In article >, Blair P.
Houghton > wrote:

> I had a mouse.

(hilarious story snipped)

> But, curious like any cat, I wanted to see my prey.
> So I grabbed a handy (dirty) 1-quart pyrex measuring
> cup, and a heavy book (The Art of Eating, by MFK Fisher).
> I placed the book over the cup, save an inch for the mouth
> of the trap. I opened the trap. In the same motion, the
> mouse fell from the trap, turned, and leapt out through the
> tiny space remaining. He caromed off the toaster oven,
> flew to the floor, tried the trash can as a hiding spot,
> found no opening underneath, then turned and made for
> the refrigerator. Total time to escape to invisibility:
> about 0.7 seconds.

"Oh, what fools these mortals be."

> Maybe the rabbits will adopt him before the snakes and
> coyotes do.

Or maybe not.
"Here, kittykitty; here, kittykitty."
--
-Barb
12-23-03: Tourtiere pictures and recipe have been
added to my site: <www.jamlady.eboard.com>
"If you're ever in a jam, here I am."

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> In article >, Blair P.
> Houghton > wrote:
>
>
>>I had a mouse.
>
>
> (hilarious story snipped)
>
>
>>But, curious like any cat, I wanted to see my prey.
>>So I grabbed a handy (dirty) 1-quart pyrex measuring
>>cup, and a heavy book (The Art of Eating, by MFK Fisher).
>>I placed the book over the cup, save an inch for the mouth
>>of the trap. I opened the trap. In the same motion, the
>>mouse fell from the trap, turned, and leapt out through the
>>tiny space remaining. He caromed off the toaster oven,
>>flew to the floor, tried the trash can as a hiding spot,
>>found no opening underneath, then turned and made for
>>the refrigerator. Total time to escape to invisibility:
>>about 0.7 seconds.
>
>
> "Oh, what fools these mortals be."
>
>
>>Maybe the rabbits will adopt him before the snakes and
>>coyotes do.
>
>
> Or maybe not.
> "Here, kittykitty; here, kittykitty."

I had a mouse. I saw it on Friday and told the Handyman to come and do
something. He put out several glue traps and the next day, yesterday, I
found its corpse.

I hope that this was the only one. Tandoora, my cat, acted like a true
feline, at least an apartment kitty: As long as she suspected there
might be a mouse in the kitchen, she hid in my bedroom.

Barbara, remember the sound you heard while you were here? Maybe it was
the mouse and not the alarm in the radiator or in the smoke alarm.
Debbie heard it, too, but now it is gone.

I live on the 20th floor of an apartment building. Exterminators come
every week to make sure that no kind of creepy crawly things live in the
building, yet I have had mice several times before. At those times, I
had three cats living with me. The cats would actually catch the mouse,
play with it for a while and then let it go. Not once did one of them
kill a mouse.

This morning, I called one of the building's porters, to check on the
traps that are still here. They were empty and I hope that they stay
that way. Tandoora is still staying out of the kitchen.

Happy New Year, Margaret

Margaret Suran wrote:
> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>> In article >, Blair P.
>> Houghton > wrote:
>>
>>
>>> I had a mouse.
>>
>>
>> (hilarious story snipped)
>>
>>
>>> But, curious like any cat, I wanted to see my prey.
(snip)
>> Or maybe not.
>> "Here, kittykitty; here, kittykitty."
>
> I had a mouse. I saw it on Friday and told the Handyman to come and
> do something. He put out several glue traps and the next day,
> yesterday, I found its corpse.
>
> I hope that this was the only one. Tandoora, my cat, acted like a
> true feline, at least an apartment kitty: As long as she suspected
> there might be a mouse in the kitchen, she hid in my bedroom.
>
(laughing) Persia is terrified of mice! I was walking to the kitchen one
morning and she was ahead of me, hoping for some treat. She stopped and
uttered a squeak! I nearly tripped over her. She spotted a mouse (it was
dead) and would not enter the kitchen until I assured her it had been
properly disposed of. Sheesh, a cat afraid of mice. What will they think
of next?

