How do I catch a mouse without hurting my cat?

[vwpamperedchef]

A mouse.

Need advice cat people!! We have a cat, who sleeps with us at night and my DH just found dry cat food in his shoe!

So since my cat sleeps with us, she isn't on the "prowl" at night.

Do you put a trap out? We don't want the cat to get hurt. And we refuse to use poison, since the cat is likely to find it.

ADVICE NEEDED..........please!

 

[cmdtrgd]

There are non-lethal traps you can get...this website shows how you can make one
http://members.aceweb.com/patrussell/mousetrap/Mousetrap.htm
I found this by doing a google search for "non lethal mouse trap"

 

[janetupnorth]

When our old lady (13 year old cat) stopped catching mice, I put traps out.

Walmart carries a nice plastic one that you can click to set without getting hurt. Peanut butter works AWESOME to catch them. When the trap closes you can pick it up and pinch it like a clothespin and drop the mouse in the garbage.

Asher has NEVER bothered the traps. Partially because I put them on the kitchen counter by the back of the stove and fridge and she never goes up there, but I also put one by the garbage can she never touches.

I'll see if I can find a picture of the traps for you.

 

[vwpamperedchef]

Thanks Ladies. Appreciate it. We've tried the sticky glue traps, prior to having the cat, and the mouse died a terrible death.

 

[janetupnorth]

Psst...by the way you probably have 2 mice!!! They never travel alone...

I'm looking for a picture for you of the ones I have but they are made by Victor, in the aisle with the old-fashioned wood ones but they look like a wide giant plastic clothespin. They are only a buck or two apiece. It catches the mice fast still and you don't have to touch them to put them in the garbage.

You can think about catching them live but they always find their way back when you do that.

 

[janetupnorth]

Ah! Found them online so you can see them:

http://lawn-and-garden.hardwarestore.com/79-504-mouse-and-rat-traps/quick-set-mouse-trap-145599.aspx

 

[missyciccolella]

This sounds all too familar! LOL We've had a few mice over the course of the time we've had the cat...I don't think she ever caught one or even noticed one. I did "catch" 4 in the bathtub...once they got in they couldn't get out, and I was able to trap them and set them free. We tried very humane traps and had no success (we have a dog & cat and young kids), but the bath tub worked like a charm. Good luck!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

 

[janetupnorth]

LOL! When I looked for the ones I had, that game kept coming up in a search!

 

[MORFIA]

when i was pregnant with my 1st---i told dh i hear something in the attic ---he lol and told all our friends i was hearing things in the attic when he was traveling ---anyway one night i set an alarm clock made him go meet the neighbors up in the attic----well let just say we went from Mickey and Minnie the the whole Disney World------1,000 later he never doubts me----

 

[urbnk8]

When our old lady (13 year old cat) stopped catching mice, I put traps out.

Walmart carries a nice plastic one that you can click to set without getting hurt. Peanut butter works AWESOME to catch them. When the trap closes you can pick it up and pinch it like a clothespin and drop the mouse in the garbage.

Asher has NEVER bothered the traps. Partially because I put them on the kitchen counter by the back of the stove and fridge and she never goes up there, but I also put one by the garbage can she never touches.

I'll see if I can find a picture of the traps for you.

There are ones that have a cover too that the mouse has to go into to get at the stuff. Then all you see is the tail sticking out. And same thing, just a little clip holding it in so you can empty it out and set it again. Very easy. The only kind I'd ever get again. You don't actually have to look at the mouse that way. And the cat can't get at it!

 

[urbnk8]

Ah! Found them online so you can see them:

http://lawn-and-garden.hardwarestore.com/79-504-mouse-and-rat-traps/quick-set-mouse-trap-145599.aspx

These are nice. My daughter woke up with a dead mouse on her bedroom floor last week. My cat was hanging out by the refrigerator the night before trying to look under it so I had wondered if there was a mouse under there. We have never had mice at this house before, and so far, no evidence of more. I'm glad he didn't leave in her bed though!

 

[baychef]

A few years after I moved out, my ex-husband had a "present" from the cat lying on the pillow next to him one morning!! I alwys did like that cat!!!

That picture brings back some good memories, KG. Although from what I remember, by the time you got the darn thing set up, some of the attention span was gone!!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

With four frickin' cats in the house, you'd think the mice would give us wide berth.Nope.Of course, when you live in the country in a house that is almost 170 years old, you have mice. On a quiet night, you can hear them in the log walls, running the freeway system that's probably been there since the winter after my house went up, circa 1840.The best mouser we ever had, though, was Squeaky, the Ferret. He liked everything about a mouse, except the head, and that wasn't a lot of fun to step on at 3:30 in the morning.

