apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

my cats catch mice all the time (and never hurt them). I just catch the mouse in some tupperware and those him out into the alley. Figure he'll either find a nice hole to live in, or make his way back into my house, thus providing another round of entertainment for my mousers.

This makes me love you.

Does this terrarium have air holes? It doesn't appear to from the pictures. Mice love sunflower seeds :)

I heard that baby mice that are once caught by cats are abandoned by their mothers. Not sure if it's true, but maybe cats do more harm than we know by playing with mice.

Hope he makes it and I bet you have another pet! I have read that cats can be taught that mice, rats and birds that are part of the family are not prey but it might only be when they are kittens and they are all brought up together.

There is a great utube clip of a fellow with a dog, a cat and a rat - he is a street person and they all cuddle up and the cat rides on the dog and the rat sits on top of the cat - it is pretty amazing.

sinbad is very cute...

guess since his stay is now permanent, it is time to get a mouse cage (with lots of air) and mouse kibble...

...and what about a vet visit to get a clean bill of health? (so you don't worry about Hanta or rabbies every time you clean out the cage

would you all be so generous about a mouse if your house was overrun with them and you had kids who regularly roam around on the floor? One mouse is one thing; 24 and mouse droppings everywhere (and allergies so cat free zone) is something entirely different.

That is the cutest thing ever!

I thought about the airholes too, Quince.

I used to have a rat, two cats and two dogs. The dogs were scared of the cats and the cats were scared of the rat. Such a reversal of roles! The rat RULED the house!

My rat loved fruit & veggies. Especially apples and grapes.

yay! props to you, sinbad is probably very happy now. :) and thank you for not killing him... love, another bleeding heart.

Oh! Keep us updated!

Quince: yes, there's a big whole ontop about the diameter of a soda can, so there should be sufficient air flow.

monika1: good advice. I will definitely consider upgrading everything to proper mouse house standards. The vet visit...sigh, I only just recently dropped some major dollars on some cat visits (FLUTD), so the idea is painful. But you're right, if I'm going to keep him, I should get him checked.

I love him! I hope he lives a good long life. So nice of you to take him in.

I had a mouse problem once. They do strange/amusing things. Once they got into a box of swiffer duster refills and made a nest. Another time they made a nut shrine on top of a toilet paper roll, which they later transferred to another location. Used to make me so angry, but I made my peace with them. They've disappeared since.

We once ended up with a pet mouse, Talulah. Then another, Dexter. And yet another, Bad Mouse. We had genders all wrong and Dexter gave birth to 6 little wiggling babies. They were very cute but 9 mice? Too many. They all went to a local pet store except Talulah. She went to the big mousehole in the sky surround by people who loved her and fed her popcorn and peanut butter.

I guess I'm cold and callous and mean.

IMO, the best thing would have been to very quickly put this poor mouse out of it's misery. It's a wild animal removed from its physical and social environment. It's not a cuddly pet. Kudos to your kind heart, but I think sometimes anthropomorphizing about what's best for people is not always what's best for the object of our projections.

ahhh! please tell me he can breathe inside that!!

Give the little guy some crunchy fruits/vegs: carrots, celery, bits of apple.

Swan --

my daughter's name is... Tallulah

kimg924: I don't think you're cold nor mean for thinking that. I had the same thoughts when I first checked the mouse, and continued to consider it an option if the mouse was severely injured. My first and prime plan was to just nurse it back and then release it back into the wild. I've only just considered keeping it because it is blind, but otherwise healthy, and I'm trying best to respect it by not touching it while the mouse recuperates (for my safety too). I'd like nothing more than to return the lil' bugger into the wild.

Haha, maybe I've been watching too much Wildlife Nannies.

We had mice in our house back home in the midwest that unbeknownst to us managed to stockpile about 8 pounds of dog food inside the mechanisms of our clothes dryer. This explained, of course, why the dog's bowl was empty every morning, and also why the dryer didn't work any more, and was discovered while removing it and replacing it with a new one.

But having grown up in a place where every kid brings home something small, furry, and injured once in a while (over my childhood I rescured a baby deer, several baby birds, field mice, a squirrel, and, to my mother's chagrin, a snake), I wouldn't be too worried about disease as long as you're not playing with him all the time. Still, as a city dweller I suppose you never know what's out there, so I can see the vet argument too.

I can't be warm hearted about this since I once lived in an apartment infested with mice. This is just gross to me :(

AIRHOLES

what a great thing to do...he wouldn't make it in the "wild" (i don't feel that cities are considered 'nature' so you're giving him a pretty good hotel stay. yes airholes are very necessary, especially because they..um..go to the bathroom in there. good luck!

That is a tough call on what to do! I definitely applaud your compassion, though. I was a manager at a pet store, and I liked the little furry pets. If you keep him, chuck a hunk of wood in there for him to chew on--it's good for his teeth. You can find them for cheap in the small animals and birds aisles of any pet store. Watch his bedding, too--rodents are prone to respiratory problems. Maybe you could teach him to use a wee litter box. Good luck!

I'm not sure I would be overly inclined to rescue a field mouse, when we had them in our old apartment we would corner them into a paper bag and release into the wild.

But I wish you and your big heart had been around last week when I stumbled across a lone hamster wandering the grass in Golden Gate Park. I didn't rescue him out of fear of rabies, etc., not to mention bringing fleas to my indoor cat. But I did worry for the poor little guy. :(

I like to think he found a large but secret roving band of feral hamsters and is living out his adventures in the wilds of the park, Infinte Jest-style.