Jill

Margaret Suran wrote:
>
> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> > In article >, Blair P.
> > Houghton > wrote:
> >
> >
> >>I had a mouse.
> >
> >
> > (hilarious story snipped)
> >
> >
> >>But, curious like any cat, I wanted to see my prey.
> >>So I grabbed a handy (dirty) 1-quart pyrex measuring
> >>cup, and a heavy book (The Art of Eating, by MFK Fisher).
> >>I placed the book over the cup, save an inch for the mouth
> >>of the trap. I opened the trap. In the same motion, the
> >>mouse fell from the trap, turned, and leapt out through the
> >>tiny space remaining. He caromed off the toaster oven,
> >>flew to the floor, tried the trash can as a hiding spot,
> >>found no opening underneath, then turned and made for
> >>the refrigerator. Total time to escape to invisibility:
> >>about 0.7 seconds.
> >
> >
> > "Oh, what fools these mortals be."
> >
> >
> >>Maybe the rabbits will adopt him before the snakes and
> >>coyotes do.
> >
> >
> > Or maybe not.
> > "Here, kittykitty; here, kittykitty."
>
> I had a mouse. I saw it on Friday and told the Handyman to come and do
> something. He put out several glue traps and the next day, yesterday, I
> found its corpse.
>
> I hope that this was the only one. Tandoora, my cat, acted like a true
> feline, at least an apartment kitty: As long as she suspected there
> might be a mouse in the kitchen, she hid in my bedroom.
>
> Barbara, remember the sound you heard while you were here? Maybe it was
> the mouse and not the alarm in the radiator or in the smoke alarm.
> Debbie heard it, too, but now it is gone.
>
> I live on the 20th floor of an apartment building. Exterminators come
> every week to make sure that no kind of creepy crawly things live in the
> building, yet I have had mice several times before. At those times, I
> had three cats living with me. The cats would actually catch the mouse,
> play with it for a while and then let it go. Not once did one of them
> kill a mouse.
>
> This morning, I called one of the building's porters, to check on the
> traps that are still here. They were empty and I hope that they stay
> that way. Tandoora is still staying out of the kitchen.
>
> Happy New Year, Margaret

Tandoora is probably afraid of the mouse traps more than the mice.

There is a standard method to keep cats off selected places. Get half a dozen
small mouse traps. Arm them and set them _FACE DOWN_ (very carefully of
course) on whatever surface you want to keep cats off. Cover with a newspaper.
The cat will go to that spot once and never more. The traps will not harm the
cat when they trigger.

My daughter just had a baby. The cat took a liking for the crib when the baby
was not there. After having to wash the crib linens once too many times we did
just what I described. No more cat problems.

Bert

wrote:
> Margaret Suran wrote:
>>
>> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>>> In article >, Blair P.
>>> Houghton > wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> I had a mouse.
>>>
>>>
>>> (hilarious story snipped)
>>>
>>>
> My daughter just had a baby. The cat took a liking for the crib when
> the baby was not there. After having to wash the crib linens once too
> many times we did just what I described. No more cat problems.
>
> Bert

Why not simply close the door? No need to scare the poor cat to death. The
child will outgrow the crib eventually. You're going to make the cat
terrified to even go into the room with the kid.

Jill

jmcquown wrote:
>
> wrote:
> > Margaret Suran wrote:
> >>
> >> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> >>> In article >, Blair P.
> >>> Houghton > wrote:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> I had a mouse.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> (hilarious story snipped)
> >>>
> >>>
> > My daughter just had a baby. The cat took a liking for the crib when
> > the baby was not there. After having to wash the crib linens once too
> > many times we did just what I described. No more cat problems.
> >
> > Bert
>
> Why not simply close the door? No need to scare the poor cat to death. The
> child will outgrow the crib eventually. You're going to make the cat
> terrified to even go into the room with the kid.
>
> Jill

The cat is very fast and will outrun anyone to get to a barely open door. My
daughter has to keep the door open to hear the baby (he is less than two
months old) who is in an on-demand breast feeding schedule. It is best to
train the cat.

The cat, by the way, is an outside cat. She goes in and out whenever the
outside doors get open. She does not get terrified easily at almost anything.

Bert

wrote:
> jmcquown wrote:
>>
>> wrote:
>>> Margaret Suran wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>>>>> In article >, Blair P.
>>>>> Houghton > wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> I had a mouse.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> (hilarious story snipped)
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>> My daughter just had a baby. The cat took a liking for the crib when
>>> the baby was not there. After having to wash the crib linens once
>>> too many times we did just what I described. No more cat problems.
>>>
>>> Bert
>>
>> Why not simply close the door? No need to scare the poor cat to
>> death. The child will outgrow the crib eventually. You're going to
>> make the cat terrified to even go into the room with the kid.
>>
>> Jill
>
> The cat is very fast and will outrun anyone to get to a barely open
> door. My daughter has to keep the door open to hear the baby (he is
> less than two months old) who is in an on-demand breast feeding
> schedule. It is best to train the cat.
>
> The cat, by the way, is an outside cat. She goes in and out whenever
> the outside doors get open. She does not get terrified easily at
> almost anything.
>
> Bert

Uh huh. You or your daughter ever heard of a baby monitor? I won't even
speak to the "on demand" thing.

