Murine
Only a couple of hours ago, I was thinking how nice it was that I didn't have an infestation of mice in my abode.
Then a few minutes ago I went into the kitchen and turned on the light, and something on the stove rustled, as has happened several times in the last few days. I've been assuming it was just something settling as I walked, but it seemed odd that it would happen so often. So I moved a pan to a different burner, thinking that might help. And then I saw the line of breadcrumbs trailing away from the plastic bag of stuffing mix that I left out on the counter a while back.
Sure 'nuff, there was a mouse-sized hole in the side of the bag, and mouse droppings mixed into the breadcrumb trail. I haven't actually seen Mr. or Ms. Mouse, and I'm not sure where said creature goes from the counter where the stuffing was; probably through the half-inch-wide gap behind the back of the stove and the wall, which doesn't look big enough for a mouse but perhaps it's a small mouse.
This would also explain the skritching sort of noise I've been hearing lately from an area near the top of the stairs—I was thinking it must be the neighbor's dog, but now I suspect it's actually the mouse.
I feel a certain amount of sympathy for the mouse; I wouldn't want to be outside this time of year either. On the other hand, I also don't want Mr. or Ms. mus musculus chewing on electrical wires or undermining my condo's structure or spreading disease, so I think I'd better do something about it. I suppose it's time to invest in some gnawproof containers, and to get a kitchen trash can with a lid, and to find a live trap. I'm not sure what to do with it after I trap it, though; I suppose I could try to keep it as a pet, but I suspect that's a bad idea with a wild animal, especially one likely to carry disease, and anyway I don't want any pets. Maybe I'll sell it to a pet store for snake food? Or release it in a nearby nature preserve, where it may well end up as snake food anyway?
