This is my rough guide to hunting down and catching Mice in my very own words & Pictures.
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| My Pal Percy & Me. He sometimes lends a hand when I go Hunting. |
Now the first thing I hear you say is - ''Ozzie you only have one eye old friend, doesn't that make it difficult to catch Mice's '', well the answer to that is a Big No ! I think because I lost the sight in my left eye gradually as the Tumour grew, by the time it had to be removed I had adapted to it very well.
I can still do my old trick of running at full speed from my outdoor run through the cat flap into the Conservatory through the Kitchen door Cat flap ( which I have taken off its hinges on three occasions & on two of those have ended up in the living room wearing the Flap around my middle ! ) now its into the living room taking a tight right hander up the stairs, then right again at the top of the stairs, into the bedroom around the bed and repeat in reverse order. Most times I have the added pressure of my Sister chasing me about an inch from my tail !
Now lets get on to the important stuff like.......catching Mice's !
Yes I know what's coming now, you are going to say ''Ozzie not only do you have one eye but when you go outdoors you wear a Harness & have your Mum or Dad with you''.
That is very true but my track record of three Mice caught so far this year means its not hampering my Hunting abilities.
So far all my hunting successes have been when I'm out with my Dad we are bit like ''The A Team'', I'm like John ''Hannibal'' Smith and my Dad is more like ''Howling Mad'' Murdock ! - we then put on our virtual Cloaks of invisibility & switch to 'Stealth Mode' - its only then that .......We are ready to go a Hunting !
The first thing is a thorough Patrol of the Garden making a mental note of potential places of interest, it helps if you have a friend to help i.e. ''A Percy'', (We loosely base ourselves as the Cat version of the ''Chuckle Brothers'') - you can cover more ground with two of you. The next step is having identified possible sites of interest, more in depth investigation is needed.
I can still do my old trick of running at full speed from my outdoor run through the cat flap into the Conservatory through the Kitchen door Cat flap ( which I have taken off its hinges on three occasions & on two of those have ended up in the living room wearing the Flap around my middle ! ) now its into the living room taking a tight right hander up the stairs, then right again at the top of the stairs, into the bedroom around the bed and repeat in reverse order. Most times I have the added pressure of my Sister chasing me about an inch from my tail !
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| All Harnessed up and ready to go on Patrol ! |
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| Setting out on Patrol |
Now lets get on to the important stuff like.......catching Mice's !
Yes I know what's coming now, you are going to say ''Ozzie not only do you have one eye but when you go outdoors you wear a Harness & have your Mum or Dad with you''.
That is very true but my track record of three Mice caught so far this year means its not hampering my Hunting abilities.
So far all my hunting successes have been when I'm out with my Dad we are bit like ''The A Team'', I'm like John ''Hannibal'' Smith and my Dad is more like ''Howling Mad'' Murdock ! - we then put on our virtual Cloaks of invisibility & switch to 'Stealth Mode' - its only then that .......We are ready to go a Hunting !
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| The Meeting ! A Plan of Action is Hatched Percy thinks we should start by going that way....I think the other way....might have to toss a coin to decide this one ! |
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On Patrol.
Percy is checking the perimeter fences for possible Targets !
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The first thing is a thorough Patrol of the Garden making a mental note of potential places of interest, it helps if you have a friend to help i.e. ''A Percy'', (We loosely base ourselves as the Cat version of the ''Chuckle Brothers'') - you can cover more ground with two of you. The next step is having identified possible sites of interest, more in depth investigation is needed.
Lets take a look by this fence:
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| This looks like a likely place ! |
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| No.... I don't think they live here any more ! |
No Good.........Lets move on to another possible site !
Before we do.....I need to keep my energy levels up, so time to pop indoors and have a Tasty 'Stick Treat'.I love them..... but my Mum & Dad say they smell like ''Sweaty old Socks'' !
Before we do.....I need to keep my energy levels up, so time to pop indoors and have a Tasty 'Stick Treat'.I love them..... but my Mum & Dad say they smell like ''Sweaty old Socks'' !
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| That was Delicious... I'm all topped up with Energy ........so lets carry on Hunting ! |
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| Now this looking more promising. I'm detecting a strong smell of Mice |
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| Yes I can definitely smell Mice's ! |
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| Now lets take a look lower down the wall. |
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| I'm sure there is something in here, I think a little Paw investigation is needed here ! |
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| Time to get my Paw really deep into the wall (Mental note to myself, don't get your Paw stuck, that would be embarrassing !) |
We are having no luck here........time to move to another spot !
Lets take a look in the undergrowth !
Just let you know the mouse was not harmed. I have a ''gentle mouth'' and Dad made me let it go (didn't want to though !) it then ran off, never mind I can always catch up with it another day !
I hope this might have been of help to some of you.
Thank you for taking the time to read my article, hopefully there will be more stories and adventures to come in the near future
x Ozzie x
Lets take a look in the undergrowth !
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| I'm going in ! |
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| Gone deep undercover....... just patiently waiting for any sign of movement. |
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| Here we go ....think I've spotted some movement in here ! |
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| Yes I was right...... let me at it ! |
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| Success ! |
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| ''Proud Ears'' |
I hope this might have been of help to some of you.
Thank you for taking the time to read my article, hopefully there will be more stories and adventures to come in the near future
x Ozzie x