It is downright cruel to use mouse traps to scare the living daylights out
of the cat, not to mention the fact that it might, in its curiosity, get one
of its paws snapped shut in it. Geezlepeets. It's not like... oh wait...
are you one of those people who believe cats suck the breath out of babies?!

Jill

jmcquown wrote:
>
> wrote:
> > jmcquown wrote:
> >>
> >> wrote:
> >>> Margaret Suran wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> >>>>> In article >, Blair P.
> >>>>> Houghton > wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>> I had a mouse.
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> (hilarious story snipped)
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>> My daughter just had a baby. The cat took a liking for the crib when
> >>> the baby was not there. After having to wash the crib linens once
> >>> too many times we did just what I described. No more cat problems.
> >>>
> >>> Bert
> >>
> >> Why not simply close the door? No need to scare the poor cat to
> >> death. The child will outgrow the crib eventually. You're going to
> >> make the cat terrified to even go into the room with the kid.
> >>
> >> Jill
> >
> > The cat is very fast and will outrun anyone to get to a barely open
> > door. My daughter has to keep the door open to hear the baby (he is
> > less than two months old) who is in an on-demand breast feeding
> > schedule. It is best to train the cat.
> >
> > The cat, by the way, is an outside cat. She goes in and out whenever
> > the outside doors get open. She does not get terrified easily at
> > almost anything.
> >
> > Bert
>
> Uh huh. You or your daughter ever heard of a baby monitor? I won't even
> speak to the "on demand" thing.
>
> It is downright cruel to use mouse traps to scare the living daylights out
> of the cat, not to mention the fact that it might, in its curiosity, get one
> of its paws snapped shut in it. Geezlepeets. It's not like... oh wait...
> are you one of those people who believe cats suck the breath out of babies?!
>
> Jill

Hey, Jill, chill out, will you?

The newspapers over the _UPSIDE DOWN_ traps are there to ensure the cat does
not get caught in a trap. The described method is recommended by vets.

As to whatever you meant by the baby monitor comment, she does have one that
lets her know when the baby has started crying.

On demand breast feeding is the method recommended by La Leche. Take a look at

http://www.breastfeeding.com/all_abo...ter_birth.html
http://www.babycenter.com/expert/bab...feed/5624.html
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/8...uefeeding.html

After reading it do speak about "the 'on demand' thing", it is nothing to be
scared of. Neither is breast feeding.

And no, we are not one of those people who believe in that particular
fairytale.

Bert

On Mon, 29 Dec 2003 01:03:21 -0600, "jmcquown"
> wrote:

> It's not like... oh wait...
>are you one of those people who believe cats suck the breath out of babies?!
>
>Jill
>
hell, adults too.

your pal,
blake

On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 14:44:34 GMT, Margaret Suran
> wrote:

> Tandoora, my cat, acted like a true
> feline, at least an apartment kitty: As long as she suspected there
> might be a mouse in the kitchen, she hid in my bedroom.
>
LOL1 She doesn't like wild animals in your house any more
than you do.

<snip>
>
> I live on the 20th floor of an apartment building. Exterminators come
> every week to make sure that no kind of creepy crawly things live in the
> building, yet I have had mice several times before. At those times, I
> had three cats living with me. The cats would actually catch the mouse,
> play with it for a while and then let it go. Not once did one of them
> kill a mouse.

According to what I've heard/read, cats need to be trained
by their mothers to catch and kill mice. Otherwise mice are
interesting playthings to them.
>
> Tandoora is still staying out of the kitchen.
>
LOL! Let's face it, NYC mice are brazen and don't scare
easily.


