Mausi Keeps Us Entertained Well Into The Wee Hours Of The Morning...

 A hunger for food or fun?

Lately Mausi has taken to sleeping next to me again. Whenever I am semi-wake, there she is glued to my side, stomach or top of my head. Not complaining, as it is rather nice. Well, last night she must have moved too forcibly because I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep.

To the lounge we headed, Mausi and I, only to join a snoring Maxi. Yes, his basket is in the lounge and that's where he mostly sleeps. Last night he tried to venture into our bedroom, but I nixed that idea because when I get up in the middle of the night I don't want to accidentally step on him!

So, the three of us took to watching tv and at 12. 55 am, the only show to watch was Medical Detectives. Eventually we all drifted off until of course her Highness forcibly jumped off the couch and quickly honed in on an object. My worst fears were confirmed the more animated and boisterous she got and the louder the little squeaks were!

A mouse in the lounge. Goodness me, she was chasing this tiny little thing all over the lounge and truth be told, I didn't want to get up to sort this business out, because then Maxi would want to go outside. Let sleeping dogs lie...of course he wasn't sleeping as I could make out his little head following the dash and lunge affair of his new sister. Somehow I wouldn't have been surprised if he too was sacred to step paw outside his basket. How was he supposed to know what made those squeaks of panic?

All this time I was worried that Mausi might take it into her mind to come and show me her new toy. Jumping atop the couch even with a morsel between her jaws is child's play for her. In the dark there would be no way of knowing if she dropped a gift for me until said gift might dash up my face to safety.

Eventually morning arrived and with it the ability to go and switch on the light to purvey the crime scene. Thankfully nothing on show which meant that she stopped short of killing her toy...toy still on the loose in our house and I think I saw it flit under Bob's rucksack. Not going to look. These mice are amazingly agile and fast. I did tell Bob about it but I don't think he listened...only time will tell if I was right!

Biggi

The Drama Of Two Rodent Intruders.

 Sleep, what's that?

Both of us are intune with the sounds our little princess makes as she gets ready for bed...or not. Usually as soon as we go through to the bedroom she hops onto Bob's side of the bed and settles with him until he's asleep before hopping onto my side and whiling the night away, snoring in between making sure she doesn't get squashed when I turn over. Ah yes, a cat's life is far from easy.

Then there are those sounds Mausi makes where we just know that trouble is on the way. Once the shoe rack moves, the writing is on the wall. For some reason she heralds or leads any stray rodent or insect intruder into the vestibule and gives them a sporting chance to hide among the sea of shoes. More fun for her it seems as she loves nothing better than to pounce on the various pairs of shoes not caring a fig if they fall down noisily.

That's when we know that sleep is out of the question because she can go on all night and for all we know, eventually place an exhausted little rodent on our pillow...just for the fun of watching us wake up! Last night it was my turn to see to the commotion. Yes, it turns out that she had chased a little baby mouse through the house and it had taken refuge inside my new shoe. I only found out when I tipped it over and saw it crawling away.

By that stage, Bob gave his input on how to dispose of it. As if it were so easy. As soon as I got my wits about me, it ran merrily under our bed with an excited cat on her tail. The only thing I could think of to catch it was a newspaper which of course didn't work. Naturally Bob told me to get an old tupperware but chose to stay put in the safety of the bed! He even had the audacity to tell me to move faster!!! Luckily for me, Mausi was kind enough to pick the rodent up in her mouth and wait patiently for me to fetch a suitable container. Yes, honestly. When I hastened back with a container she dropped the almost dead mouse on the floor. 

One mouse taken outside, one cat praised and fed with feline treats ( ironic seeing that I just disposed of one ) hands washed and back to bed. For a couple of hours until I heard a repetition of Mausi flitting all over the place. Our wooden floor are perfect sound conductors!!! Nothing for it, I had to get up and migrate to the lounge as sleep was out of the question.

Didn't need to wait long. About five minutes after I settled down, in she struts with a tiny tail hanging out the side of her mouth. Yes, she had caught another intruder. Gosh, is there a mouse family below who sends the little ones up one at a time? Anyway, off the couch I jumped, fetched the infamous tupperware and set about collecting this mouse. Couldn't have been easier as Mausi made sure to drop it perfectly in front of me with nary a growl. 

