Cat and Mouse

Living in the mountains, one can expect mice - especially in a semi-uninhabited house. When we came in November, we actually found a dead one and lots of "evidence" of he and his friends.  We cleaned house and hadn't seen signs of the furry little critters since officially moving in, Dec. 30.

That was until.....

Charity and Selah come running in to tell us, "Silas has a mouse."  Doug and I jaunt back to the bedroom where said incident was occurring to find the cat happily taking a bath and occasionally looking around.  Hmmm....   The girls then say, "maybe it was his catnip toy?"

Returning to our coffee, we dismiss the "mouse comments."

A short while later, they return excitedly to tell us of Silas' catnip toy that moves by itself and goes 'oink, oink, oink'.  Accompanied by a cute little sideways bounce, bounce, bounce demonstration by Selah.

Looking at each other with a bit of concern, Doug and I press for more information.  "What do you mean..... it moves on it's own?  What does it look like?"

The girls, full of animation and gaining the attention of their siblings, respond, "It's that white mouse toy, you know, the one that moves and squeaks."

"But..... he doesn't have a catnip toy that moves on it's own." Doug and I moan.

"Yes, he does, see?" Charity squeals as we head down the hallway toward the cats "hunting spot".

As we get near the hallway, Silas appears and Charity scoops down to get his "catnip toy" and show it to us.

I shriek - "NO, GET AWAY!  It's a REAL mouse."  The tail hanging from Silas' mouth confirms this.

The cat, non-plussed by our antics, but not sure why Charity tried to take his toy, drops the mouse, who scampers away.  AACK!  Lots of squealing and commotion.  The cat - not sure how this turn of events came about - is frantically trying to find his beloved toy.

A bit alarmed that it scampered into the clothes closet, I bemoan, "where did it go?"  I then lift a stuffed animal that was sitting in the midst of the floor only to find..... THE MOUSE!

Silas, ever so grateful, grabs him back up in his mouth while shrieking erupts from the rest of the gang in the hallway.  Which now consists of our entire family, including Apollos, who ran up to see what could cause such ruckus.

Daddy steps in front of the line and makes a "wall" to try to keep the mouse from escaping in case Silas drops him again.  On cue - as it seems - Silas does just that.  The mouse, now quite dazed and frazzled, lumbers his way to the corner of the hall.

In typical cat fashion, Silas "plays" with the tiny, scared mouse by batting and taunting him in his safe haven.  We all stand and watch - camera in hand - to document this exciting event.

Boredom setting in, the cat "ups the anty" and pushes the little mouse out of hiding.  As the poor, tired, scared mouse attempts his get-away, he runs smack under daddy's foot, which deliberately comes down with a  - CRUNCH - right on top of Silas' new toy.

From amidst the crowd of on-lookers moans and groans and ughs are heard.  Daddy lifts his foot to display the lifeless lump.

Silas tilts his head in wonder - "what happened, it's not moving, where's the fun in that?" is what I'm sure he'd say if he could talk.

And so, once disposed of, our morning mouse hunt is over and we all return (with lots of chatter and discussion and replays) to our "typical" morning routine.