Practice safe eating - always use condiments

sf wrote:
> On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 14:44:34 GMT, Margaret Suran
> > wrote:
>
>
>> Tandoora, my cat, acted like a true
>> feline, at least an apartment kitty: As long as she suspected there
>> might be a mouse in the kitchen, she hid in my bedroom.
>>
>
> LOL1 She doesn't like wild animals in your house any more
> than you do.
>
> <snip>
>
>>
>> I live on the 20th floor of an apartment building. Exterminators come
>> every week to make sure that no kind of creepy crawly things live in the
>> building, yet I have had mice several times before. At those times, I
>> had three cats living with me. The cats would actually catch the mouse,
>> play with it for a while and then let it go. Not once did one of them
>> kill a mouse.
>
>
> According to what I've heard/read, cats need to be trained
> by their mothers to catch and kill mice. Otherwise mice are
> interesting playthings to them.
>
>>
>> Tandoora is still staying out of the kitchen.
>>
>
> LOL! Let's face it, NYC mice are brazen and don't scare
> easily.
>
>

The mouse wasn't brazen, Tandoora either does not know that she is a
cat or she knows that she will get something tastier if she comes to me
and tells me to feed her. )

Ajax, a cat I had many years ago, would catch flies. She would catch
them between her two front paws, then open them in order to see whether
the little insect was really caught. Of course her prey would fly away
and Ajax would scream with rage. Ajax was my best hunter, so you can
imagine how good the other six were.

In article >,
says...
> On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 14:44:34 GMT, Margaret Suran
> > wrote:
>
> > Tandoora, my cat, acted like a true
> > feline, at least an apartment kitty: As long as she suspected there
> > might be a mouse in the kitchen, she hid in my bedroom.
> >
> LOL1 She doesn't like wild animals in your house any more
> than you do.
>
> <snip>
> >
> > I live on the 20th floor of an apartment building. Exterminators come
> > every week to make sure that no kind of creepy crawly things live in the
> > building, yet I have had mice several times before. At those times, I
> > had three cats living with me. The cats would actually catch the mouse,
> > play with it for a while and then let it go. Not once did one of them
> > kill a mouse.
>
> According to what I've heard/read, cats need to be trained
> by their mothers to catch and kill mice. Otherwise mice are
> interesting playthings to them.

That is probably true. Cats do learn from humans and other cats - for
example I believe in the case of the middle cat (Emily, a 6.5lb female
felid) who came into the household at a total of 6 weeks old, we
encouraged the mousing by buying her those little stuffed mice and
helping her play with them.

The youngest cat (Cosimo, 25lb male felid) learned mousing from her I
suspect.

So when the eldest cat finally gives up the ghost I'll have to get a
youngish kitten and go through the same routine. But that probably won't
happen for another 5+ years, the eldest cat (Randy, 11lb male felid) is
only 14 years old.

In article >, icu2@pipeline
dot com wrote:
(snip)
> According to what I've heard/read, cats need to be trained by their
> mothers to catch and kill mice. Otherwise mice are interesting
> playthings to them.

Oh, sure, blame it on the mom!!!
--
-Barb
12-28-03: Tourtiere picture added to my site: <www.jamlady.eboard.com>
Also a picture of my Baba Authorized struhadlo for making halushky
"If you're ever in a jam, here I am."

On Mon, 29 Dec 2003 09:12:09 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
> wrote:

> In article >, icu2@pipeline
> dot com wrote:
> (snip)
> > According to what I've heard/read, cats need to be trained by their
> > mothers to catch and kill mice. Otherwise mice are interesting
> > playthings to them.
>
> Oh, sure, blame it on the mom!!!

LOL! Isn't it always our fault?



Practice safe eating - always use condiments

In article .net>,
Margaret Suran > wrote:

> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> > Or maybe not.
> > "Here, kittykitty; here, kittykitty."
>
> I had a mouse. I saw it on Friday and told the Handyman to come and do
> something. He put out several glue traps and the next day, yesterday, I
> found its corpse.
>
> I hope that this was the only one. Tandoora, my cat, acted like a true
> feline, at least an apartment kitty: As long as she suspected there
> might be a mouse in the kitchen, she hid in my bedroom.

Once again proving her place on this earth. :-0)
>
> Barbara, remember the sound you heard while you were here?

I do.

>Maybe it was the mouse and not the alarm in the radiator or in the
>smoke alarm. Debbie heard it, too, but now it is gone.

Don't know. Do mousies sound like chirping smoke alarms? I never heard
what I would describe as the pitter patter of little feet.

> I live on the 20th floor of an apartment building. Exterminators come
> every week to make sure that no kind of creepy crawly things live in the
> building, yet I have had mice several times before. At those times, I
> had three cats living with me. The cats would actually catch the mouse,
> play with it for a while and then let it go. Not once did one of them
> kill a mouse.

