Now I vaguely remember that you wrote it. ๐ But I didn't remember the details so thank you for writing it again here.
You did a good job and a good deed raising mice ๐and this story is pretty unique and touching.
I definitely believe that you were sad when the mice died. After everything you and the mice went through together, an emotional connection was inevitable.
๐It's an epic little true story. Very memorable. ๐
I'm still feeding the rat hidden in the Kitchen sink cabinet. I have to befriend him to get a chance to get him out of the house alive. ๐Imagine a rat that lives surrounded by seven cats, many of whom would gladly kill a rat and some of them will surely eat him.
Maybe he will spend in that cabinet the rest of his life. This is also a possibility. The good thing is that since he gets delicious food delivered in the cabinet, I don't see any signs of rat activity anywhere else in the kitchen. I clean the cabinet every day becouse it stinks like a mini zoo, and everything works with no big problems so far.
With all the blogging on Hive, I don't have the time to spend some an hour or so in front of the cabinet to get the rat costumed to my presence when I bring the food, that's the only problem. I think that if I would sit down there and spend a couple of hours reading to kill the time, the rat and I would get OK relatively quickly. It works with insects and lizards when I'm photographing outdoors.
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I forgot to mention the smell. Took a lot of cage cleaning to keep the house from reeking of mouse musk๐
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I found the mice were sociable to varying degrees. Some would come out of their cages and play on my hand. Others (particularly the patriarch) would bite me as I tried to socialize with them. I thought they must be very lonely, each in its own habitat. One was so terrified it never came out of its hut when I was close by. I called that mouse Hat Mouse because it was always under some sort of cover.
Your rat seems to be quite clever, although not avoiding cats doesn't seem to be very clever. Good luck with socializing this rat. Although perhaps you should get a tetanus booster, just in case it gets temperamental and gives you a nip. ๐ I got a booster after the first bite. I knew it wouldn't be my last.
Good luck with your little improbable pet. Please keep us informed. Quite a saga, in both cat and rodent world.
Thanks for the tetanus booster advice. ๐