Bruce the Hunter

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
As you all know we have a mouse problem. And just in the past couple of days we discovered why.......I forgot that I bought some grass seed that I was going to put into a sealed plastic container......husband didn't buy the container .....I forgot the seed......(love my memory) and they've been feasting all winter. Lovely.

Bruce is almost 3 yrs old. Only recently has he taken any interest in a mouse.....this after I bought him toys that look just like a mouse. But for all his effort......he basically stunk at it. Not for lack of trying.

Evidently the mice are not happy that husband cleaned up and disposed of all their food supply.......now a bit desperate they're coming out into the open and our traps have been busy.

Bruce starts running around acting crazy. I catch a glimpse of the mouse he's chasing.......a young one......but it's giving him a run for his money........he's darting this way and that and he starts batting it.........Then it's obvious he's as much playing with it as hunting it. So momma encourages him to Kill it Already! lol But I wasn't going to interrupt him because I really need him to learn to mouse.........otherwise I'd have snatched up the broom and whacked it.

So I'm reading posts here.......and hear some squeaking then chomping noises......pretty sure he's eating it. I wait until he's done (also reinforces what I want him to learn to do).....and I finally found what was left........the tail. Ewww. Good thing I have tons of disposable gloves on hand.

So proud of my furbaby tonight. He finally got his first mouse! Thank goodness.......now maybe between him and the traps we'll get this under control. ugh
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
Congratulations to Bruce! Usually once they catch a few, they get really in to it!

I've had a bad mouse problem all winter long! I finally got super serious about not leaving ANYTHING around that they could possibly eat - no dishes in the sink, wipe up every spill on the stove the instant it happens, and getting rid of all the places they could possibly hide. That's not easy in a 160-year old house! Three of the dogs are in their crates at night but Ragan sleeps with me. She always liked to get up at night and snack, but now the dog food is no longer left out at night. And I think the mice are starving! Or they're packing their bags and moving out! The remainders are getting desperate enough to take a lot of chances venturing out and my mouser Bostons, Ragan and Katy, are having a field day! They stalk them like cats and will patiently wait for hours for one to appear! The mice like to hide under the trash can in the utility room so Katy shoves the trash can all around the room with her head till the mouse runs out ... then he's toast! Between the two of them, they've caught at least TWENTY of them over the last few days! Yuk! They're reluctant to give them up but I have a big bag of their favorite peanut butter dog treats and for each mouse they catch, they get a cookie, and they have to spit out the mouse to take the cookie! Then I use a tissue to pick the mouse up by the tail and I toss it to the outside cats. Now every time I open the front door, I'm surrounded by cats! Even little Trace has caught a few but it's not easy for him because of his vision problems, just having one eye. I have seen exactly ONE mouse today - that's all - and Ms. Katy is hot on his trail as we speak!
 
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Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
donna

I know what you mean. husband got motivated when he watched one dart across the livingroom the other day. When they're that brazen, you've got problems. Which is why he tackled the familyroom/backporch........thereby finding the forgotten grass seed. And tonight when he went to feed the dogs.....a couple of critters were on top of the dog food containers which thankfully they can't get into. So they're upset......hungry.......and hopefully now we'll find more in the traps and more will be careless enough for Bruce to catch until he is more skilled. Molly has gotten a few lately too......but then she's always been a mouser. husband was joking that maybe she's been giving him lessons at night. Now that made me laugh. A dog giving a cat mousing lessons. lol

I'm methodically putting most food stuffs into sealed plastic containers.......this is taking a while as I have to buy those containers. And I'm having trouble finding one the right size for spagetti. I know they make them.......I just can't find anyone who is selling them. ugh Both the dogs and Bruce are not happy that any uneaten food is returned to the pet food containers. But we're trying hard not to give them anything to eat.
 

tawnya

New Member
HD,

We got a little female calico kitty in the fall because we had a horrible mouse problem. Now, I have two rat terriers as well. They aren't mousers. This cat? Tore them up. One day she caught four in a row. She does play with them too, but she takes them to the bathtub, I suppose so they can't get away.

All she leaves is a part of the mouse behind and the tail. I would rather pick up scraps than empty traps, though!

Way to go, Bruce!
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Lisa - a couple of things came to mind...

You know I mentioned that Weasel used to like to supervise Possum and Squirrel, mouse hunting? Well, I think maybe since she's young again on that Rainbow Bridge, she sent some of her mousing abilities (she used to be AWESOME at it) down to Bruce. :biggrin: I did teach her to share, after all.