The minute she saw me dispose of it out of the one window without a fly screen ( didn't wan't to wake up Bob by opening the front door ) she took up station on her feeding box, waiting for her next treat. Very proud of her catching these intruders and let's hope for a break tonight...

Biggi

Missy Maus Keeps Us Safe From A Nocturnal Predator.

Earning her keep...

A scene from The Godfather kept flashing through my mind and at times last night, while sleeping with one eye open, I was almost expecting the head of a newly departed rodent next to me on my pillow.

It was a long and rowdy night at our house. An old house occupied by a slightly less than young couple has a set of noises that might be irritating but are routine and one gets well versed in them. A creek here, a squeak there with the odd cough in between. Last night, a high pitched squeak followed a rumbustious heavy tread of Mausi trying to track every move a mouse was making. As elegant as she can be, once the scent of prey hits her nostrils, she morphs into a ferocious predator getting ready for the kill or in her case, the thrill of tormenting a tiny mouse all over our house.

Bob was almost asleep when the sound of the battle being played out got through to him. Like any husband would, he said;

" Can't you keep her quiet? Go and take the mouse from her. "

If an agile feline can't quite get her teeth stuck in a delicious mouse, how on earth could I ever run interference and take her toy from her? Good gracious me, next Bob will have me climb the walls to catch a spider...

Intermittently throughout the night I heard the squeak sometimes closer and sometimes further away from me. All I prepared myself for was the inevitable offering that might land on my head, pillow or chest. Believe me, I was ready to jump but eventually I drifted off into the pre dawn deep sleep and only awoke to the alarm clock annoyingly beeping away.

As Bob woke up I told him to be careful because there was a mouse on the loose. He who can sleep through thunder and lightning had of course rested extremely well and as he walked to the bathroom, he saw our princess sitting in front of a tiny lifeless body. Sensing a heavy parental tread she picked the tiny mouse up with her mouth, growled like crazy and was in the process of schlepping it under the bed to safety when both she and I were startled by the voice of reason and authority.

" Drop that mouse NOW ! "

Unbelievably, the princess sat back, dropped the dead mouse and let Daddy take it away ( to dispose of out the front door ) and seemed stunned to say the least. Leave it to Mummy to praise her for keeping us safe from a mouse ( it had at least 3 cm in length ) and to ensure further feline protection in the future...

Mausi has been exhausted but somehow content and has been sleeping the day away not even bothering to eat...

Biggi

Pets, What Would We Do Without Them?

My week of surprises.

Not quite a week I suppose but close enough. Walking back home after an extra lesson yesterday evening, I was deep in my thoughts until I heard an odd squeaking sound behind me. Nothing nefarious of course as I do live in the safe haven of Burgenland, but a squeak that did need further investigation.

With exaggerated slowness I turned and was almost bowled over. A black Labrador puppy ( well, she's almost grown ) was at loose ends with herself and footloose when she must have espied or heard me walk past her place. There she was, hurtling into me for a cuddle with her most prized possessions securely held between her fangs. Yes, the squeaky rubber duck & a sodden yellow tennis ball had to come along for me to play with.

Honestly, it broke my heart to think of this little cuteness following strangers ( she's seen me once or twice ) hoping for some game time. If I could, I would have taken her home with me right there and then. Seeing the many cars coming home from work, I tried to reign her back home which was a success until she stumbled upon an open gate and a resting dog behind it...yours truly was forgotten.

About an hour ago, whilst the Maus and I were resting on the couch, an incident occurred that has slightly shaken me up. From a supposed sleep on my legs, our cute little cat took a flying leap onto the floor, under the couch only to reemerge a second later with a real live mouse between her fangs. No squeaky toy there, oh no, only the real thing will do for our cat!!!

Honestly, I don't think that I've ever jumped off our couch so quickly and I don't know why because the last affair de mouse was handled by the boss and expertly so... Bob, he who has knowledge of how to handle these contretemps. From having seconded Bob, ( actually not really as I had spent most of that time atop the couch ) I realized that she'd play with this mouse for a while which posed the danger of it running for cover somewhere such as our cupboard, bed or even couch.

