The (non)hunter

As is her way the cat told me it was feeding time by meowing until I couldn’t ignore her any longer (not that I do, mind you, I’m just saying there is a certain persistent tone in her vocalizations that clearly states ignoring is not a viable option) and so I dutifully went into the kitchen with her following behind. Out of the corner of my eye I think I see something small and dark move toward the back end of the kitchen nook where the litter box is located. Typically when I see such movement it’s a creepy big ol’ spider but this time seemed different.

I got a flashlight and shone it into the nook since it’s not well-lit and the little shape flitted from behind the litterbox to the bucket. I walked over and saw that it was a very small mouse. I then stood back, unsure what to do. As I continued to shine the light, the cat finally turned around and looked in the direction of the mouse. At this point the two were less than ten feet apart. The cat then turned away as if nothing was there. So much for the killer instinct.

I had nothing handy to try to catch the mouse with and it was so small it looked like it could squeeze through almost anywhere. I finally got a can of air to try to direct it out of hiding behind the appliances and it scurried off into the central basement room. At that point I closed the door and put a towel at the base to seal it off. Traps can be set in that room without any pets springing them so that will probably be the plan of action.

This was my rockin’ New Year’s Eve.

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