My cat isn't interested in the occasional house mouse, but on two separate occasions I stupidly left my back door open and critters found their way in (baby possum and a chipmunk). She went after them with a fierceness, but thank god I was able to get them out the door before she got them.

I agree with the others. Borrowing a cat won't work because they don't know you and don't care about your environment! Cats are not solely here on this planet to work for us. They hunt because they want to not because we need them to.

Sorry!

Anonymous wrote:We've set a ton of different traps but haven't caught the mice. Our friends offered to lend us their cat overnight. Has anyone tried borrowing a cat and did it work? Thanks!

No, waste of time. Might catch one mouse, but so what?

You need to do what we did: fill in with copper mesh and foam every single chink in your house's foundation where a mouse might be able to get in. We bought the copper mesh on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Stuf-Fit-Copper-Mesh-Birds-Control/dp/B0001IMLTY
You have to use copper mesh because steel wool rusts and the mice can chew through it. We used foam spray https://www.amazon.com/GREAT-STUFF-Pestblock-Insulating-Sealant/dp/B007TUF0FY/ref=sr_1_2?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1485198765&sr=1-2&keywords=foam+spray
to fill in any gaps, although the copper mesh worked in most places, like cracks, etc.
This ended the mouse problem in our house.
We also put a sweep https://www.amazon.com/M-D-Building-Products-43301-36-Inch/dp/B008XGR6AA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1485198900&sr=8-2&keywords=door+sweep
on the door between our house and garage, and replaced the rubber gasket on the bottom our garage door.
No mice. None.

If you have a family of mice already living in your house, you'll have to kill them with traps. Use peanut butter and cheese crackers (that's what worked best) in the regular old snap traps. Place them under furniture in inside kitchen cabinets, areas where your kids/pets won't be able to reach them. The traps will break a child's finger, so be careful where you place them.

Do not use poison. Your kids/dog may get poisoned. The mice will die in your walls and you will get a horrific stench while their bodies decompose. Use the snap traps. Worked great for us.

And keep food sealed up and away from areas where mice can get at it. They can climb up the sides of furniture. I stored some snacks on top of an armoire in our family room, and the mice got up there and had a party! Ooops!

You need to borrow someone's outdoor cat that has a track record of hunting. A typical suburban indoor cat is not going to help.

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the cat. My cat can only catch odd socks.

Mine ignores mice, only hunts moths.

Someone wrote "murder kitty"...


Ahh. Thanks DCUM. I needed that today.

I have heard that a bag of cat pee litter will also deter mouse due to the smell.

I have a Murder Cat but the other two are lazy AF. The real key with mice is to keep more of them from getting back in. Find out how they got in in the first place and seal it up!

NP. This is one of the best topict I came across in the thread. I also wanna know how it turns up!!!!

Anonymous wrote:What about a dog like a terrier? Aren't they supposed to like to hunt mice?

Yep! My Yorkie (admittedly not the smartest dog) catches mice and small birds and really enjoys it. We don't let him outside not on a leash so he doesn't hurt the birds, but he's obsessed with watching our bird feeders.

Depends on the cat. My cat can only catch odd socks.

You need a cat who hunts.
My friend adopted a young enterprising cat and her rat problem disappeared overnight!

My cats would do it. They are great mousers. Just depends on the cat.

Anonymous wrote:My cat is a fierce mouser. She has caught several mice in our apartment (gross, and we didn't know we had mice). However, if you took her home for the night, she would be scared and would indeed hide. I agree with people who advise keeping the cat for a week.

Or, get your own cat: they're great.

+1 Best advice

My cat is a fierce mouser. She has caught several mice in our apartment (gross, and we didn't know we had mice). However, if you took her home for the night, she would be scared and would indeed hide. I agree with people who advise keeping the cat for a week.

Or, get your own cat: they're great.