 

[etteluap70PC]

There are ones that have a cover too that the mouse has to go into to get at the stuff. Then all you see is the tail sticking out. And same thing, just a little clip holding it in so you can empty it out and set it again. Very easy. The only kind I'd ever get again. You don't actually have to look at the mouse that way. And the cat can't get at it!

These are the BEST! I still make my hubby take care of it though. After 50 or so mice over 3 years ours is worn out and the cover flies off when it goes off. Ours once caught 2 mice at once!

We go thru spells with the mice. Our cat likes to bring Live things into the house to play. Talk about fun! Last spring we had a chipmunk living in the basemant for a week. We have a kitty door and used to leave the garage door open for miss Daisy at night.... no more! I had enough mice, dragonflies, frogs and birds in the house to last a lifetime!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

You've never had to chase a raccoon out of your kitchen at 12:30 in the morning? You just haven't lived. That was so much fun, but not half as much fun as the $400 ride in the big red taxi (with flashing lights) and several rabies shots after the little *@#!er bit me.

 

[baychef]

I bet stepping on a mouse head ANY time of day or night isn't too pleasant! I grew up in a stone house built in the the mid 1800's and yes, I remember the mouse freeway too! I just hated when they found a snack bar near my room and gnawed most of the night! My parent's bought the house when it was in dire need of repair so many opportunities over the years for mice play!

 

[missyciccolella]

Not a Racoon, but a squirrel

You've never had to chase a raccoon out of your kitchen at 12:30 in the morning? You just haven't lived. That was so much fun, but not half as much fun as the $400 ride in the big red taxi (with flashing lights) and several rabies shots after the little *@#!er bit me.

I have an aunt who, for lack of better of a better is a witch, never had children, is an only child, thinks children should be seen and not heard, and has a very adult home...did I paint a good mental image? Her child has always been her cat and a few years ago they put a cat door with a magnetic door/collar so not any cat could wander in the house (like that ever happens), but the cat got a little feisty, caught a squirrel and released it in her home. She came home to chaos and broken Waterford crystal, Hummel’s, and I think the dynamic duo turned over a smaller curio cabinet . Surprisingly, she let the cat live,:angel: and I honestly can't remember how the squirrel got out - I assume they opened all the doors and he darted out. The funny thing is the cat's name was "Surprise"...I guess she had it coming.
Not quite a racoon at 12:30 AM, but I would pay money to watch both episodes!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Mine wasn't that much fun.And the first set of rabies shots would make a down payment on a new car.

 

[chefann]

The best mouser we ever had, though, was Squeaky, the Ferret. He liked everything about a mouse, except the head, and that wasn't a lot of fun to step on at 3:30 in the morning.

:sing: Mouse heads, mouse heads, roly poly mouse heads... :sing:











:yuck:

 

[missyciccolella]

Mine wasn't that much fun.

And the first set of rabies shots would make a down payment on a new car.

I can only imagine...I hope you didn't foam at the mouth. LOL:angel:
How did the racoon get in house anyway?

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

We're not sure - the theory is that when DS was hauling his DJ equipment into the house after a gig, the 'coon snuck in, attracted by dog food smells.He didn't take kindly to me trying to chase him out with a 7 iron and he bit me on the index finger of my left hand.Apparently, I didn't have enough club.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

A few years after I moved out, my ex-husband had a "present" from the cat lying on the pillow next to him one morning!! I alwys did like that cat!!!

That picture brings back some good memories, KG. Although from what I remember, by the time you got the darn thing set up, some of the attention span was gone!!

 

[vwpamperedchef]

DH got glue traps. So not really what I wanted, but I guess it will work. We used it when we had the apt. but now have a house. I think previously it was peanut butter flavor. but these arent scented. But I will put a dab of Peanut butter on there, to attract them.

You shouldve seen me today, cleaned out the pantry and the cat's food isnt staying out at night.

Its been really cold here at night, but thankfully after tomorrow is supposed to get up to 50-60 by Monday.

My cat better get with it. She used to always bring things home for DH...

Thanks for the remedies. I'll keep you posted.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

"It's okay, Mom, I'm waiting for that mouse."

 

[chefann]

http://icanhascheezburger.wordpress.com/files/2007/12/funny-pictures-cat-rat-food.jpg

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

"Did you say the mouse went in here?"

 

[Kitchen Diva]

Thanks Ladies. Appreciate it. We've tried the sticky glue traps, prior to having the cat, and the mouse died a terrible death.

We use the same black plastic traps that Janet was talking about. Our pets never bothered them, and peanut butter does work really well. They are cute little enclosed traps! We put them behind things, or in closets along baseboards, or behind furniture that they can't get behind.

We had a brief mouse problem last summer... we caught over 20 mice! I started naming them after they died- the first one was Chalupa Larry, then there was Churro Bob, and Fajita Jean, Taco Steve, then Nacho Lola...anyway after about 6 mice, I gave up naming them, and my DH said there was something morbid about naming dead mice.

