OMG I would have flipped out waking up to that right next to me! Living out in the country in CA for as long as I did, did nothing for my fear of rodents. Or spiders for that matter lol.

Hey, better that than the prize I once received from the late, lamented Simon (gone nearly 10 years now). 

I discovered that particular dead mouse when I rolled out of bed and into my slippers.  Can’t recall exactly how high I jumped when my toes encountered something unexpected.  The dude sat nearby, admiring himself and his handiwork.

Well, you see, the important thing is that we *find* our presents. They know exactly where to place them so that we *notice* so that we are sure to amply reward them for their thoughtfulness.

Fortunately, Jennifer, I have no fear of mice, dead or alive. It didn’t bother me. It made me laugh, though. He was *so* proud!

They don’t need praise or reward.  My cat certainly never got any approbation, it didn’t stop her.  hahaha.  I most certainly wasn’t pleased to have a HALF dead mouse in my living room the one time.  Thank goodness the apt had all hardwood floors.  I just looked the other way, and didn’t let her lick my skin for 2 days.  haha.
Now, I just turn a blind eye to the spider hunting.

I go with the Don’t Pay Attention Don’t Acknowledge It policy myself.  haha.

I’ve read good things lately about mice and rats, particularly rats, making excellent pets.  Can’t see any reason to be afraid of the wild mouse variety.  (Wild rats, however, are another matter for disease control.) I’m thinking when she’s a bit older, a rat would make a great pet for our 2 year old. 

Spiders, you say?  Spiders are fun!

My home office (?!?) is in the basement, which is unfinished for the moment.  Nothing bigger than centipedes down there, which leave me alone for the most part.  Ah, but the spiders…

We get three distinct kinds in our area.  Wolf spiders, which are big hairy suckers, but are afraid of their own shadows.  A good puff of breath will send them packing.  Sac spiders, which I kill on site, since they carry cytotoxic venom.  It won’t kill, but it will burn skin pretty badly. Then there are the whispy little ones who like to come visit me while I’m on the computer.  They just drop from the ceiling, nice and slow from their webs.  Sometimes right in front of my face, and I just gently blow them up on my monitor.  They can play up there, it’s warm.  Sometimes, though, I’ll get this little tickle on my ear or back of my neck, and I know somebody’s come to play.  A quick brush, and they can go play elsewhere. 

I take the view that Stinky is doing me a service by getting rid of any house mice. I like mice, but not in my house. They chew on things. Like wires. I really don’t like messing with mouse traps, so I’m more than pleased that Stinky does the work for me. And, because he’s so proud of himself when he catches one, I’m pleased to tell him what a fine fellow he is and how excited I am about it all. I figure that reinforces the behavior.

Now that Stinky isn’t outside keeping the mouse population down to a minimum, I suppose it’s logical that they’ve started finding their way into the house. Go Stinky! Catch mice!

Over the years I’ve had a pet rat and several pet mice. The rat was kind of a cantankerous old guy...a former lab rat. I’d be cranky too if I’d been a lab rat. The mice were wonderful. Gentle and even kind of affectionate. One of them liked to crawl in just past the cuff on my sleeve and sleep in there.

I wanna pretty avatar too.  How can I do that? I’ll use this one for now:

Be glad Stinky brings you dead mice...our kitten brings us live run away critters.

I figured it out.  Now I’m pending approval.

Drum rollllll....what did Karan choose? You guys are fun!

A mouse scampering around in my bed before I was fully awake would have done more for me than a four shot espresso. And then some. I’m glad Stinky is a no prisoners kind of hunter.

I figure that reinforces the behavior.

Well, that’s what I mean - it’s not really necessary.  My cat has gotten no encouragement in that area, and she’s still gung-ho.  haha.

I kind of feel sorry for mice.

Rats, I’m not too particularly fond of.  Not that I’m out to have them killed though. 
A guy I dated YEARS AGO told me he named his rat after me.  A rat he had when he first met me & was dating my friend.  Uh-huh.

I have a friend with a pet snake now, and he always keeps a rat in a cage next to the snake.  It’s food.  He’s offered the rat to me to make friends with it.  I don’t make friends with food.  Something about it strikes me as wrong.  He himself will cuddle a rat, pet it, and then drop it in with the snake.  Something about that doesn’t sit right with me, I must say.

There’s only one species of poisonous spider where I live, and it only lives in rock piles and rotting wood.  Rarely found indoors in the city.  So I don’t worry.  Spiders are better than bugs - spiders eat bugs.  On the other hand I don’t really like them creeping around all the same.  Spiders eat bugs, cat eats spiders… I try not to think about it.

What I have a real problem with is when the cats eat crickets. They always leave the legs and a couple of the crunchier parts behind. It’s so gross having to pick those up off the floor. And, of course, what goes down, often comes up. Yuck!

Dave, you have no idea what reading your comment did to me.    I don’t think I will be right all day. (she says while shivers go through her body) I am avoiding my bathroom and using the kids because my son spotted a spider in there this morning. They chase me, I swear they do! My kids think its funny that when I do get the courage to throw something at one that it will come right for me! Evil,evil little things.

Flipped out, I would have.  Although I’m not a fan of poison, I have made exceptions with satisfying results.

Oh m’god, I am sitting here howling......I wish I had the time to share some of “my” mouse stories with you all.  Perhaps I will blog about them--I have a few, one of which included a live mouse in my bed at 3AM and my cat trying to catch it.  I think he thought it was deader than it was when he brought it there, but then it got away from him.........Yes, I definitely think I shall blog about it as I am laughing as I remember. (I wasn’t laughing then, tho!!) ANd then there was the time they (it??) ate nearly all the wires and hoses and hosings in my “new” car- Ahhhh, yes, and that one cost a pretty penny, Yup, definitely got to blog..

Dave--you are certifiable, for sure.  You totally creeped me out.......My skin is crawling!!  Where did you say you live?  I am never going to whatever state it is!!

Have a great night, everyone…

Huh. I had to go look up the Sac Spider. It looks like the little critter that nabbed me a couple of years ago. Complete with the swelling and the broken blister and the fairly long healing time—at least a couple of months. It crawled up the inseam of my jeans and nailed me on the side of my knee.  Nasty little thing.