Tuesday, November 16, 2010

When your children disappoint you


Get ready for a MAB story.
So, last night, I got home around nine, and I was on the phone with my mom. The cats were hanging around in the living room with me, screaming for their dinner.
Suddenly, Gus gets that aware, focused cat face on, and runs to the kitchen like he's seen something. Let's face the truth here, Gus isn't very smart, and he does stuff like this all the time. I didn't pay him much attention.
Then, I heard him doing this high-pitched singing-talking thing. He used to talk to the patio opossum in that voice a few summers ago when the opossum would stand and stare at Gus through the patio door. So, I said to my mom, "I think Gus is talking to something in the kitchen. Just a second."
I went into the kitchen, flipped on the light, and there is a little brown mouse by the baseboard under my kitchen cabinets. Gus is singing a song to the mouse.
Franklin came trotting in, and I said, "Look, Kitty! A mouse!" I thought he would be all excited and go into kitty ninja mode.
He put his nose on the mouse, then took a step back, sat down, and cocked his head.
The mouse went back up in his mouse hole, perfectly fine enough to mouse another day.
Now, for many years, I have fed and pampered these cats, not asking for much. I always figured, if we ever had a mouse in the house, they would step up and do their kitty duty with great efficiency and joy.
What did I get? A song and an analytical stare.
So, how do I get rid of this mouse without bringing in a feline commando?
Furthermore, have I completely over-domesticated and ruined my cat children?

5 comments:

  1. LOL! When we first started getting mice our cats didn't have a clue what to do. Sometimes it takes a while for those feline instincts to kick in. It wasn't until the dog decided it was great fun to chase the mice that the cats really got the idea! Silly pampered house cats! Good luck!

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  2. It's true. Mousing is a skill taught by Mama Kitty. Cats don't automatically associate a mouse with dinner. If you do manage to catch your mouse, you could give your kitties a chance to practise.

    On the flip side, perhaps you are lucky to have cats that don't wake you at 2 AM to show you their catch!

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  3. Too funny! Pretty soon the mouse will be hanging out in the house with the cats, all being buddies!

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  4. Our dogs enjoy playing with living critters sometimes, but if it came down to it and we wanted them to kill something? They'd probably just give us the "how's that my problem?" look.

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  5. Lol, I'm sorry, that's just too much! My cats would do the same...sigh.

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