They're not as cute as Mickey

Before I got married, I lived with my dad, in the house where I grew up.  I had Leo for about two and a half years while living there.  And in that time, Leo proved his worth to my somewhat cat-skeptical father by ridding the house of mice. 

I know it sounds gross, and you probably think that we live in filth, but it's just not so.  The house sits next to a large wooded area, and when it gets cold, the mice come into the house because it's warm.  The fact that there's food everywhere doesn't hurt either.  My father despises mice.  And to put this in context, I've watched the man squash palm-sized spiders with his bare hand.  He fears very few things, but he cannot stand mice.  

I adopted Leo from the shelter at animal control.  My now husband had adopted a cat there about seven months earlier.  I, a self-proclaimed dog person, couldn't understand the appeal.   But that cat, Linus, grew on me, and eventually I went for one of my own.  Leo is Linus's brother.  They were found hiding together in a bush.  Seven months after A brought home Linus, Leo leapt up on a cat condo at the shelter, batted at my hand, and I took him home.  

Leo is, per my father, "a big cat."  And this is true.  He's also a giant mush, and asthmatic to boot.  And once he got accustomed to his new living quarters, he started spending a lot of time stalking the living and dining rooms.  That's when the tiny little corpses started to pile up. 

The first time he caught a mouse, I didn't even realize what had happened.  He's a spoiled cat, and I've given him a million mouse toys.  So when he started playing with what I thought was one of those toys, I called my sister in to witness the cuteness.  Only when the "toy" hit the floor did i start realizing that something was wrong.  And that's when I started yelling, "REAL MOUSE!  REAL MOUSE!"  

It was the first of many.  All of this leading to now.  We've lived in the same apartment for three years.  On many occasions, my landlord has asked if we've seen any mice.  I've confidently replied, "If there were mice, we'd know."  

This morning, I awoke to find Leo guarding what I'm sure he hopes is the first of many.