Tearing off a big piece of bounty ( god knows why as it was a generic one which we all know doesn't hold muster or mice ) I hastened in pursuit of an ecstatic Mausi who ran into the bedroom. Oh my gosh, I wish you could have heard her growling at me. Only this morning she was cuddling on my chest and now she was with mouse between her teeth uttering the most awful sounds at her mummy.

Naturally I should have let her have her fun and collected the exhausted animal once she'd tired of it, but...she was running to the lounge with me in hot pursuit when it happened. She dropped the ball or rather the speedy mouse, which after a detour up the curtain decided to drop on the floor and disappear under the floor boards. Gosh, they just need a tiny bit of space.

Well, as we speak, Mausi quite rightly is giving me sullen looks and a real mouse is back in our house...it's only Tuesday today and I do wonder what the next few days will bring?

Biggi

Caturday Is Crime Scene Day.

A night of fun and games.

As bad as it is for one, a sleep in front of the TV is one of the best. Usually a deep sleep interrupted frequently by screams and gunfire of the various thrillers showing. Often reality and fiction mingle with alarming ease. Was it real or not?

Bob was at the A.G.M. of the fire department last night and thus I had to master a crime scene on my own.

Once you become a cat parent, parental instincts kick in. One can't help it and often it is as if suddenly one has grown an extra pair of eyes and ears. Our feline princess has her routine for just about everything. Bob and I know the theatrics before she does her eh, #2 business and tend to play rock, paper, scissors...someone has to remove the offerings from the litter box after all.

Last night, in the periphery of sleep I took note that the princess was a bit more rambunctious than usual, playing in the entrance hall between our shoes. Oh well, she was having fun.

A little bit later, I felt her running besides my couch and flicking something about. When she threw herself onto my side, I woke up and with startling clarity I noticed a new toy mere centimeters from my face, but still on the floor. That looked new and with a dreadful feeling I got up to switch on the light.

Goodness gracious, Mausi was standing over a little present that she was giving to me. A namesake of hers that thankfully wasn't moving. That meant that I must have slept through a momentous fight between them. The last time I had awoken to such drama, the exhausted little mouse hadn't know where to catch a respite from the big Mausi. I high stepped over it and rushed to the kitchen to fetch a roll of Bounty.

As much as I wanted to scream like a girl, I managed to praise our little gal and make her feel special for killing a mouse. She let me pick up the corpse and watched as I disposed of it out the bedroom window...When Bob came home a bit later, I told him to praise his princess for her cat-ly deed and somehow I got the feeling that he was rather sorry to have missed such a spectacle.

Biggi

What, me? Mausi, the mouse slayer...

" Miaow, Miaow! That's Not My Job, Is It? "

Our little princess goes on strike, alas a domestic one.

You know I was going to title it: The Queen of Eisenberg..., but I didn't want to offend a few of the local doyennes. Oh, even the the smallest of ponds there is a pecking order, if not a bigger one! I could have unwittingly hit a bull's eye and let the cat out of the bag, ahem!

For those of you who've been hosts to a family of mice, you will understand when I say that the nose knows first. Those pesky little rodents mark their territories with over exuberance. A male mouse perhaps?

Our princess first entered our home for the express purpose of hunting down last year's family of murine lodgers. She seemed to do the job as for a while no mouse dared to enter our suddenly dangerous home. I have got to hand it to our cat, she is fast and furious with only one flaw...she's hardly ever hungry.

Apart from being extremely well fed, she is also tends to turn a deaf ear to certain commands " catch the mouse, don't scratch the door / stop purring while I sleep." which points to only one thing...a spoiled cat.

Back to this year's family of mice. They need to be chased out of our four walls and at times it sounds like they are literally in a wall, and in a way that doesn't hurt our princess.

Old fashioned, simple and highly efficient mice guillotines won't do. The princess certainly will try and eat the piece of cheese in the trap.

Today, Bob and I will order some mouse traps that capture each and every rodent efficiently and in a healthy alive state. Which brings me to our next perceivable problem...where to let the captured Von Trapped Family free. It can't be too close to our house as they are then just going to turn tail so to speak and come back home.

