Is There a Mouse in the House?

Years ago my husband and I acquired a cat who started letting mice into our house. There was a pet door to our laundry room that allowed her to go outdoors or back inside whenever she desired. When she came inside the laundry room, she would scratch on the door to the kitchen, so that we could allow her to come into the house. Suddenly, and without warning, she would scratch, then rush inside whenever we would open the door. From the corner of her mouth, dangled a hapless mouse. Kiki would let the mouse run free much to the delight of the other cats. For some mysterious reason Kiki kept up this routine of allowing mice into the house. The rodents turned loose never wandered far. Soon one of my other cats would chase it down, and I would have to dispose of the remains. Usually, the mouse died completely of fright. The indoor cats had no clue that they were supposed to eat the creature they had just caught. One by one each of the cats caught a mouse. At last, I even got into the act. I managed to corral one of the critters, then I carried it deep into the woods where I turned it loose to obtain life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Whatever that means in mouse terms.

Kiki's actions were a complete mystery to me until one day I viewed a television animal show about cats. The commentator said that some maternally oriented females will take it upon themselves to teach other cats--usually indoor cats to mouse. The teacher cat will bring live prey so that the others can gain hunting skills. So that's what she was doing! Mystery solved.

The mouse in the house ritual stopped after each one of the indoor cats and I had caught a mouse. After that, Kiki never brought another mouse inside the house. I suppose she realized that her job was done.

My husband and I had Kiki from 1990 until she disappeared in 2005. She was getting old. I just hope she found a nice resting place before she passed away. Hopefully it was near a field of mice.

The Dog Who Finds Lost Cats

Whenever I lose a cat, I call my next door neighbor on the phone.

"Miss M, would you please let Tiger outside? I need his help finding my cat."

Yes, Tiger has an unusual talent for a dog. He can locate lost cats. Whenever his services are summoned, I tell him,

"Tiger, you need to find Tibby."

That's all it takes. Tiger puts his nose to the ground and starts tracking. One might think that he is a bloodhound, but he's actually a golden retriever with more intelligence than some humans I've known. He always understands what I am telling him, and he wastes no time getting down to business. Tiger inevitably leads me to the lost kitty. He has never failed to do so. I have used his services on many occasions. Yesterday he helped me locate my black cat who escaped out of my house when some carpenters were doing some repair work on the back of my home. Cats hate noise and disorder. The errant kitty was found on top of the storage shed. Tiger found him in about two minutes.

One of the most unusual canine sleuth jobs occurred last week. Tibby as usual got out of the house and stayed gone all day. Like my black cat, Tibby was spooked by the carpenters. I called and searched for Tibby to no avail. It was late at night, but I made the phone call to the neighbor. She dispatched Tiger. Tiger came to the back yard and began his search. He kept indicating that Tibby was underneath the house. Tiger does this by pointing with his nose and then looking up at me. I surveyed the underside of the house about three times but did not find any indication that the cat had even been under there.

In frustration, I finally threw up my hands and said,"Tiger, you need to fetch the cat and bring him to my front porch."

I then resigned myself to going inside the house sans feline. I wasn't inside the house for more than a couple of minutes when my husband felt that he should open the door. He just had a vague impression that he needed to do that. Hubby opened the door and looked down. Tibby was sitting there smirking at him.

Coincidence? Perhaps, but who knows. As far as I am concerned, Tiger deserves his place on thecanine version of Mensa. That is one smart dog.

Easter Greetings

One of my friends sent me the following essay. I felt that the article deserved to be reprinted:


Easter is the most joyous of all Christian holidays.
It is the foundation of the Christian faith. Without Easter and the Resurrection there would be no Christianity. The message of Easter is not just for Christians. The message of Easter goes beyond Christianity and touches the hearts of all good people everywhere.
The message of Easter is a message of celebration; a celebration of the ultimate triumph of hope and love.
In a weary world, battered by hate, war, greed, dwindling resources, starvation, hopelessness, violence and evil, the message of Easter shines like a lighthouse above a dark and treacherous shore. It is a message that all who listen will hear - whether they be Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, agnostics or atheists.Open eyes and hearts and see and hear the true message of Easter - and it belongs not to Christians alone. For the message of Easter brings the broader message of hope; of love conquering evil; and of life conquering death. The message of Easter is one of light victorious over darkness; of hope triumphing over hopelessness; of love conquering hate; and of faith reigning supreme over fear. It is the single most hopeful message to all mankind that ultimately right will prevail over wrong.The message of Easter gives all of us, Christians or not, a promise that life trumps death; good trumps evil; light trumps darkness; and that love trumps hate. Who among us wishes that death will ultimately prevail? Or that darkness will be victorious over light? Would any good person hope that hate will ultimately triumph over love?The true Christian is tolerant of other religions and other beliefs. And in that spirit of Christianity we must make the message of Easter more than just a Christian message.. We must share this message of rebirth and hope with all our brothers and sisters, of all other religions and beliefs; even non-believers. Those who listen will hear the message of Easter. They will not be deafened by secularism or doctrine or ideology. Easter's message of hope, light and love is universal. This Easter, let all Christians hope that all good people, everywhere, listen and hear the message of Easter and the Resurrection as a universal message of life, hope, light, love, and faith. A message that will touch every good human heart.
And let us all remember that without hope there can be no love; and without love we are nothing.
Above all, Easter's message is one of hope. It is a message which proclaims the triumph of love over hate and of life over death. This year, more than ever before, we hope that in this world tormented by hate, war, greed and despair and hopelessness, the message of Easter will be heard by all good people all over the world regardless of religion. Hope and love do not belong to one religion, they are universal. And so is the message of Easter.

---anonymous