Toy Mice

It quickly became clear that my apartment, complete in just about every other respect, was missing one key element - a live mouse; in my cat's opinion, that is. I was thoroughly relieved that I could find no evidence of mice. The mouse problem was dealt with but I was still left with the problem of the mouser.

Thus I found myself in the grocery store trying to decide which of the cat toys would most appeal to a dissatisfied feline. I was drawn to the fish toys. They had a fish on a string which was attached to a stick that could be stuck to the wall. Endless hours of fun, the packet assured me. I was pretty sure the last time, she'd had a similar toy, she had destroyed it within the week. Still, one might as well try. I also found the fish carcass endearing. It had a blue plush head with painted on black eyes and a nice smile. It's bones were a nice yellow made of a heavily pressed foam. The head was full of catnip and the body seemed ideal for a cat to pick up and carry to a new location. I was sure she was going to love it. They also had packets of toy mice. There was no way I was putting something that looked remotely like a mouse on my floor. I didn't care that they were white with fluorescent pink, blue and green bodies. The shape and texture seemed to be that of a miniature mouse. Gingerly I picked the packet up between my forefinger and my thumb. Closing my eyes , I placed the packet in my basket. I surpressed the shudder that made its way down my back.

Once home, I eagerly ripped open the packaging of the fish on a string. I quickly assembled the pole and inserted it into the suction cup. I then discovered, just as quickly, that it would not stick to the wall, the closet door, the kitchen door, in fact any door, the table, the cupboards, my forehead. It would not adhere to any surface. The endless hours of fun seemed more likely to be causing me endless hours of frustration. My cat sat in the middle of the room and watched me bemused, as I tried to stick this object to any surface. In the end I gave up.

Onto the catnip fish carcass. She quite simply was not interested in it at all. I pointed out its smile and the advantages of the pressed foam body. She yawned and began to clean herself. Daunted, I picked the mice package out of the bag.

With some hesitation, I removed the pink mouse from the packet and dropped it on the floor. Instant reaction. The mouse was batted and pounced across the floor to come to a sliding halt under the couch. I retrieved it. It then was taken back across the room, picked up and killed to be picked up and taken elsewhere. The mouse lasted four hours before I could no longer locate it. It was not under the couch, the chair, the desk, the freezer or the chest of drawers. In fact it was not under any piece of furniture that I had already retrieved it from under. That was a week ago. I still haven't found it.

So that evening, I removed the blue mouse from the package. I heard it being killed all night. In the morning I couldn't find it. So I removed the green mouse from the package. Within 30 seconds, it was inbetween the stove and fridge. I didn't think anything could fit under the stove or the fridge. They've barely 3/4 of an inch of the ground. In fishing out the green mouse, I fished out the blue mouse from under the fridge, two empty spools of thread, several elastics and a small ball. Clearly, my cat can fit quite a lot under the fridge.

I've also discovered that the areas in which the baseboards don't quite touch the floor are just big enough for a determined cat to fit a toy mouse. I've realised that it is now my lot in life to find and retrieve toy mice from underneath which ever piece of furniture, they have skidded under. It seems that out of a total of five mice, I will only ever be able to locate two at any time. These two will not be consistent.

My cat has warmed up to the fish on the string. She enjoyed batting it and chasing it as I waved it around for a while. Then, I dismantled the stick so that only a five inch piece remained attached to the string. This amuses her much more. No matter which end, she picks up, something will follow her as she drags it. She becomes so fascinated in watching the moving object that she stops watching where she is going. I now have a cat that will walk into objects while dragging a fish attached to a string.

I try not to watch when she plays with the mouse. I know that she's practicing. I know that she's creating situations in her head where the mouse ducks to the right and she goes to the left and cuts it off at the pass. She's attacked it on carpet, she's attacked it on the tile and she's attacked it on the wood. I fear she's taking notes. Note 1 - easier to get traction on the carpet. Wood seems to be more slippery than tile. Further testing needed to verify.

I fear that at some point, she will have finished experimenting and will expect me to provide her with a live specimen so that she may put her practice into action. Right now, she has to stop letting them escape under furniture. I refuse to fish a live mouse out from under the fridge with a wooden spoon.