of mice and cats

From: (Scruffy892)

Little did I know that my sweet, beautiful, often dim-witted window dressing
was, like all great huntresses, merely biding her time. She was scamming me
the whole time. Every time she sniffed the poor helpless creature, she was
deciding which wine would go best with him.

When she finally made her move, it was so fast and without warning, there was
nothing I could do to prevent it (especially since I had the thing right in
her
face like the mother of all dumbasses). So, soon I was pooring peroxide over
the bite wounds, and once they got infected, carting the little bugger off to
the vet. I would, normally, out of pride, omit from this story the endless
snickering I endured from people in the waiting room, the receptionist, and
even the vet himself, but in the interest of conveying the intensity of the
guilt one feels in this situation, I'm willing to put it all out the Yes,
I
took a $1.59 feeder mouse to the vet. The price of my iffy redemption:
$36.00


The mouse lived, but never liked me much after that.

LMAO!!!!!!!!! Too funny! You really can't blame yourself though. It probably
seemed that the kitty might like the mouse (as a friend, not breakfast).

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

The moral: Never trust your kitties.

Good advice. I had a parakeet for *eight* years before the cat made a move on
him.

Sherry

The moral: Never trust your kitties.

Good advice. I had a parakeet for *eight* years before the cat made a move on
him.

Sherry

"Scruffy892" wrote in message
...
On the other hand, they make great entertainment (in cage) for your cats.
I
would encourage any cat owner to save a couple from their doom and provide
your
kitty with some MouseTV.

Keeping one species confined in close proximity to a second species that is
normally a predator is simply wrong. Moving a step or so up the chain, how
would you feel if someone advocated keeping your cat in a cage as
entertainment for a pit bull?

"Scruffy892" wrote in message
...
On the other hand, they make great entertainment (in cage) for your cats.
I
would encourage any cat owner to save a couple from their doom and provide
your
kitty with some MouseTV.

Keeping one species confined in close proximity to a second species that is
normally a predator is simply wrong. Moving a step or so up the chain, how
would you feel if someone advocated keeping your cat in a cage as
entertainment for a pit bull?

"Nomen Nescio" wrote in message
...
I'm kinda new around here and it's probably not my place to comment
(that's
never stopped me before, though), but I've got to say that some people
around
here have got some rather distorted ideas as to what constitutes a
"Troll".

It certainly is your place to comment. This group is open hierarchy and
unmoderated. Certain cretinous people within the group have self defined
troll to include anyone whose opinion they disagree with.

"Nomen Nescio" wrote in message
...
I'm kinda new around here and it's probably not my place to comment
(that's
never stopped me before, though), but I've got to say that some people
around
here have got some rather distorted ideas as to what constitutes a
"Troll".

It certainly is your place to comment. This group is open hierarchy and
unmoderated. Certain cretinous people within the group have self defined
troll to include anyone whose opinion they disagree with.

Dennis Carr wrote in message . ..
OK, weird subject, but probably not what you think.

While at the optometrist today, my wife and I stopped by a local pet shop
where we purchased two mice and accessories for rodent keeping in our
apartment. Aside from my umbrage at how the little guys were treated by
the rodent handler (the moron *really* should know better than to handle a
mouse by the tail),

Not a problem if they were being handled by the base of the tail.


(...)

There are occasional stories (and, on The Planet's Funniest Animals, video
clips) of cats and mice peacefully coexisting and somehow violating all
sensibilities as established by a standard food chain. Has anyone here
had such luck without turning such little critters into either neurotic
little basket cases, or lunch for the cats?

No. I have some gaoled wild mice (they were swiping my seeds, so they
are in chokey until they reform) and gerbils. From my observations, my
cats would get along fine with either of these rodents given a dash of
ketchup and a sprinkling of fish flakes.

Once upon a time I was handling one gerb with one of my cats nearby.
Said cat decided to make an ambitious leap for the rodent, who was
happily chowing on a sunflower seed. Anyhow, cunning cat constructed a
baroque arrangement of elastic from 24 pairs of shreddies and one
climbing rope, and launched himself gerbwards. I deflected the
carnivorous killer using a dustbin lid that I handily keep on my head
for such occasions. The gerb was unphased, being fully engrossed in
the deep inner truths of rodent snacks.

Asking if a carnivore and its prey will be best buds is a bit like
asking if cheese would be a suitable material from which to make an
artifical kneecap.

HTH,
Steve.

Dennis Carr wrote in message . ..
OK, weird subject, but probably not what you think.

While at the optometrist today, my wife and I stopped by a local pet shop
where we purchased two mice and accessories for rodent keeping in our
apartment. Aside from my umbrage at how the little guys were treated by
the rodent handler (the moron *really* should know better than to handle a
mouse by the tail),

Not a problem if they were being handled by the base of the tail.


(...)

There are occasional stories (and, on The Planet's Funniest Animals, video
clips) of cats and mice peacefully coexisting and somehow violating all
sensibilities as established by a standard food chain. Has anyone here
had such luck without turning such little critters into either neurotic
little basket cases, or lunch for the cats?

No. I have some gaoled wild mice (they were swiping my seeds, so they
are in chokey until they reform) and gerbils. From my observations, my
cats would get along fine with either of these rodents given a dash of
ketchup and a sprinkling of fish flakes.

Once upon a time I was handling one gerb with one of my cats nearby.
Said cat decided to make an ambitious leap for the rodent, who was
happily chowing on a sunflower seed. Anyhow, cunning cat constructed a
baroque arrangement of elastic from 24 pairs of shreddies and one
climbing rope, and launched himself gerbwards. I deflected the
carnivorous killer using a dustbin lid that I handily keep on my head
for such occasions. The gerb was unphased, being fully engrossed in
the deep inner truths of rodent snacks.

Asking if a carnivore and its prey will be best buds is a bit like
asking if cheese would be a suitable material from which to make an
artifical kneecap.

HTH,
Steve.

wrote:

Even if it doesn't get beyond the cats learning
not to pounce on the cage (something we'd like to
stop before it starts) then at least I won't have
to worry about whether or not we left the bathroom
door open when we go grocery shopping.

Sorry. As a veteran cat and mouse owner I'll urge you to ALWAYS worry. I
have lost many mice to the cats, including mice that were housed in
heavy glass aquaria with sturdy mesh lids duct-taped on and weighted by
20 lb. toolchests. (The cats got behind the cage and worked in concert
to push it off.) I've recovered more from their mouths as they huddled,
growling, behind the couch. Leaving a door open and walking down the
hall was a recipe for disaster. Leaving a door open and leaving the
house was a guarantee of much havoc and carnage.

In fact, the difficulty of keeping the two species separate, and the
heartbreak of losing cherished pets so often, has finally convinced me
not to adopt any more pet mice (though I am SO tempted by some
hobby-bred fancy mice that are about to become available).

Mice are sweet affectionate little guys, but no matter what you do,
they're sitting ducks for the predators you house.

(BTW, check IMMEDIATELY to make sure you have a matched pair and if not
separate them. If their "parts" match, then learn to really sex mice and
make sure you've got two girls. Boys will fight, sometimes to the death,
except under rare circumstances. Girls from a situation such as you
describe are almost certainly pregnant.)

-Alison in OH