We were later told we must have had a nest of them somewhere near our garage- where we caught most of them.

One day I went to clean out the crawl space under our stairs, and I found where they had been living...every box had been infested but all they left behind was severely chewed through clothing, books, photos, sewing fabric, ornaments, collectables, pillows, sleeping bags, etc... and lots and lots of mouse pooh!

GROSS! I threw EVERYTHING out- that was hard to do, I was so mad at those critters- and bleached the concrete floor, and lysoled everything else, and now not one darn thing is in that crawl space, and we haven't had a mouse since!

 

[katie0128]

You've never had to chase a raccoon out of your kitchen at 12:30 in the morning? You just haven't lived. That was so much fun, but not half as much fun as the $400 ride in the big red taxi (with flashing lights) and several rabies shots after the little *@#!er bit me.

Or had a 30 lb one (that we found out later was living in the attic) fall through the ceiling and run around the house trying to find a way out. DH and I woke up at 4 a.m. to what we thought was someone trying to break INTO the house through the bathroom window. DH peeked around the corner and then slammed the bathroom door shut and scream, "Its a racoon!" It wasn't too happy to not only be trapped in the house, but then trapped in the bathroom on top of it. We had very old windows at the time with the thick metal mesh screens. Fortunately the bathroom window was open and he was able to bend the screen and get out. When we finally surveyed the damage, he amazingly didn't break ANYTHING, but left muddy footprints all over while he was trying to get out. We found footprints by every window and door. Yep, that was fun!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I'll trade experiences with you! Once I got bitten, it was out of my hands. The police were here along with the meat wagon. It was like the Keystone Cops, because who works 3rd shift? Rookies. There were 6 cops here, probably the entire shift. The biggest one of all said, "A raccoon? I ain't goin' in there!" Two of 'em had riot shields! They were still all looking at one another when they loaded me into the ambulance and last I heard, they woke up some critter expert who showed up with a snare. Of course, his head made a one-way trip to Madison (that's where the lab is) to test for rabies. Since the results would take a few days, they assume the critter is rabid so they start the shots. Believe it or not, the horsepistal had used their vaccine on a dog bite patient earlier in the day, so they had to send a sheriff squad, lights & siren, to the trauma center in Milwaukee for serum. And that stuff is big buck$!Oh, and what happened to the rest of the raccoon?He's a hat.

 

[chefann]

Is he your hat? That seems like it would be fair.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I thought I had a photo but I can't seem to find one.

 

[katie0128]

We had the Critter Gitter (that is acutally his name... or was, he's dead now) come out and set traps. Got nothing, but the 'coons that were in the attic decided it was a good time to leave. Then a few days later we noticed a rather large racoon climbing out of the storm drain across the street from our house... think Rocky (my aunt named him) decided he liked the neighborhood and took up residence there. He never did try to get in our house again, nor was he dumb enough to ever get caught in the traps. Oh well. Very soon after that one of the many squirrels that lived in the 90 year old Pin Oak in the front yard went a bit nuts (or maybe just ate a bad one) and started throwing things at anyone who was in the front yard. The acorns hurt a bit, but the half eaten tomatoes from the neighbors garden were a pain to get out of your hair!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

We had the Critter Gitter (that is acutally his name... or was, he's dead now) come out and set traps. Got nothing, but the 'coons that were in the attic decided it was a good time to leave. Then a few days later we noticed a rather large racoon climbing out of the storm drain across the street from our house... think Rocky (my aunt named him) decided he liked the neighborhood and took up residence there. He never did try to get in our house again, nor was he dumb enough to ever get caught in the traps. Oh well. Very soon after that one of the many squirrels that lived in the 90 year old Pin Oak in the front yard went a bit nuts (or maybe just ate a bad one) and started throwing things at anyone who was in the front yard. The acorns hurt a bit, but the half eaten tomatoes from the neighbors garden were a pain to get out of your hair!

Oh, I thought of Foamy the Squirrel in http://www.friendsoffoamy.com/index.php?id=114 as soon as I read this.

Check it out - it's kinda gross and this cartoon is R-Rated - NOT FOR KIDS! (I've watched this one a few times, and although I can mostly understand Foamy, that other squirrel just talks to fast for me - although I did catch the ADD comment.)

 

[missyciccolella]

We're not sure - the theory is that when DS was hauling his DJ equipment into the house after a gig, the 'coon snuck in, attracted by dog food smells.

He didn't take kindly to me trying to chase him out with a 7 iron and he bit me on the index finger of my left hand.

Apparently, I didn't have enough club.

