The midnight cat circus
Suzy Cat has a bad habit of bringing in live "toys" from the catio. The usual procedure is to get gloves and a kitchen towel, grab the small mouse or bird, and free them outside.
I was headed to bed last night, and found 3 of the cats huddled in the hallway. They had cornered a mouse. I left to get gloves and kitchen towel. The kitchen is all of 8 steps away. By the time I get back, Rocky had the mouse in his mouth. We made eye contact, and Rocky bolted to the bedroom, with the mouse! Not wanting a dead mouse left on the bed, I give chase. Rocky opened his mouth, the mouse dropped, and made a speedy escape under the dresser. Ugh.
So at midnight I am pulling out drawers from the dresser so Rocky can go inside and grab the mouse. He thinks all this is great fun. There is a ruckus in the bathroom. The mouse had escaped Rocky's notice and made his way into the bathroom, followed by 4 other cats. I grab Rocky and toss him in the bathroom too. I close the door hoping that with 5 cats in the small space the mouse will be taken care of. After a few minutes of quiet I open the door. The mouse is doing laps around the bathroom floor while the cats watch. I get the gloves, step in and close the door. The mouse runs under Witch Hazel's feet(She did a "eeep, cooties!" dance),Rocky's feet (Didn't even notice) and squishes under the closed door, making another escape. I open the door and all the cats give chase. Mouse goes back into the bedroom.
It is now 12:30. I have been up since 4 AM. The cats are all parked in front of the closet. Husband found a mouse trap from somewhere and set it inside the closet. We close the closet, turn off the lights and go to bed, with the cats still staring at the closet.
This morning the cats were snoozing on the bed like nothing happened. The mouse trap has not been sprung. The cats do not seem to be interested in any dark corners or closets. The mouse is either inside a cat's stomach or made a miraculous escape to the basement...