Where do you see these mice in the T? I’ve only seen rats down there.
Some stores only sell white mice and some people don’t want those, which is why we now have a hamster as opposed to another mouse.
Those people should just bite the bullet and get rats.
In fact, anyone considering buying a mouse should just buy a rat.
For once I agree with Melon. Rats are much better pets. Much more intelligent and loving. Mice are to look at, rats are to interact with. Buy one at a pet store, and educate yourselfbeforehand. .
Having had both, I agree that rats make better pets. I have a slightly crazy mother who keeps pet rats and her behaviour has put me off them, but it isn’t anything intrinsic to the rats themselves.
Rats are more intelligent, friendlier, easier to train and more like a companion animal like a dog. Mice can be socialised enough that you can handle them but are in many ways more like having goldfish.
Catching it would be the hardest part. Then take it to a veterinarian and convince them that it just showed up on your doorstep or something. Get it the standard rat vaccinations (whatever those happen to be).
Everyone is discouraging you, and maybe they’re right. But no one is answering your question, so I will try.
If you catch a mouse, it is very likely to be pregnant. I’m not sure how I’d lay odds, but half the mice are female, and female mice spend most of their lives pregnant or nursing, so there you go. It will most likely have lice. I don’t think (but I would check to make sure) that they are the same kind of lice humans get, so I don’t think you’ll catch it, but your cat might. You can treat them, but I’d have to read up on how. Read about pet mice; it’s common in pet mice and rats that come from bad breeders (breeders that breed for snake food).
Mice are VERY social, and your mouse will be absolutely miserable if taken from the “wild” where it has a whole mousie social network and confined to a cage. It will most likely die of sadness, or at the very least become completely neurotic. This will hamper your ability to befriend it. You have to catch two mice, at least, and they have to be the same sex, or you will have a gajillion mouse babies. This may take some doing but should be possible. Get leather gloves and read up on how to sex a mouse (it shouldn’t be hard with adults; the males have huge testes).
The mice may carry disease, but if they are running around they aren’t too sick, most likely. They may be asymptomatic carriers of something that could hurt you, but probably not. I mean, if they are on people’s shoes, people would get the disease right? I think from that standpoint you are probably ok. Note I say ‘probably’ though.
I think your odds of catching mice and ever having them like you are quite low. Mice are not generally that friendly anyway, even if hand reared, so a wild adult will probably not be easy to tame. But they are relatively smart, and if you give them a stimulating cage and only watch their antics, I think you could reach in to feed them and not get bitten much. I doubt they will live very long, also. A year or so at most, I’d guess.
Your cat will absolutely be entertained by watching the mice. Make sure the cat has all its shots, and I think it should be ok, except for the lice issue. Also, make sure the cat cannot harm the mice, and be aware they will be resourceful in trying to escape. They can chew through almost anything it seems like. If the mice get out your cat will probably eat them, and it seems cruel to do that to the mice, so be careful about that. Also, if your cat doesn’t eat them, you have wild mice in your house. So be certain they are well contained!
Your mice will probably stay close to the color you find them in. They clean themselves a lot so that is probably close to their natural fur color. I would imagine they’d lighten up some, but not too much, although I could be wrong. They are probably subway colored due to natural selection; mice that blend in well survive longer.
Oh, one last thing- be prepared that they may not be able to figure out how to use a traditional pet’s water bottle, and you may have to give them a bowl.
I’m not sure this is a good idea, but if you have your heart set on a scrappy set of subway mice, you might as well be informed. General mouse care can be found at lots of places on the Internet. Good luck!!
And I thought the decor trend of subway tile was weird enough.
Intentionally trapping and bring home wild/feral vermin? I can’t imagine what sort of objection the transit police would have as long as you’re not a nuisance about it - think of it as the reverse of littering. Replace “If everyone dropped one candy wrapper…” with “If everyone took one rat home…”