The Mouseinator!

As I have mentioned in previous entries, the newest addition to our family, Riley the Cat, is quite the excellent mouse-catcher. Despite the fact that Riley lacks his front claws (again, "de-clawing as cat is a barbaric practice that I don't approve of, but it was done before we adopted  Riley), he has no trouble hunting down and killing the mice that inhabit our home.

The problem is, in our pre-Riley days, we were ignorant of the fact that we had a mouse problem in our house. Some research on my part has found that ALL houses host mice families (even YOURS!). They are so discreet, though, that most homeowners are unaware that they are hosting extra lodgers.

A veterinarian told me that in my area, every home has mice, and they are the lucky ones- Most homes are infested with mice, squirrels, and who knows what else!

News like this makes me glad we adopted Riley. The thought of vermin creeping beneath our floorboards makes me cringe. I have enough trouble getting a good night's sleep without worrying about unseen critters creeping around, inches away from me. Having Riley managing the vermin populace puts my mind at ease. At least a bit.

I would prefer, though, that he "finish the job" and completely dispose of the mice he catches. Unfortunately, he prefers to leave bits and pieces of his "catches" out and about for us to discover. I presume that this is his way of showing off: "Look what I caught!", he must feel. Our enthusiasm for having one less mouse in the house is tempered, at these times, by our having stepped onto a grisly mouse carcass first thing in the morning. Riley seems disappointed we are not as enthused about his latest catch as he is. The look on his face as you wipe dead mouse remains off your foot, while shrieking like a schoolgirl, speaks volumes.

Still, thank you  Riley for keeping our house vermin-free!

If only it was as fun as it looks in Tom & Jerry cartoons...