I caught a mouse in my apartment the other day, and what was odd was how easy it was to catch him. Normally they’re very skittish creatures, but this little guy walked right up to me and stood up on my foot. He stayed in one place while I got a box, I put a cookie in it, then walked him to a park. He didn’t want to get out of the box, so I dumped him out with his cookie and said goodbye.
Was this a tame mouse who recognized me? My building is being renovated and the workers have left holes in the walls that are letting creatures in. I’ve seen some (or maybe it’s the same mouse) mice out of the corner of my eye, and mice that seem to be looking at me, but they run as soon as I acknowledge them.
My mom told me the mouse could have been sick though, possibly with rabies, which seems more likely. I don’t know about rabies specifically, but something was definitely off about his behavior. I didn’t touch him at all and he didn’t try to bite or act aggressive.
The mouse holes are being plugged up by the contractor ASAP, because I don’t want to be potentially exposed to rabid mice.
If he was sick with rabies he would not be able to swallow food. Very few rodents get rabies for some reason. Behavior is not all that unusual I had a little mouse on my last job that used to join me for lunch at my desk each day. Maybe one of the other tenants had been feeding him.
Hmm, not being able to swallow food didn’t occur to me. I didn’t see him eat the cookie. But he was definitely interested in it. Maybe he didn’t eat it because he was scared and a rabid animal may not have been interested in it. I looked at the CDC link and feel a little better, although there are feral cats in my neighborhood which maybe could spread rabies. I’ve never seen a cat acting rabid however.
Perhaps he was a tame mouse. Now I feel a bit sad about abandoning him in a park.
Unfortunately I was not able to equip him with a little outfit or a suitcase. I hope I didn’t send a naked Stuart Little to his death. But I suppose if he had some sort of illness or parasite he would have died anyway. And with any luck he’ll learn how to survive in the wild.
According to our discussion with Animal Control after an incident with a squirrel, not only is it extremely rare for rodents to acquire rabies, it is almost impossible that an animal as small as a mouse would survive the initial attack.
I know nothing about mice, but I do know the times we have rescued abandoned young squirrels (just slightly too young to be on their own) they have come right up to us and looked at us like “help me I can’t find my mommy”. They seem to reach a point where natural fear of humans is overridden by the fear of being alone, or of dying of starvation.
Awww, those poor squirrels. I’m glad you were able to rescue them.
I’m not pregnant, so I’m not concerned about toxoplasmosis.
I was wondering about the long tail. I found this: Picture of Different Types of Rodents and he appears to be a woodland jumping mouse. That could explain the splayed out feet if he wasn’t sick or injured.
Awww, those poor squirrels. I’m glad you were able to rescue them.
I’m not pregnant, so I’m not concerned about toxoplasmosis.
I was wondering about the long tail. I found this: Picture of Different Types of Rodents and he appears to be a woodland jumping mouse. That could explain the splayed out feet if he wasn’t sick or injured.
ETA: Maybe not, he does have big feet that would naturally be out to the sides, but not the way he’s holding them.