Hold thumbs that these humane traps work, or our princess will have to be put on a diet. Oh, and also that we don't by mistake wander into your garden while letting the mice meander out of the traps.

Biggi

Bob Joins The Family Firm.

While I get to re-calibrate my safety zone.

There are only so many occasions during the day, or rather week, that our little cat turns into a ferocious tiger. Muscles quivering while doing her own brand of in-room-skating. In other words running circles with proverbial froth if not glee hanging from her mouth.

At exactly a quarter past eight last night those symptoms erupted and the only reason I am so precise with my timing is that it was the start of a murder mystery on TV. Gosh darn it, if I were to miss the murder, I might as well have called it a night and gone to bed. Only one alternative. The Bobster was playing on his computer, that is until I made him aware of the tiger in our bedroom. Eh no, not me.

Succinctly and with one eye on the plot, I told him the facts and how to sort it out. Our cat had a mouse in her sights not to mention her paws.

It wasn't so much out of kindness ( although Bob is very kind ) but out of a desire to also catch a mouse with his bare hands like I did on Monday. Well not bare hands, but with two hands and a bowl. Off he went into the bedroom and shut the door behind him. All I heard as he went in;

" Honey, let's catch this mouse. "

Honestly, the plot on the telly paled in comparison with the sounds and noises coming out of our bedroom. I couldn't resist and forsaking my movie, headed for our Mouse Gladiator's Colosseum. High pitched screams ( either from Bob or the frightened mouse ) and our cat thumping about all over the wooden floor.

As I opened the door, I saw a sight that I wished I hadn't. Bob was standing next to the window, holding the bowl over the top of the curtain. He could barely reach it with his outstretched hands, so you know how high that was....

" What on earth are you doing? "

" Quick come here and help me. The mouse has climbed to the top of the curtain just below the rail. "

Being a good wife, I helped him yet mind mind was recounting the many nights that I deemed myself out of rodent reach, being a foot off the ground. Well, that safe harbour has gone for good!

My only feeling of comfort is our precious cat who is doing such a sterling job at keeping the mice away from mummy. As Bob caught the mouse last night, he carried it across the road and released it into the wilds of Eisenberg. My dear neighbours, don't fret, the mouse wasn't released anywhere near you homes.

When he got back, he fetched a cat treat ( a long thin salami type of treat ) and gave it to our cat while praising her effusively...I dare you to try and find a dull moment among our delightfully fun rural life.

Biggi

A Seat At The Table Completes Our Cat's Exciting Afternoon Adventure.

Who says that cats aren't human?

It had gone on four in the afternoon when I came home, knowing I had about ten minutes before one of my extra lesson charges would arrive. First time as he has just entered the hallowed and often scary grounds of high school.

As per usual, Mausi greeted my return with happy meows and numerous figure of eight circles. I love that, by the way. On my way to wash my hands, I heard her play with one of her toys, the squeaky kind. High pitched and rather irritating.

Thinking it would disturb my lesson, I went to take it from her but to my surprise and not inconsiderable dismay, she was standing away from the toy and the squeaking continued. Yikes. A real mouse affair. Double yikes that Bob was at work, which meant that I had to step up to the plate...

Normally I'd have left the dealing of mouse business for Bob ( a manly job, don't you think? ) but a young guy was coming around for his English lesson and that left me about ten minutes to sort it out. By the sounds coming from our bedroom, our Mausi was having the time of her life chasing a small little mouse around.

Somehow I had visions of either a mouse running around under our feet while we'd be learning English or, even worse, our cat proudly doing a Godfather imitation and dropping a headless mouse in front of us. Good lord, that would cause a stir in our village.

I got a bowl, and after several attempts finally plonked it on top of the mouse. Sliding a newspaper underneath it, I managed to give this frightened little thing another go at life outside our house. Across the road, just in case it wanted to come back into the horror chamber.

Even though I wanted to say " Yeew and eeeh " I made sure to praise our cat, as this was the very reason she came into our home. The catching of mice. Remember that we live on the edge of a corn field and as soon as they harvest, the mice look for a new adventure with us.