Maybe you should have used a Big Bertha...my husband probably would have shot him...FIL shop a opossum in the garage one Thanksgiving...that was not the featured dish thank goodness. We really sound like a redneck family

Regardless, good to know you're ok and got a fur hat out of it!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I don't think shooting a raccoon in the kitchen would enhance the decor much, although, The Kat Lady does want to redecorate in white and red. :yuck:

 

[chefann]

:yuck: to raccoon guts?
or
:yuck: to red and white in the kitchen?

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I'm supposed to paint red and white checkerboard on the walls.I vote for red and white checkerboard wallpaper.She doesn't like wallpaper, she likes paint.Who do you think is gonna win?

 

[missyciccolella]

I don't think shooting a raccoon in the kitchen would enhance the decor much, although, The Kat Lady does want to redecorate in white and red. :yuck:

Where is your sense of adventure? You could easily go with a hunting theme...you kill it, you cook it.

 

[chefann]

Well, I know that I'm supposed to say that you are. But we all know that Kat Lady will. Although, I agree with you. Painted checkerboard on the walls is a little kitschy. Ok- it's a LOT kitschy. Red and white tile backsplash in a checkerboard pattern would be much better.

 

[missyciccolella]

I'm supposed to paint red and white checkerboard on the walls.

I vote for red and white checkerboard wallpaper.

She doesn't like wallpaper, she likes paint.

Who do you think is gonna win?

that sounds very picnic like...and you're going to lose. Sorry:cry:

 

[katie0128]

Maybe you should have used a Big Bertha...my husband probably would have shot him...FIL shop a opossum in the garage one Thanksgiving...that was not the featured dish thank goodness. We really sound like a redneck family

Regardless, good to know you're ok and got a fur hat out of it!

We have some friends that have enough guns between them to outfit a small army that were so upset that we didn't call and have them come over to rid the house of Rocky. Of course I had this strange idea that I wanted the racoon gone, but wanted to leave my bathroom intact. Not sure their plan would have worked so well.

Oh, I thought of Foamy the Squirrel in http://www.friendsoffoamy.com/index.php?id=114 as soon as I read this.

Check it out - it's kinda gross and this cartoon is R-Rated - NOT FOR KIDS! (I've watched this one a few times, and although I can mostly understand Foamy, that other squirrel just talks to fast for me - although I did catch the ADD comment.)

Yep, that's exactly what I always figured my squirrel was doing... I named him Psycho Squirrel!!! The ADD squirrel reminds me of Kenny on SouthPark... can't understand him either.

 

[chefann]

poppity poppity pop pop pop pop pop pop pop and medication for all

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

You're not supposed to understand Kenny, that's all part of the gag. Mostly its to get stuff past the censors - but in the later seasons, he's almost understandable.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6b/Kenny.svg/160px-Kenny.svg.png"Hey! Kenny! Look out for the ____________!"Kenny: Mrphmph crfph frnstrmk dslprfl!CRASH!Stan: Oh my God! They killed Kenny!Kyle: You bastards!

 

[katie0128]

poppity poppity pop pop pop pop pop pop pop and medication for all

I did understand that one... reminded me of Pez dispensers.

 

[Kitchen Diva]

With four frickin' cats in the house, you'd think the mice would give us wide berth.

Nope.

Of course, when you live in the country in a house that is almost 170 years old, you have mice. On a quiet night, you can hear them in the log walls, running the freeway system that's probably been there since the winter after my house went up, circa 1840.

The best mouser we ever had, though, was Squeaky, the Ferret. He liked everything about a mouse, except the head, and that wasn't a lot of fun to step on at 3:30 in the morning.

When we were going through our "little" mouse issue I read on several different sites that Dogs are better de-micer's than cats! My previous cats (pre-Camilla) Gus and Weasel were great at killing crickets and bees! But not so much at killing mice- they did catch a couple of lost baby lizzards/geckos when we lived in Maryland...chased them through the house- it was so funny.

But whenever they cornered one, they would just sit there and stare at it. I got Gus and Weasel a Hamster- named him Willow- those cats loved that thing- They would bat at it gently, but mostly they just ran though the house with the critter, and would snif him, and occasionally lick his little head, but they never once tried to eat Willow...

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I've got two Scottish Terriers, too. Bred to be ratters. Thnk they can catch a mouse? HAH!

 

[Kitchen Diva]

yeah- my pooches just kill wabbits...

 

[katie0128]

My feline critters - Fizbo and Ichabod - are good at getting the few mice that get into the house. All though, I think the cats think the mice are just play things because once the mice are dead, the cats just leave them where they died... usually in the garage or basement. Much better than finding a partial mouse in my bedroom!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

yeah- my pooches just kill wabbits...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ec/Whats_Opera_Doc_still.png/200px-Whats_Opera_Doc_still.png

I kill da wabbit!
I kill da wabbit!