs!

I've had house cats for much of my adult life. For you non-cat people, cats like to bring their "trophies" to their owners. I don't necessarily mind this unless the darned thing is still alive. With four cats sharing our current home, escape is futile!

Eighteen months into our marriage, I accepted a position with a farm organization in New York state - over two hours from our home in Massachusetts. During the week, I had an apartment in a small town outside Albany. I spent the weekends at to our home in Mass. The long-distance commute life began (thankfully it only lasted for eighteen months). It was in that apartment that I became desensitized to mice.

To avoid being lonely, one of our cats made the commute with me.You should have seen the looks on the faces of the toll takers when I pulled up to the booths...shock, amazement, wonder. Curled up on my dash was a large, long-haired white cat with salmon colored spots! Rafferty loved to travel by car! Upon stopping, he'd usually lift his head, yawn and go right back to sleep.

I hadn't been in the apartment long when I noticed Rafferty's food dish was emptying all too quickly. Raff was never one to refuse a meal but his food was disappearing at an astounding rate. Couple that with all the noise I heard above my head as I sat in my recliner at night. There was a party going on, no humans (or cats) invited!

One evening, as Rafferty and I were snuggled up watching TV, we saw a mouse run along the baseboards. OK, so much for my concern of being lonely! The following night, Raff caught our furry little friend and dropped it at my feet. What happened next was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

The mouse stood up on its hind legs and read us the riot act. It may not have been in any human tongue but I recognized a serious chewing out when I heard one! The mouse looked at me, at Rafferty and back at me scolding the entire time. It really was quite comical! In our shock at the tongue lashing we had just received, we let the gray four-foot scurry away.

I named our sassy new flatmate Fat and Sassy. This mouse needed "The Biggest Loser" Rodent Edition! I could only deduce that Iams cat food was to him what chocolate was/is to me.

I came home from work one day to find blood everywhere...on the stairs, on the living room carpet, on the dining room vinyl, on the bathroom floor. The quantity was remarkable. My immediate thoughts were "Dear Lord, what happened here? Where's Rafferty? Did he hemorrhage all through the apartment?"

Well, Rafferty was fine. Fat and Sassy...not so much. Raff had won what must have been an epic battle. I found the dead body of our vocal, obese little friend in the bathroom. The next thing I did was just...well...silly.

Larry would always flush the skinny field mice our cats would bring into our home in Mass. (Our poor septic system!) Anyway, without even giving it a second thought, I decided I would dispose of Fat and Sassy in the same manner. Yep, you guessed it! That chubby little dude would not fit down the toilet...I had to fish it back out! Disgusting! My outside trash can became the only place I knew to stash the corpse.

My story of mice in this apartment is not yet complete. When Rafferty and I returned from a three day holiday weekend, we heard strange, pitiful noises coming from under the kitchen sink. My curiosity got the best of me.

I had emptied my tall kitchen trash bin before leaving for the weekend but appealing odors must have lingered. I opened the cupboard and tentatively peered into the trash bin. I couldn't believe my eyes!

Jaw dropping and eyes popping, I took in the skeletal remains of two mice and two other emaciated little bodies weakly crying for help. Getting into the trash bin had been a breeze but, due to its depth, escape was impossible. It was the Bonner Party mousy style - minus the snow!

I discovered a dead body in the trash bin one other time but there was only the single incident of cannibalism. And the nocturnal rodent parties ceased.

So it's pretty clear how I became desensitized to mice, isn't it? Rafferty has been gone for several years but our mouse adventures will always be with me. =^..^=