There might be a new kind of cat toy around here, although I sincerely hope not.

This morning, our next-door neighbor asked if we'd seen any mice recently. The answer, fortunately, is "No", and I hope it remains that way.

However, it appears that there is a mouse problem in the entire neighborhood. I'm willing to bet that it's because there is a LOT of building of new houses taking place where there was a large empty lot. All the digging and laying down of water mains, gas pipes, etc is probably driving out whatever critters lived in said empty lot. Since my street is less than a block away from all this activity, I'm not surprised that our block (and the next block, as well) are starting to experience a problem.

Fortunately, Captain and Stanley's presence seems to be enough to deter any uninvited critters from trying to move into this house. So far, there's been absolutely no evidence of any rodent encroachment. No sane mouse would take up residence in a house with two cats, not when there are plenty of catless houses nearby to choose from. That goes double for the fact that THIS particular pair of cats is still young and playful enough to be in "Pounce on anything that moves!" mode during every waking moment of their day.

I don't think that any rodent would last long if either of these cats got hold of it. If they didn't actually figure out how to kill it, the poor thing would probably die of fright or exhaustion after being tag-teamed by both of them.

I did promise our neighbor that I'd keep a close eye on just what the cats were playing with. I hope that the only mouse-shaped things that the cats have to play with are actual TOYS, not real mice or ex-mice. ;o)