Expanding the Arsenal

I am not known for sharing well. I don't share my husband with the floozies who hit on him while he's deployed, I don't let almost anyone else drive my Jeep, and I have been known to close the gate to the driveway for an entire day just to enjoy the solitude.

So you can imagine that when I found out there were mice in my house I was NOT happy. I might have felt a tiny twinge of discomfort when we found the first one dead in a trap in the basement (I'd never used mouse traps before), but when we found evidence of one in MY kitchen it was officially war.

The gentleman who lived here previously seemed nice enough, but he was not exactly what I'd call pro-active. Mouse-proofing the property apparently never occurred to him. So between the basement and garage we killed nearly 20 of the little monsters. I'd hoped that my beloved Arthas would be of help in this; some border collies love mice. They're crunchy (at least at first) and they squeak - just like toys, right? Unfortunately, while he's vigilant and ferocious in protecting us against other people, turkeys, deer and a host of other things, Arthas is completely unconcerned by mice.  

So we decided to expand the arsenal.

 

Meet Archimedes. He was born on a local dairy farm and we expect he'll take to mousing like a fish to water. We brought him on board yesterday, and as soon as he gets comfortable around here the responsibility for decimating the mouse population will rest in his capable paws.

He's a bit petrified of Arthas still (though Arthas is wonderful with him), but coming around. He's spunky and curious and adorable. This will be a bit of a new venture for us. My husband has never had a cat before, and this will be the first intentionally outdoor cat I've ever owned. Not having a proper barn, I don't know if we can call him a barn cat, but that's the basic idea.

For now, though, he's prowling the house and getting used to us. I have high hopes that he will settle in and be a great addition.