Also, with spaghetti? I have 3 disasters. I always break my spaghetti in 3rds before I cook it. (Less noodle length to sling red sauce at the wall.) A plastic cereal box would work, as would a smaller rectangular one if you break it. Cheaper, too for the smaller one.

OR... Put the whole box into a gallon-size freezer bag - then a second one. If they cannot smell it, they won't go after it.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
Lisa, I'm very lucky in that they can't get in to my kitchen cabinets, so they can't get in to anything that's in there. I'm so glad I don't have to put things in plastic containers! It really helped when I got big containers for the dog and cat food too. When I left it in the bags, they chewed right through the bags and carried it off, piece by piece. I don't think I will ever be completely free of them because it's too easy for them to get in to this old house. As soon as it starts getting cold in the fall, they start coming in.

Oh! I went to the Dollar General yesterday and picked up two bottles of Awesome! And you're right! It really works great! I'm in the middle of cleaning and painting my living room walls and woodwork and it takes all that gunk right off. It works as good or better than my old standby, "409" and is about a third of the price! Thanks for the tip!
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Weasel must be coaching Bruce big time, step, cuz for all his trying before, he's now suddenly good at it. I refuse to complain about the leftover carcasses.

And now I feel silly because I do the same thing with my spaghetti noodles for the same reason..........and that thought didn't occur to me. lol So I'll get right on that.

donna.........yup, have the old house issue myself, plus 2 old barns out back where they breed. Barns are no longer part of the property or they'd have been torn down by now. So it will always be an occasional problem. Before Bruce we had Shadow who was excellent at mousing and loved the job........mice didn't stand a chance with her in the house. Unfortunately, that is also what killed her...........eating a mouse tainted with poison probably from a neighbors house. With her around they never had a change to set up housekeeping.
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
1-800 Rent - a BRUCE -

Our cat is on her way to kitty heaven. She's and in/out feral rescue, but we've had her 8 years and she's always gotten along with everyone. She has been attacking our oldest pit bull in the face for NO reason what so ever...biting, swatting, and leaping out. Very aggressive. Then she started attacking Pootie same way. Last week she smacked Bull so hard she drew blood and Pootie woke up from a sound sleep and chased her outside. NONE of my dogs will hurt her but Pootie head butted her into the side of the house and then kept poking her with her nose as if to say 'KNOCK IT OFF'. Piper the cat just rolls over, and submits and then it's over. We've waived our hands at her and swished a flyswatter at her, but let's admit it? She's a cat.

Two nights ago? DF was sleeping on the couch and for absolutely NO reason the cat fell asleep on his chest and DF woke up to the cat sinking ALL of her teeth into his left cheek. DF said it took him a few seconds to get her off his face, but he was not happy and now his cheek is infected. The doctor looked at it yesterday and it's okay, just keep neosporin on it. The only two in the house she won't mess with is me and the big dog, and if she bothers the big dog? I'm afraid kitty go bye bye.

She's healthy, just had her checkup - shots, everything. Any of you oldtime cat lovers have an idea? I'm at a loss - she's a good mole-catcher but we've been catching the field mice - she has no interest in them at all. I almost think they're too big for her - they're pretty good sized. She's about the most lazy cat I've every seen. Vet says she's fine - just lazy.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
It's very hard to kill them off when you have pets, unless the pets start catching the mice! It's easy enough to put poisons out but then the mice eat it, crawl off into the walls, die there, and start to smell. And I don't want my dogs walking around with a poisoned mouse in their mouth. Even though they never actually eat the mice, they still have them in their mouth and carry them around the house for their victory lap before they spit them out or trade them for a cookie.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Star honey? Does DF snore at all? And if he does, does he ever snort?

I had a dog (I know, different species, but hear me out). Sweetest thing on the planet, Rainbow was. Samoyed. Anyway, she never never never bit or snapped. Never.

So my Mom's friend was in from NJ with her two kids and her husband. One of the boys walked up and went "BOO!" in Rainbow's face. Now it wasn't very loud - but she was old. And startled. And we took the little terror to the ER for 2 stitches and a warning about letting sleeping dogs lie.

Whenever someone woke Weasel up suddenly? The last 5-6 years? She'd yow and slap, occasionally bite but not hard (and no front claws). One night husband rolled over, startled me awake with his snore-snort, and apparently we startled Weasel, 'cause she turned into kitty popcorn (ga-boing up) and came down with her back claws out... Into husband's bare butt.

So anyhoo - if Piper's getting old? Eyesight goes, they get startled more easily... And... Well, Weasel was fine, too, at her last check up. Not all that long ago. In cats it shows up pretty suddenly.
 
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