Early this morning (about 4:30ish) I woke up to a clattering and squealing coming from the kitchen. Like, some pretty loud squeals, and rattling and clattering. I knew there was a mouse caught in one of the traps set in the space behind the stove and under sink and cupboards. So I thought, this darn thing probably got caught by the tail, and will now get away. But it continued to clatter around. And continued to clatter around. After about 20 minutes of it clattering, I figured it must be a RAT because a mouse would have died of fright after a few minutes.
And this noise kept me awake. After it had clattered for about 1/2 hour, I chose a time when A was turning over in his sleep to ask him, 'Do you hear that?' Then told him it's been clattering for so long, it must be a rat. He got up after a while, and said yeah, a mouse would not likely still be alive - probably a rat. But since it couldn't get out from the space where it was (unless it got out of the trap- then would likely go back where it came from- that probably being a space where the water pipes come up from the floor ... in that space. A place where I always keep some poison for them to feed on, should they come uninvited ... I'm quite accommodating ... a real nice hostess!) ... anyway, it wouldn't get out of that space, and had tried for so long by this time to get out of the trap, it was likely not getting out. And will eventually die there. So A went back to sleep. But - tho' I realized all these things (this thing is trapped until it dies) - I was envisioning the RAT!!, and how long it's tail quite likely is. And how it's relatives will likely be following it into OUR kitchen in the days soon to follow.
And it rattled around down there, on and off, until 6:45 when the alarm went off. Then it went quiet. Of course. And didn't hear it all the while as A got ready and left to work, and then I got 6 kiddos up and off to school. Then it was just Mr. C. and I at home, and some time after the house got quiet, the rattling started again. Good grief!! I'm so obsessed by the thought of a rodent in the house, it takes over my thought processes, and I wasn't getting much done around the house. Because there was a RAT rattling under the cupboards in MY kitchen.
Finally it had been quiet for a bit, so I banged on the stove for a bit, then carefully moved it out a bit to see what I could see. Tho' I knew I would not want to see that RAT!!, I knew I will not get over this until I see it is DEAD!! And ... there was a common, ordinary mouse. The trap was on it's HEAD!! And it was still BREATHING! Yikes!! Anyway- this super-mouse was rattling around for about 8 hours before it finally went quiet for good. And the trap was on it's head. I can't figure out how in the world it lived. Ok, so it lived the snap of the trap, but to live for so many hours after that - seems crazy!!
What it did ... it totally messed up my day. My Friday. I did not have any extra kids in the house today. I should have been doing a Friday cleaning. Yet I accomplished very little.
How's it possible a critter so LITTLE can mess up the day of a person, so BIG?? And please - I do not want to hear anything about cruelty to critters! I would say if anything at all, I was much more traumatized than this mouse!