Luckily I had saved a potentially embarrassing mouse situation and when the little chap arrived, we sat at our kitchen table, and started the conjugation of To Be. A few minutes later, our lovely cat jumped on a chair next to him, and started to follow the lesson.

Not wanting to distract him, I shooed her off ( three times, for she was determined to take part in the lesson ) and her last perch was a chair across the table from me, out of reach and all we could see was her little head peeping over the table's edge, wondering what we were doing. Too cute for words, and proof that she is clever and most definitely our pride and joy.

Biggi

And Before Bob Could Blink, I Was On Top Of The Sofa.

Our cat finally earns her keep...

There are many other ways to spend a Sunday afternoon and I wish I could have. Believe me, standing there on top of the couch, screaming like a girl for Bob to do something while the cat played tag with a mouse, wasn't such a proud moment.

It started innocently enough with me watching Wedding Date for the xth time ( pray tell, who doesn't on a Sunday? ), and our cat sleeping, clearly with one eye open, through most of the movie. As the last scene had me entranced in a fairy tale bubble, I only heard her frantic antics in the vestibule because they kept encroaching on my fairy tale. Pausing the DVD, I turned my head just in time to see her inserting her paw into Bob's work shoe. With elegance and self assurance.

" Quickly Bob, have a look at how cute she plays with your left shoe! "

There he was, trying to help her with whatever she had found interesting in this shoe, when even the Bobster screamed like a girl as a tiny little mouse fell out of the upturned shoe, almost onto his chest!

Bob stood frozen, I instantly sought refuge on top of our sofa and the only sane one, ahem, was Mausi toying and playing with this mouse. I thought she had already killed it as she was carrying it around in her mouth with pride and joy.

At one stage she headed towards her mummy with her bounty bouncing around in her mouth, when she dropped it...oh no, on the contrary, the little mouse was alive and kicking and alarmingly headed for my couch. With Mausi in hot pursuit, and in a state of excitement and euphoria.

Gosh, what a brave little soul indeed. I alternated between berating her and praising her for her excellent hunting abilities. The one thought that never crossed my mind was that she'd lose in the cat & mouse affair. The mouse hid behind the sofa, indeed rather too close for my comfort, and after trying to lure her out into the open, Mausi decided that this game was not fun anymore. Goodness, where is her patience? As we speak, she is slumbering on our window sill and yes, the other mouse is still on the loose...

" Oh yes, you are darn right...I am not going to sleep well, if at all tonight. "

Biggi

Dear Mouse, Mice & Mouse-lets, The Buffet Is Open.

Another year, another harvest another mouse season...

Good grief, I almost feel like the town crier...

" Dear mice of Eisenberg. Please feel free to come and sample the various morsels we have left you around our house. Don't be shy! "

The minute our family left last week ( well, it might have over lapped a day or two but sagely, Bob and I kept quiet ) the mice came out to play.

For those of you in the novice mouse corner you might not know the signs. Well, at first you hear the little mouse's feet running around. As small as they are, you do hear them. Secondly, you smell their peculiar habit of marking their territory. And last but not least important, you battle to have a good nights sleep because your mind is replaying any and all movies where a mouse climbed up to a bed etc..

Now and again you might run into one of the mice as happended to me on Saturday night after coming home from a party. Picture it: Almost eleven at night, I went to the lavatory and as one does at such a late time, on autopilot. Just before I eh, sat down, I saw a small dark thing trying to run past me on the floor. After blinking a few times in disbelief, I don't know who got more of a fright, but the two of us did a two step of trying to get away from one another. Sleep didn't come easily that night!!!

Bob and I have been setting traps and placing them strategically throughout the house. A few were successful for us but a lot were rather yummy for the mice. One of these little house guests of ours, has been snacking on ham, bacon and cheese every night so far.

It must be getting rather plump with all the delectable morsels apart from being also extremely smart because it side steps the simple yet quick acting traps. Believe me, there have been times where one of us got a finger caught while setting it.

Yes, a house cat is the answer and it is our fault that we have dithered for so long. One thing seems certain...

The word of mouse is filtering through our neighbourhood and, dear neighbours, you are very welcome that we have taken on this year's hosts duties...

Biggi

Three Cheers For Plain Old Processed Cheese!

the current mouse saga seems to have paused.

