Hmmm… I had (unwanted) mice & a cat. Beware, if you go the professional pest control/bait box, you may still need to deal with little mice corpses. Apparently, they don’t always make it out of the house/garage before they expire.
I wish that someone had told me long ago that some of the ceiling stains I noticed were signs of mice. I thought it was water damage from a roof leak and would call in the roofer who would tell me my roof was fine and I didn’t need to worry about that particular stain.
Whenever we have gone catless – my wife is pretty allergic to cats – we have had mice within the year, and traps, etc., have killed plenty of mice without making them go away. When we have catted-up again, the mice have been gone within a couple weeks, for good, notwithstanding that each time our new cat has been a kitten less than two months old.
I don’t know if all cats are competent mousers. I imagine if you declaw them that would be a problem. Our cats have all turned out to be excellent killers of small things, including but by no means limited to mice, but it’s something they do outside the house, not in it. Small things aren’t generally stupid enough to come into the house where the cat lives.
We, along with most neighbors in our area, periodically find mice climbing along the gas lines into the house and showing up in the kitchen. We remodeled the kitchen a couple years ago and I watched the guys seal the sub-floor, no more problems.
DH and I were crazy. We couldn’t stand the thought of killing the little guys. We used to live trap them, then drive them to a forested park and release them. Amazing number of different personalities for the critters we transported - some were clearly scared to death, some curious and others looked they wanted to befriend us and move in. Our attitude would not have held for a large infestation, I am certain.
Well, no cat in our house (I am severely allergic), I guess I am pretty brave and heartless (I am the one who disposes of pests in our house) - I had no problem throwing out the still alive mouse on the sticky pad. How do I even begin to find where it might have come in from - in my 1950’s split level house?
Have had mice problems, I made it a point to seal up any holes or around pipes and such entering the cinder block, sealed up in the kitchen holes in the wall they could use to gain access to the kitchen. What finally broke it for us was getting another cat, I trapped mice humanely and let them go elsewhere, but in the end getting our current cat (who is half feral we swear, loves to hunt), seemed to do the trick, the mice smell the cat and know they are not going to be safe,haven’t seen a mouse anywhere around the house in over a year.
@kiddie, one thing you can do is to clear leaves and brush from the area by the foundation and then look for holes. I haven’t figured out how to fill the hole(s) yet but one time, I released a live mouse and saw it go back into the hole immediately. Sigh.
Varies greatly depending on the cat. Some cats are great mousers…others not so much.
One friend who grew up in a rural area recounts that in his family’s experience, female cats are much better mousers than male cats. This was underscored by him catching one male cat not only not doing anything about the mice in a barn, but actually catching him in the act of befriending/playing with the mice he was supposed to catch and kill. Yes, a Tom and Jerry relationship…cept Tom was one with the mice gang…
Another case in which a cat proved to not be a mouser was the story my father recounted of a small female kitten being so intimidated by a pack of mice chasing her in 1950’s Taipei that she ran into a local police station. The local police confronted the mice and eventually adopted her out to one of their colleagues’ kids.
On the flipside, a 7 month old tiny female kitten belonging to a family friend staying for a while with them had absolutely no fear and eagerly took on multiple NYC rats*, happily dispatching them, and triumphantly taking their ripped up remains to her human family as “gifts”.
When I was a teenager, about 14, my sister and I were home alone. She saw a mouse and I shrieked as she threw a bread box over it. We then called our dad and he and all of his men friends trooped over from the party they were at to take of the mouse. They gathered around with all sorts of implements to catch the mouse. One guy lifted up the bread box and the rest were ready to grab it as it ran out. Except it never did… apparently, my screaming gave it a coronary and it was dead. I got a new nickname after that one - Fay Wray oy vey!
We have a cat who is indoor outdoor and I think she mouses. H hides the evidence from me because I am squeamish. I hate rodents, dead and alive.
Try the plug in sonic things, we were catching a mouse or two a day in our garage and not one since the sonic mouse preventer was plugged in.
I live in a 200 year old house in rural Maine. We have two old cats. When we moved here 6 months ago, we heard nice in the walls all the time. Now, not so much. We have found one mouse head and another mouse spine in the house. Contrary to common opinion, cats aren’t that great at getting rid of mice, but ours have definitely done something!
Well husband came home and is pretty sure where the gap is - will be filling it with insulation tonight - hopefully case closed.
"but actually catching him in the act of befriending/playing with the mice he was supposed to catch and kill. "
haha. I doubt the cat was trying to make friends. Just toying with them for entertainment before dealing a final blow.
Response to the mouse or cat issue - we have 2 cats, and I get freaked out by things like mice.
BUT, one day we had the tiniest, cutest little mouse on our brick fireplace wall. We did everything we could to get that little mouse out of the house before our kitty discovered him.
We’ve only had that one outside of our basement, that I recall.
In my old house, soon after my ex and I separated, I had to put out a trap and dispose of a mouse. I hated every minute of it, but it did help me realize I would be OK overall when I handled it.
We have a mouse right now. Cat catches, plays, releases…grrrrr. It is a cute mouse…see my avatar. This was when it ran up my curtain panel showing just his nose!
That male cat was caught in the act of allowing the mice to ride on his back as if he were a gentle horse…and it was clear he was feeding them from his supply of cat food.
Some of my friends’ family members now sometimes half-jokingly call him a “traitor” for collaborating with the mice.
Domestic cats dont hunt for food, just fun/instinct. So they definitely can just play with them!
When I was growing up we had a toy poodle that was a mouser. She would kill mice and chipmunks then bring them inside as a “gift”…
We live in the woods. I have two cats. They are pretty adept at intercepting any mice that come near. Snap traps inside take care of any that make their way in.
My very large male cat likes to eat small creatures. He does not like their heads. It is always disconcerting to find mouse heads on the door mat. He makes such a ridiculously clean cut that not even a whisker or an ear is out of place. Sometimes I feel like putting the wee heads on wood skewers in the yard as warnings to other mice.
“He does not like their heads. It is always disconcerting to find mouse heads on the door mat.”
He’s gifting the best part to you. 
reminds me of this cartoon from my childhood:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ba/67/02/ba6702c03c08eace74c13f1b4b5a40f2.jpg
I’m sure my avatars will enjoy an occasional mouse. We just don’t let the mice in, so the cats have to get by with spiders etc. I have not seen an insect in the house in a long time… They earn their kibble well.
Slightly off topic. Mr. B and I just relocated a large ant hill from our woods behind the house to the public forest… 
Took two trash cans and about an hour of work including driving.