Those weren't real cats. They were PETA members in cats' clothing. You
needed Ma Cat, one of the country's finest mousers of the '50s. A
self-respecting girl. Ma Cat made mouncemeat out of more than one
little critter on our farm. Her ne'er do well son, Whitey, though,
wouldn't have known what to do with a mousie if it opened his jaws and
walked right in! The lout!

> This morning, I called one of the building's porters, to check on the
> traps that are still here. They were empty and I hope that they stay
> that way. Tandoora is still staying out of the kitchen.

What a chickenshit! LOL!!!
Love to eat them mouseys
Mouseys what I love to eat
Bite they little heads off
Nibble on they tiny feet.
-The Kliban Kat
--
-Barb
12-23-03: Tourtiere pictures and recipe have been
added to my site: <www.jamlady.eboard.com>
"If you're ever in a jam, here I am."

In article >,
says...

> What a chickenshit! LOL!!!
> Love to eat them mouseys
> Mouseys what I love to eat
> Bite they little heads off
> Nibble on they tiny feet.
> -The Kliban Kat

All three of mine are proven mousers.

I've always wondered though why they don't make mouse flavored cat food,
or for that matter, pigeon flavored, canary flavored, etc.

Living in the city doesn't help the poor things but when they do see a
bird pirched nearby they go nuts. The ack-ack-ack sounds and all.

On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 15:53:03 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
> wrote:


> Those weren't real cats. They were PETA members in cats' clothing. You
> needed Ma Cat, one of the country's finest mousers of the '50s. A
> self-respecting girl. Ma Cat made mouncemeat out of more than one
> little critter on our farm. Her ne'er do well son, Whitey, though,
> wouldn't have known what to do with a mousie if it opened his jaws and
> walked right in! The lout!
>
Or maybe he was too well fed. You know how men are.
They are complacent/content as long as they're well taken
care of.



Practice safe eating - always use condiments

In article .net>,
lid says...

> I had a mouse. I saw it on Friday and told the Handyman to come and do
> something. He put out several glue traps and the next day, yesterday, I
> found its corpse.

Mice very rarely come in onesies.

> I hope that this was the only one. Tandoora, my cat, acted like a true
> feline, at least an apartment kitty: As long as she suspected there
> might be a mouse in the kitchen, she hid in my bedroom.

Ah - mine are well trained mousers though the eldest cat isn't as fast
as he once was and the youngest is a bit large to be stealthy. But the
middle cat - she's the champion. We used to buy her the stuffed mice -
she gutted every one of them. Does that to real mice when she gets one
now.

> Barbara, remember the sound you heard while you were here? Maybe it was
> the mouse and not the alarm in the radiator or in the smoke alarm.
> Debbie heard it, too, but now it is gone.
>
> I live on the 20th floor of an apartment building. Exterminators come
> every week to make sure that no kind of creepy crawly things live in the
> building, yet I have had mice several times before. At those times, I
> had three cats living with me. The cats would actually catch the mouse,
> play with it for a while and then let it go. Not once did one of them
> kill a mouse.

All mine are killers. It's one of the things I love about cats. They're
these cute little furballs and deadly to small things and quite painful
to large things should they desire.

COTTP > wrote:
>In article .net>,
says...
>
>> I had a mouse. I saw it on Friday and told the Handyman to come and do
>> something. He put out several glue traps and the next day, yesterday, I
>> found its corpse.
>
>Mice very rarely come in onesies.

History: Had a mouse here about two years ago. He left
of his own accord, after doing about the same sorts of
things to the kitchen that this is (these are) doing.

He was tan. This/these are gray.

--Blair
"I was hoping for black."

In article >, says...
> COTTP > wrote:
> >In article .net>,
> says...
> >
> >> I had a mouse. I saw it on Friday and told the Handyman to come and do
> >> something. He put out several glue traps and the next day, yesterday, I
> >> found its corpse.
> >
> >Mice very rarely come in onesies.
>
> History: Had a mouse here about two years ago. He left
> of his own accord, after doing about the same sorts of
> things to the kitchen that this is (these are) doing.
>
> He was tan. This/these are gray.
>
> --Blair
> "I was hoping for black."

I believe the tan guys are field/country mice, the grey guys are your
run of the mill city mice.

Around here they're grey.