Thursday, September 17, 2009

How to scare the bejeezus outta your Mom

We've had a bit of a mouse problem in our apartment lately — and frankly, Mica has been delighted. These are pretty stupid mice to come into an apartment with a cat and a mouser dog. (Petey's caught one, Mica has caught 3 over the past month.) The exterminator has been here FOUR times.

Mommy tried live-capture traps and had zero luck with them. She told the exterminator that she didn't want to use glue-traps because they seem way too cruel.

But after the third mouse sighting, she agreed to poison that the mice injest, then go back to the nest where they die surrounded by friends and family. We also stuffed a likely entry hole in the floor with industrial strength steel wool.

But tonight, instead of scaring Mommy by prancing into the living room with a mouse in his mouth, Mica came in with a bag of mouse poison, which tore open when he dropped it. Mommy put the steel mesh trash can over Mica so he couldn't eat the poison, then went to get the vacuum. When she came back with it, I was giving the poison a sniff so I was ordered up on the couch while she frantically vacuumed. There was a trail of little blue green pellets leading from the bathroom to the bedroom to the living room.

And since we're leaving early tomorrow morning, Mommy called the emergency vet two blocks away. Long story short, we both went it, were given stuff to make us puke, some intravenous fluids, then a nightcap of activated charcoal (which I threw up on the walk home.) The good news is, the vet didn't see anything blue in our puke and the charcoal should protect us from any remnants.

$525 later...

We're now home resting. Mom's a bit exhausted from the ordeal as well but she still has to finish packing!

Ahhh, the trouble a 19 1/2 year old cat can get into...isn't he supposed to just act like a stuffed animal with batteries, sleeping 23 hours a day?

MORNING UPDATE: Mica puked up some charcoal last night on the living room rug - two big black stains. Oh! And I drank lots of water and peed on the bed this morning - through the bedspread, comforter, sheets and mattress pad. Mommy just loves doing laundry at 6:15 am!

Also, ChemDry Stain Extinguisher, available at Home Depot, is a godsend!

26 comments:

Sophie Brador said...

Petey! I can't tell you how relieved I am. And mom just about freaked out completely, because you know she loves you to pieces ... and Mica too. We are so so so happy you are okay. Now stop playing with poison! Tell Mica the same. AND ... no playing with those alligators on vacation. Next time I see you, I want to see you in one piece.

xo
SB

P.S. My brother is weird like you and likes cats. He'll probably crush all over Mica if he meets her. Maybe they can snooze together.

Asta said...

Oh My Dog Petey
you scawed the Bej#$*@ out of ne
POISON????
It doesn't even look like a tennis ball..ow a tweat , and it smells yucky
What wewe you thinking?????????????
Youw poow MOM..she did NOT need this especially the day befowe youw twip.
Thankdog fow the vet and peace of mind..but OUCH that $$$$$$
stay safe
smoochiekisses
ASTA

Ziggy Stardust said...

Oh dear, that doesn't sound good at all. I am glad that you are both ok. We get mice too sometimes, my Mom got one of those plug in the wall things and so far so good. Please be more careful. One time Mommy did try a glue trap out of frustration and guess what I found it and brought it to her on my face. That was a nightmare, none of us will forget. Mice are no good!

licks and sniff,Sasha

Sally said...

OH NO!!!! What was Mica thinking? Poison!!!! You poor things - did the mice make Mica do it? They have pretty extraordinary powers - D has a mouse in the garage - he has died several times but he keeps coming back - it is a miracle - they have mysterious ways...(She calls him Mr Bojangles)
Sorry you had to puke and all - and sorry to your Mum - it isn't nice to have all this excitement before a trip - plus the spending cash is gone - when you are on holiday - promise you will stay away from the gators?
Lots of licks
Sally and Paddy

Morgan in Pittsburgh said...

Oh geez - glad you are all OK. We decided to just live with the mice. They try to move in in the fall. They mostly stay in the basement, and after Josie and Laura catch 1 or 2 the relatives seem to get the message that this house is not too mouse friendly and they move on - next door or somewhere, we guess.
your pal, Morgan

Martha said...

