Trapped!
Country dwellers such as myself are all too familiar with unwelcome guests. One of these is the common house mouse. I am very familiar with the telltale signs of a mouse invasion and the resultant damages left to roam free. Come fall these critters will filter in homes hunting shelter and food from the nasty northern winters of Pennsylvania.
I've lived here since 2004 and rented 1/2 a duplex and have experienced all manner of destruction their little tracks can bring. One such issue is the packing in my once new kitchen stove. The mice infiltrated this insulation layer and my son, Bill, who happens to work on appliance's came and replaced the insulation to the tune of $100. The mice again destroyed said insulation a year or two following this. Since the thermostat on the door became nonfunctional around that time and would cost an additional $100, we decided to not fix it this time. I purchased a counter top rotisserie style oven and that is what we bake in.
In 2014 I had to put my beloved Sasha to sleep. I was heartbroken. I planned on adopting another husky one day. In May I took a walk preparing for a well anticipated vacation to Florida to see my little sister. I never walked that direction but felt ambitious that hot day.
God sent me a gift in the form of an abandoned kitten. It was about six weeks old and crying on the woods at the edge of the road. I didn't want a cat. I had several through the years while married and my last one took off in the city. I captured the runaway cat, W by name, it a few months after he split a couple blocks from the apartment he ran from. When I saw W I caught him and set up my apartment with new cat supplies draining funds. Two weeks after this, W the cat disappeared again. I realized he liked being on his own and gave up.
I tried to give this new kitten to my daughter, but she couldn't come out to my place to get him and since I drove an hour each way to work early in the morning, I wasn't able to transport him to her home.
By Monday, the kitten seemed to enjoy my company and my daughter said, "You found it for a reason. I named it Newt after the little girl in Aliens and downloaded a cat app on my phone to amuse her. Only while on vacation did my son's wife, who was caring for Newt, advise me that Newt was really a male. His name stuck anyway.
Since 2014 I have no problem with mice since Newt is a dedicated mouser. If mouse in the house, Newt patiently stalks it until it's eradicated. This past winter we found a mouse which managed to climb a curtain and perch precariously up on a curtain rod until we saw it. He scaled a high sheet hung to keep warmth in the livingroom and I released the terrified creature outside, but he probably found his way back in the basement if he lived out the cold exile, though I can't confirm it. He resembled a hamster in color and was nearly as large. I just couldn't bring myself to kill it.
Hang on for dear life! I have no clue how long he waited for help
Newt the magnificent mouser!
Time's up!
Today's prompt is [mouse droppings](https://steemit.com/freewrite/@mariannewest/day-635-5-minute-freewrite-wednesday-prompt-mouse-droppings
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