A Simple Game of Cat and Mouse

You'd think that, as a vegetarian, I would have very minimal exposure to dead animals. Unfortunately, you'd be wrong. Somewhere in the house, I fear, lies the head of a dead mouse. Being that we live in Maine, and it's winter (though I'm still wearing short sleeves, as it's a balmy 40 degrees outside), it is that special season wherin mice find a way into the house. This is when our cats enter stage left, to give the moue its final curtain call. Though our cats are strictly indoor cats, they have not lost their finely tuned mouse hunting (and apparently, mouse-killing) skills.

Yesterday morning, I stumbled upon (not literally, thank goodness!) what I can only assume is an internal organ of a mouse. Now, I did pretty well in biology class, but without other organs attatched to the organ in question, I was unable to identify it. I am, it appears, better at biology when it is in context. For example: "Oh! That's the the liver; I know this because it's right above the stomach." Anyway, I was left to pick up the mystery organ, as well as what appeared to be a tail. Yep, lucky me.

Where is the rest of the mouse? That's what I'd like to know. Did they eat it? Did they actually eat the face???? Or is it somewhere, waiting for me to find it? Neither prospect is terribly appealing.

Who is responsible for this? I know it's not Shelly. She likes to keep her prizes intact. When I came home yesterday afternoon, there was a deceased mouse, all organs where they should be, waiting for me (she puts them where she knows they will be found; if Brooke is lucky enough to find one, she will come find me, as I am apparently on eternal Mouse Duty). I picked it up and apologized to it. I think she just looks at the mouse and it dies. Shelly, you see, has no soul.

Is it Ophelia? I don't know. She's not very bright. At all. However, she does love food, and I guess technically a mouse is food.


Or is it Java? It's hard to fathom, as I think eating a mouse would really take away from her routine of crying and sleeping.

I have grown tired of finding mice. Thankfully, it seems that after a few mice turn up dead, it seems to send a warning to the other mice that this is not mouse-friendly
territory. If only the mice could read, I'd post a tiny little mouse-sized sign outside, just to save them the trouble.