Oh goodness Petey! How alarming for your mom - all of it the mice - the poison - the vet bill and the fact she is due to go on holiday!!!
We do hope yu finally have a relaxing time although we seem to recall you can manage to get into trouble even on holiday!
Do be careful.
love
Aunties Martha & Bailey xxx
ps we didn't get any cheque re the Martha's Secrets bloomers and we have suggested Eric try them - apparently the heather was a bit prickly round his nether regions whilst on holiday!

Molly the Airedale said...

OMG, how scary, Petey! Your poor mom must have a few more white hairs! We're so glad you and Mica are okay!
We love that picture of Mickey in the mousie trap!

Love ya lots
Maggie and Mitch

Dexter said...

What a scare! Then you went to the vet and had a hurka party and paid a gazillion dollars for it? Oh man!

Those NYC mice must be different from ours cause ours to into the traps OK. Although we have one someplace that won't and I can hear it all scratching around upstairs at night. Sigh...

Slobbers,
Mango

Maxmom said...

Oh dearest Petey, we are so sorry for your terrible scare! What a fright your Mom must have got! Indeed these things always happen at the most inconvenient times too. We are thrilled that you are all ok though. Thank DOG!
The lesson from this....
NEVER! NEVER! NEVER trust a cat!
Lots of licks
MAXDOG IN SOUTH AFRICA

NAK and The Residents of The Khottage Now With KhattleDog! said...

YIKES!

What a thing to put your mom through!

BUT I do think woo have outdone those blakhk and tans from DaBurgh!

Maybe your mom and Mumsie need a spa month!

Please be safe!

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra

Gus said...

We are glad that this story has a positive, if expensive, outcome. You sure know how to show your mom a great time! Bet she didn't really need that handbag anyway.

Stay safe and quiet..give her a rest so you can have a good vacation.

gussie

Rocky Creek Scotties and Rocky Creek Ramblings said...

Petey - so scary!!!

Our Mom was teary eyed just thinking about it. Dad used to put poison pellets out for skunks and such, but when we came along he quit that!! Now he uses humane traps - hasn't caught one yet!!

Have a great trip.

XOXO
Lilly, Piper, Carrleigh and Java

PS - we hope she didn't have to spend your treat money on the vet bill.

Kelly said...

Petey, this is such a scary story! I am so glad the outcome is good... and I think those emergency vets might be goin' out to dinner tonight on your momma's money. They sure do take ya to the bank, don't they!? I guess it's all worth it, though!

Have a safe and fun vacation!

Tama-Chan, Benny, Vidock, Violette, Ollie, Heloise, Momo, Ryu said...

Guys! Don't you think you overdid it a teeny weeny little bit!

Glad you're both OK!

Scruffy, Lacie and Stanley's Place said...

Um...we don't know what to say...OMD...OMD>>>OMD!!!!!!

I'm pretty sure that you totally gave ur mom a heartie attack, Petey....that poison stuff is NASTY....

So activated charcoal on the carpet??? (Mumie had a patient who had tried to well never mind toss up a gallon of that stuff right in her face and down the front of her nice and white uniform....ranks right up there with grossest things to happen to a nurse....)

Yes, the Chem Dry stuff works quite nicely...we've gone through gallons of the stuff...our old foxy ripped his nail and bled all over our old house...that was at least 2 cans there....sears capture powder gets anything out too....

As for the mattress...hmm....sounds like a Stain Award to us...

Thank dog you and Mica are ok...

Why does she have 3 meeces to your one??? Get movin' Petey!!

So glad ur ok...and have a dippers for us in the ocean!!

Kisses...

Laciegirlie

Eric said...

Petey and Mica. Scared the whatsits out of me reading your terrible tail. I've earned myself another Stains award. Otis too when I told him the story. But I ate his.

