May. 13th, 2003
The Professional
May. 13th, 2003 04:22 pmOur entire block has an intractable mouse problem. The buildings are all old, mostly unrenovated, and there's ongoing construction nearby. I've mentioned seeing mice before, and we've seen a few more recently. I put out snap traps (I don't mind killing the mice, but glue boards seem too sadistic), but it's time to escalate matters.
A nearby food service establishment brought in a cat as a rodent-control engineer. Cats are against the health code, but as one of the owners explained, "the fine for a cat is less than the fine for mice." He's been doing an excellent job, but the health inspectors found him, and will be coming back to make sure he's gone.
So my wife and I were asked if we would take the cat during the day, until the inspector has come and gone. We said we would. So I will have a playmate during the day for a few weeks, and our mouse problem will be addressed by a specialist. Everyone wins who is not a mouse.
Here's an astonishing thing: when the cat catches a mouse, he will "play" with it for a while; when he's done, he drops the mouse on a glue board, then picks up the glue board and carries it to the establishment's owners.
A nearby food service establishment brought in a cat as a rodent-control engineer. Cats are against the health code, but as one of the owners explained, "the fine for a cat is less than the fine for mice." He's been doing an excellent job, but the health inspectors found him, and will be coming back to make sure he's gone.
So my wife and I were asked if we would take the cat during the day, until the inspector has come and gone. We said we would. So I will have a playmate during the day for a few weeks, and our mouse problem will be addressed by a specialist. Everyone wins who is not a mouse.
Here's an astonishing thing: when the cat catches a mouse, he will "play" with it for a while; when he's done, he drops the mouse on a glue board, then picks up the glue board and carries it to the establishment's owners.