Oh my goodness!!! What a cutie. You are such a gem for saving him :)

Do you really think he would put the mouse in something without airholes? Seriously?

Monika - it's a great name. I would name my first-born daughter Tallulah if I hadn't had a mouse by the same name.

aladywhoknows - your AIRHOLES comment made me laugh. It reminded me of movies that are edited for TV to replace all the "dirty" words with similar but bizarre "clean" words. Maggotfarmer is my favorite.

God, this post makes me grin! I love it.

Bless your big ole heart, I once bought a couple of mice for my two kids, long story short, 37 mice later, I gave them all to the horrible kids down the street and left for the airport and a flight to Canada. Good luck to you and your new pet:)

I love the last picture you added. You made a Kitty TV!

When I was a child my sister and I caught a little mouse in our bedroom. We kept it hidden from our parents and made it a little house in a coffee can, feeding it nothing but cheese. Sadly we didn't know that mice don't actually eat cheese and our little friend got very sick. We ended up releasing him to the back yard where he probably died of a cheese overdose. very sad business.

I heard that it's actually cruel to catch mice and release them out in a field.. apparently they are very territorial and other mice will kill them. (?)

I don't know if I could take SINBAD in myself but he looks like he needs help so good for you...

Awww, he's a cute looking mouse!

And if you do keep him, DEFINITELY take him to a vet to get him checked out... like, within the next couple of days. And keep us updated and take lots of pictures of the little Sinbad!

This is so adorable! It makes me sad to think that people kill mice instead of getting rid of them in a better way like catching and releasing them. I mean, it's not like they are out to ruin your life, they are just trying to live theirs.

I can't believe how many people think you are dumb enough to put a live animal in something without ventilation. Geez. I'm glad he's doing better after last night. He's a cutie.

So cute! Oddly, my mother just rescued a rat last night. It fell down in the rain and was sitting in the middle of the road, stunned. She moved it to her yard so it wouldn't get run over and after a little while it ran off, so guess it was ok.

I have a deer mouse named Little that I rescued 2 1/2 years ago after a cat was carrying him around. Poor Little went into shock and was paralyzed for hours!

Let me just warn you that most mice can and WILL jump. They can jump MUCH higher than you would expect. If your little guy is healthy enough and feels like exploring, take my word on it -- Sinbad WILL jump out.

I keep my mice (I currently have 8) in aquariums with thick wire covers.

If you have any questions or are looking for general advice on how to care for Sinbad, you can email me at nerdnik[at]hotmail[dot]com. I have had pet mice for 11 or 12 years now and consider myself to be somewhat of an expert :)

Best of luck to you and Sinbad!!

I don't know you...but I adore you!

ahhh... sinbad. makes me miss phil hartman.

"Jason, how many times have I told you to pick that damn thing up? A lot, I think. Probably several, maybe."

I like what you have done with that space - please consider entering the next small, cool contest.
You may want to consider adding the mini eames chairs blogged about a couple of days ago. Also what about a landing strip?
;-)

Anyone thinking their kind to take their excess mice to a pet store should keep in mind that many customers buy them to feed their pet snakes.

I think it needs a rug and some plants to pull it together.

Mice look so cute but the thought of touching one to care for it still gives me the heeby-jeebies. I don't like birds either for some reason. I don't have any snakes or lizards, but I think they're ok.

aww the poor thing, i hope you take him to the vet..or at least research to find out if he really is blind.

As the loving momma to 3 pet rats, 1 pug puppy, and 1 old man dog, I can tell you that the "little furries" make the sweetest, most affectionate pets. My boyfriend was born and raised in the Bronx and was thisclose to calling things off with me when he found out that I had a pet rat. He hated all rodents and couldn't believe someone could actually be attached to vermin. Then he met Dennis, my little ambassador, and fell in love (with both of us!). Now years later, my boyfriend falls asleep on the couch with the little ones, feeds them tiny pieces of whatever he happens to be snacking on, bought them a HUGE cage, and even defends their honor to his family on the east coast.

I'm very sorry about Sinbad's passing. I am so glad you opened your heart and gave him a calm, warm, loving home for his last days on this planet. And maybe even opened a few hearts on AT.

This was a good deed.

A poor little guy.
It was so sweet that you tried to save him.

Poor little guy, I hope he is in mouse heaven and living the good life. Thanks for trying to save him.

I bet Sinbad loves you for giving him a few safe days with food and water. You did a very good deed!

Rest in peace Sinbad!

R.I.P. Sinbad. :(

Too bad about Sinbad, but he had food, water, shelter and safety at the end, all that a mouse really needs.

I bought my cat a pet mouse when she was apartment bound. The mouse figured out that the cat could not get him and would sit in the corner eating while the cat watched. He would also run in and out of the paper towel tube to tease the cat. It seemed to keep them both busy

What a lucky little mouse to have met you. Thank you for the sweetest AT post ever.

Sorry, but I think that is just gross.
So far I don't have any, but the moment they enter my home, they are DEAD.
Until I see them, I'll just keep sprinkling mint around.

wow. i'm afraid i'd just toss it, but congrats to you for having a bigger heart than mine. also, sorry to hear the little bugger bought the farm. it was a very touching gesture for his last days, though.