Cat just cornered a mouse in the kitchen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m LOLing at the Lysol wipes.

Recommended by experts. You never pick up mouse crap without first disinfecting

+1

The OP is right to know to disinfect. OP, I feel for you. Been there myself. Please get a good mask (hey, if you've got an N95 for covid, those work great) and mask up to clean, every time. It's the airborne stuff from mouse poop that can create issues for humans. You were right not to spray the mouse droppings. Spraying can aerosolize drier droppings. If you find droppings on a floor, or even on carpet, pick them up first in a wet paper towel or wipe before vacuuming--vacuums can crush and aerosolize droppings. FYI, mice poop where they eat, and also poop as they run around, so you are likely to find droppings along baseboards. Mice like to be up close to things, not run around out on open floor space, so you'll need to look under every couch, bed, etc., especially those up against walls.

All food in plastic containers with tight seals ASAP. That includes stuff that's already in boxes, like cereals etc. Plastic, snap tight lids. We had mice get into the pantry and they will eat through cardboard to get at certain foods inside.

OP, you mentioned squirrels in the attic. If you have those you surely have mice nesting there. We aren't on acreage but had a mouse problem due to mice nesting in our attic's old insulation. I strongly advise you get all new insulation (expensive but so worth it) and have the exterminator investigate the attic for every minute crack. Some extermination firms can also do insulation (Orkin did ours). You'll need to get it all sealed and then get an insulation that contains boric acid -- it's harmless to humans but rodents HATE it and it repels them effectively. Blown-in insulation is better because it can get into every nook and cranny.

When mice nest in an attic, nothing short of taking care of that attic space is going to get rid of them for good. They can flee the peppermint temporarily (which will fade and have to be replaced a lot) but they will just run to their attic nests through the wall and wait until they find another way downstairs through another path. No place is closed to them. They don't even need ducts to run in; they can go inside walls and fit through gaps smaller than a pencil eraser.

I'm sorry you're going through this! I had an awful bunch of weeks when we discovered our infestation. I really do advise that anything else you do in the house won't be meaningful in the long run unless you replace the insulation and seal up the attic--you'll get rid of the squirrels too which is a bonus. If "it's a zoo up there" the zoo includes mice for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a cat that could go outside and she regularly brought living mice without a scratch inside our home. She put them somewhere and left. The mice lived a peacful life in our home until someone discovered them. We survived!

Yes! This is what happens in my house a lot! We also have three cats. One elderly male who doesn’t hunt and isn’t interested and two young cats, both who hunt but one who is exceptional.

Unfortunately, little boy hunter brings okay things inside our home. He will bring mice to play with and sometimes I’m stuck with getting them out. I’m a humane person and never want a creature to die or be tortured by the cat. We have humane traps we use if we can’t just box up mouse and that always works with a little peanut butter in it. We don’t fret too much about it! Now, when little boy cat brings in birds..that is when I freak out! He’s brought in love birds several times! We always manage to release them but not without chaos and some mess. He even brought a bat in the kids room in the middle of the night one summer, and yes, everyone including cat had to get rabies shots and for the cat a booster. He wears a jingle bell collar now at night!

OP here. Would FREAK out over the bat!! I’ve had my own encounter down south. Chaos is a good way to describe it!

Bats eats tons of mosquitos, so it's nice to have them in the neighborhood anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Killing and eating prey isn't instinctive for cats. It's a learned behavior. Sometimes a cat will figure it out on their own, but it's rare.

Really? I find this hard to believe.

Catching and playing with the prey, and maybe killing it, is instinctive but the eating is learned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m LOLing at the Lysol wipes.

Recommended by experts. You never pick up mouse crap without first disinfecting

+1

The OP is right to know to disinfect. OP, I feel for you. Been there myself. Please get a good mask (hey, if you've got an N95 for covid, those work great) and mask up to clean, every time. It's the airborne stuff from mouse poop that can create issues for humans. You were right not to spray the mouse droppings. Spraying can aerosolize drier droppings. If you find droppings on a floor, or even on carpet, pick them up first in a wet paper towel or wipe before vacuuming--vacuums can crush and aerosolize droppings. FYI, mice poop where they eat, and also poop as they run around, so you are likely to find droppings along baseboards. Mice like to be up close to things, not run around out on open floor space, so you'll need to look under every couch, bed, etc., especially those up against walls.

All food in plastic containers with tight seals ASAP. That includes stuff that's already in boxes, like cereals etc. Plastic, snap tight lids. We had mice get into the pantry and they will eat through cardboard to get at certain foods inside.