These last few blog posts have seen me go into mouse-hysterics, mouse overdrive and perhaps a slight bit of mouse melodrama. A little thing like a mouse...

Those of you who have had the pleasure and excitement of a mouse in the house will have performed their own bit of mouse drama and fully understand my hysterics...and have maybe even surpassed it!

Gosh, that phrase mouse in the house always reminds me of that episode of Friends ( #3/13 ), where Gunther famously says to Phoebie's boyfriend:

" Hey buddy, this is a family place. Put the mouse back in the house."

Friends Superbox - Die Jahre 1994-2004 (41 Discs)(exklusiv bei Amazon.de)

Yesterday morning was the zenith of our mouse saga. Washing the dishes ( still stamping my feet every now and then! ), I kept on hearing our mouse guest nagging away behind the kitchen counter. The traps laden with peanut butter where untouched, so I thought that maybe I should dangle a plain bit of process cheese over it.

Thought turned into action and when I came back from a trip to the bathroom, lo and behold, the cheese had gone! Ha, this cheese was the winner. The tempter of mice! Nothing fancy but a processed cheese slice. Bob was out on an errand, so I re-did another trap, hoping for capture.

I had barely turned around and our mouse had pulled the cheese from the trap. An un-sprung trap! Well, there was only one thing to do. Wait for Bob.

When I told him how the mouse liked this cheese, he redid the trap a la Bob, but muttered that the mouse was full after pulling off two lots of my cheese bits.

One doesn't like to boast about it, but when 5 minutes later the loud snap of the trap reverberated around our kitchen, we were relieved. Our mouse guest was no more. A relief, even though we set up patrols in case there where more...so far so good.

To be honest, we both felt bad for a while, but the alternative of having a rodent put its stamp on all your things ( edible or not ) is worse.

Biggi

Mouse = 1...Mouseketeers = 0 !

Our house has turned into Mouse-catraz.

One little bit of a mouse is tyrannizing us in his small and not so subtle ways. Can you believe that the other night, the last bastion of my insomnia has been taken?

My pull out couch in the lounge is the last resort of sleeplessness. A place to at least toss and turn in front of insipid late night TV programs. All I can say, is " Thank God " I put on the light when I yet again migrated from our bedroom to the lounge.

At first I thought I was hallucinating but on taking a further look, I recognized it for what it was! Good grief, there at the bottom of my other bed were a few mouse droppings. Now I knew without a doubt that, yes, a mouse does climb up on beds. I tell you, the rest of the night I slept sitting up on the other couch, lights ablaze and everything off the ground.

When I did find that pesky little fellow's droppings, I saw red and with a seething determination, even at one in the morning, I changed all the traps.

Did I tell you that neither ham, salami nor cheese tickle our mouse's fancy? I took Lorraine's advice and used peanut butter on a few of the traps. Yes, there are so many traps about, that each morning I have to warn Bob to tread carefully. Even though we both hope to hear that loud clap of a trap closing, I don't want it to be around Bob's toes...

Two days on, and the mouse has evaded all our tricks and traps. Even a friend down the road has given me a mousetrap that she swears by along with a small helping of Camembert. She thought our mouse might be a posh one with posh tastes...gosh, our mouse is posher than Camembert! What next to tempt him with? Stilton?

To you readers, it must sound silly. A small little mouse doing so much harm? Bob and I are wary of going to sleep. Bob will at odd moments during the night utter :

"That #%&@ mouse has wee'd again! yuck what an awful smell. "

Even as I am writing this, the mouse is going berserk somewhere behind me in the kitchen. Under or behind the cupboards. This morning I saw it's head peaking out but alas, I was too slow.

Getting a cat would be the answer, but by the time this kitten is big, the mouse will have proliferated with a thousand little mice...

Here are a few rules that we adhere to in our Mouse - catraz:

• We walk with loud stepping noises into any room.
• Sitting at our kitchen table writing my blog, I continuously shift my feet, just in case it decides to run over them.
• All food items are locked up in high glass fronted cupboard or put into containers.
• Nothing can be left on the floor. Shoes have to be elevated.
• Sleep is only achieved with one eye open!

Well, wish us luck on our mouse hunt...

Biggi