Sympathy for a Mouse??

If you're not going to free them you should at least kill them rather than let them suffer.

 

I was gonna say, should trap 'em with a spring trap, then they're DEAD!

 

Why heck...here in the south we'd just throw 'em in the fryin pan with a little of that vegetable oil and some flour and have fried mouses for din din.

 

I was in that EXACT same predicament.

I ended up taking it outside and letting it go. I think glue traps are kind of cruel. At least the SNAP traps have a higher likelyhood of an instant death.

 

I think what's needed here is a C A T (either a real one or just a cat avatar, I forgot which).

 

Well, these guys you can probably release (away from your house) using the vegetable oil trick. It will likely work. After that I would put some DCON where you caught them to deal with the others that are likely to be there. This stuff is great. It has a bait in it that the mice will eat but it will make them very thirsty (I won't go into why) and they will leave you and go in search of water outside where they will find that great wheel of cheese in the sky due to the active ingredient in this little potion. No mess, no fuss, no bodies to deal with...alive or dead.

Friendly neighborhood toxicologist (no lie)

 

I'm 'between cats' at the moment, though I can tell you they're not exactly kind to mice. At least most of the mice ran away, instead of getting killed and eaten.

Anyone remember the mouse scene from 'Never Cry Wolf'?

 

I usually find a tail here and half a body there after my cats get through with them.

Since we live in an old house with balloon frame construction, we sometimes have snakes slithering through the walls chasing after the little buggers. We can often hear them scratching around in the ceiling and walls.

But as long as they stay in there, I don't give them much thought. When I do catch one alive, I take it out to the barn and give it a new home.

 

Snakes in the walls? I'd rather have mice. Better yet, I'd rather have a tough nasty cat that eats snakes and mice. And waaay more weatherproofing.

 

Hmm...
Couldn't they make something that just made them leave because of thirst without then killing them too?

 

Or with the C A T , you have to watch how you step outside as they lay them at your doorstep as a present, then they have dinner

 

Mice like peanut butter. You can rig up a trap of sorts, lure them in with peanut butter and then release them in the woods.

 

To answer your original post...no, you're not nuts. You just ran up against a Real Life Lesson.

When you look into those uncomprehending, beady little eyes, something strikes a responsive chord: IMO, the fact that you're looking at another branch---no matter how far removed---of the "family tree".

Lots of people can kill from behind a veil that renders both the killer and victim anonymous. IMO, being able to kill with, first, long-range artillery, then, second, via bombs dropped from planes, changed the whole psychological nature of warfare; it "dehumanized" us one step backward (or more).

Parade the would-be victims personally in front of the would-be killer(s), and many wouldn't be able to pull the trigger.

I can't kill any animal "above" the level of an insect. And that doesn't make sense, either. Wonder if Gandhi swatted mosquitoes.

 

That reminds me of my sister's experience with a glue trap. She caught a mouse and it was stuck to the trap. She couldn't bear to see it suffer so she euthanized it!! :huh: BTW, my sister is a vet!! She threw away the rest of the glue traps... :blink:

I had thought that my cat was a great mouser, but later found out that it was the dog who was getting the little beasties!! The cat watched them take kibbles out of his bowl ---what a cat!! <_<

 

Well, Friendly Neighborhood Toxicologist, what happens when a cat finds Mr. Rat or Mr. Mouse wandering around looking for water, and decides to eat said rodent. Does the phrase "relay toxicosis" mean anything to you? And don't tell me it's only one mouse or one rat. Where there is one, there are several, and you have no way of knowing how many will get eaten. You can't even be sure that a cat, dog, or bird won't eat the poison itself. NEVER EVER POISON A RAT OR MOUSE. If you do, and it dies inside a wall, you will deserve your fate, and if your poison kills a neighbors pet, then God help you. My sister-in-law lost her cat of many years to rat poison. For those who own a cat -- keep it in the house, before it meets up with Mr. Friendly Neighborhood Toxicologist.

Jeff -- And what does this thread have to do with the Toyota Prius??

 

Nothing whatsoever. Since you only joined a few weeks ago, you might not be aware that this forum, FHOP (Fred's House of Pancakes), is for off-topic discussions.

Welcome!

 

Their is a little problem with decon and other rodent poisons, if a pet cat or dog discover the still dying critter and eat it, it has the potential of doing in someones pet, also true for birds of pray that make a diet of these creatures.
Mice and rats are extremely dangerous due to the viruses and diesease they harbor and pass on to humans. Try not to think about their cute little eyes and be rid of them for your own health and safety.