OP, you mentioned squirrels in the attic. If you have those you surely have mice nesting there. We aren't on acreage but had a mouse problem due to mice nesting in our attic's old insulation. I strongly advise you get all new insulation (expensive but so worth it) and have the exterminator investigate the attic for every minute crack. Some extermination firms can also do insulation (Orkin did ours). You'll need to get it all sealed and then get an insulation that contains boric acid -- it's harmless to humans but rodents HATE it and it repels them effectively. Blown-in insulation is better because it can get into every nook and cranny.

When mice nest in an attic, nothing short of taking care of that attic space is going to get rid of them for good. They can flee the peppermint temporarily (which will fade and have to be replaced a lot) but they will just run to their attic nests through the wall and wait until they find another way downstairs through another path. No place is closed to them. They don't even need ducts to run in; they can go inside walls and fit through gaps smaller than a pencil eraser.

I'm sorry you're going through this! I had an awful bunch of weeks when we discovered our infestation. I really do advise that anything else you do in the house won't be meaningful in the long run unless you replace the insulation and seal up the attic--you'll get rid of the squirrels too which is a bonus. If "it's a zoo up there" the zoo includes mice for sure.

Thank you. No signs of infestation. Checked baseboards, under couch, etc. Husband is a PITA about repairs but this will get him to deal. Pisses me off though to have it hit a crisis of sorts. Plan on replacing insulation with rock wool. More expensive but the blown in stuff molds when wet. The squirrels here have chewed holes through the darn ROOF to get in. I think this started because the garage doors are damaged and don’t seal. They came in to eat the bird food. That’s now in plastic containers. And the freaking gardeners killed snakes. Nope NO!!

[Anonymous]

There are very few cases of Hantavirus in our region but a shit ton of mice.

[Anonymous]

OP my parents have this problem, they say:
Use various traps because mice figure it out if you have only one kind.
My mom got a second fridge so she can keep her pantry items in there. Haven't found a mouse in the fridge yet!
Encourage (non venomous) snakes in your yard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m LOLing at the Lysol wipes.

The turds are what you SEE. The mice willfully pee as they walk/run along your surfaces. So, yes, wipe down with Lysol. Esp food surfaces in a kitchen.

Anyway, coexisting with mice has been happening for centuries. Just keep them out of your living area by blocking their entry. And clean up food, don't leave stuff sitting out overnight, and limit where you kids can snack in the house.

[maremart]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Killing and eating prey isn't instinctive for cats. It's a learned behavior. Sometimes a cat will figure it out on their own, but it's rare.

Really? I find this hard to believe.

Same here. I have an indoor cat that's never really goes outside and he about loses his mind when he sees a bird out the window.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are very few cases of Hantavirus in our region but a shit ton of mice.

Almost none, thank God. My folks live in the Southwest and that’s not the case there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m LOLing at the Lysol wipes.

The turds are what you SEE. The mice willfully pee as they walk/run along your surfaces. So, yes, wipe down with Lysol. Esp food surfaces in a kitchen.

Anyway, coexisting with mice has been happening for centuries. Just keep them out of your living area by blocking their entry. And clean up food, don't leave stuff sitting out overnight, and limit where you kids can snack in the house.

The good thing is the moment the mouse emerges, cat is on it. Never gets near the food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think we can ever really win this battle but. You fight the good fight OP!

Ps did you ever see that BillMurray movie about golf and the ground hog? Not ground hog day, long before that…

Caddy Shack!

[Anonymous]

OP here - update. So we had the exterminator out to look. He would not go into the attic due to liability. What f-ing good is that??? Set a couple spring traps around the trap door entrance and sure enough, caught a mouse. So now we know they are in the attic. He also walked the house and there are a few vents that have been compromised. Husband says he can fix them. Is he? No. He's out on his bike (5+ days a week) and is going out with his brother tonight. Told him he has tomorrow to go to Lowes and get new vents and install them. If he does not get it done tomorrow, or at least put screening over the compromised areas until the vents come in if he has to order them, I will call a company to do it at great expense to him. I'm not tolerating his usual lax BS when it comes to vermin. He's one of those people that doesn't believe in home maintenance until there's a crisis and considers upkeep an unnecessary expense. We have another home up north that I make all the decisions on. Needless to say things are done quickly because there is no negotiation - I just do it.

[Anonymous]

Holy overreaction, OP. Do you panic about other things? It’s a mouse. It will be ok.

[Anonymous]

Would you cancel an event in your house because you saw a mouse in the pantry the night before that you could not trap?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Killing and eating prey isn't instinctive for cats. It's a learned behavior. Sometimes a cat will figure it out on their own, but it's rare.

This has not been my experience. Where did you get this information that it "isn't instinctive?" Who do you think is teaching the cat?

In my experience they have to be taught by a mousing cat. My older male is an excellent hunter, and he taught my younger female, but when I was growing up we got all our cats before they learned and so none knew how. A few were interested in the mice, but didn’t know what to do with them.