How is Mom?Has her heart returned to her chest yet? Please don't you two never ever do anything like that again ever. Promise? S'pose the only good thing is at least Mica did it when you when you were all at home not when you and Mom was away. Crickey that thought has made me stain again.

Now I'll be over soonest with a Hugely Enormous bag of cotton wool to wrap you all up in. In the meantime you all take good care.

Wiry loves and kisses Eric xxx

Clive said...

Mom here always reckons that the night before a holiday is the time when things will always go wrong!

What an evening for your poor Mom, the worry, the vet bill, and all the cleaning up.

Glad to hear you're both fine but your poor Mom will really need a rest after all that.

Enjoy the break away
Clive

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

Oh dear, what a nightmare! So glad they didn't actually get any or at least not enough to do any damage. Mom has a horror story about rat poisoning that her little cockapoo got into years ago, happy ending but a very long recovery for a very sick little pup.

Now, let's get on with this trip with no more mishaps.

Hugs, the OP Pack

Unknown said...

Oh Petey!! Your poor, poor human! What a nightmare!! Am so glad though that neither you nor Mica swallowed any poison - even if you both had to puke a lot to confirm that! :-) I had a real giggle at what you said about what 19yrs old cats are supposed to do...hee! hee!

My human says that when she was a child, her mother used a glue trap to catch a mouse and it was the cruellest thing - the poor thing was still alive and stuck to the glue by the side of its face and obviously terrified. Hsin-Yi's parents are not really animal lovers and don't care about "vermin" and wanted to just throw the mouse out (alive!) with the trash but Hsin-Yi cried and cried - she felt so bad for it. When everyone went to bed, she secretly wrapped the mouse in up and put it in the freezer - she hoped that this way, it would get very cold and "go to sleep" - at least that was a kinder way to die than starving to death in a rubbish dump, stuck to a glue trap! Then when it was dead and frozen, she buried it outside. She never told her mother otherwise she would have got into big trouble for putting a dirty mouse in the freezer!

Slobbers,
Honey the Great Dane

Lorenza said...

Hi, Petey!
OMD! Mouses mean trouble!
Glad you two are ok!
Take care
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza

ScrapsofMe said...

Oh my! We were terrified reading your story! We are sooooo glad both of you are ok. I would think with a cat and a terrier, you shouldn't have mice. Except some dead ones littered about. Your poor mama...nighttime trips to the vet are sooooo $carey.
toodles,
Bonnie

Agatha and Archie said...

Oh dear oh dear... he has fainted dead away and it will be awhile before he wakes up from this I am sure..We know EXACTLY what your Mom is going through as every fall we go through the same thing..PL1+2 started out trying to be all humane and stuff and finally ended up getting those little houses where you put penut butter in and the mouse goes in and blam... that's all folks.... They didn't want to use poison becasue of the very reason that happened to you guys.. Plus if a mousey eats the stuff, then dies and we play with it... same affect... all in all it is easy to see why we were trained to rid the world of them... when we do.... Have a wonderfull vacation and I hope he wakes up by the time you get back.. Love and kisses A+A

Joe Stains said...

Stain EXTINGUISHER?!? I do NOT like the sound of that at all! Sorry there was so much chaos, stupid mice!! I sure hope those little varmints are gone for good.

Lucy-Fur, as typed by Dr. Liz said...

Petey! Gah! You guys aren't supposed to EAT the mouse poison - that is for the mousies! Mom and Dad have gone to traps - and the mice that aren't, uh, eliminated by the traps have been accepted as members of the family, because Mom is all freaked out about the poison thing. I'm glad you guys are all okay!

*kissey face*
-Fiona

doyle and mollie said...

woah we are glad you are ok your poor momma you owe her lots of licks and snuggles... both of you!!

Unknown said...

I didn't know cats could be that old! Anyway, you should use those electronic mouse traps from now on. Victor makes the Multi-Kill trap, which shuts off if opened, so they're safe for pets.
Here's the trap I'm referring to:
http://www.victorpest.com/store/rodent-control/m260