The circle of mice...

[JorisBonson]

Smallest boy has a new routine. Sleep all day (obviously bar a few snack breaks), go out at about 9, turn invisible and refuse to come in, then at some point in the night he will bring home a live mouse which he will let go in the house and happily watch it until someone (DH) wakes up and puts it outside. Repeat ad infinitum.

He absolutely will not wear a collar, and has slipped every one I’ve tried to put on him for 2 years. If we do manage to get him in, he has figured out how to bust through the locked cat flap, which then locks him out all night (there’s a neighbourhood bully so I don’t want him to be stuck in the garden).

Bar getting a new microchip cat flap (he’s a big bruiser so I’m sure he’ll bust that) is there anything I can do? DH is going to try to keep him awake today so he might sleep tonight. Is there anything you can put over a catflap or am I imagining it?

Today’s mouse was huge and climbed up into the radiator (not envy).

The JOYS of cats!

My sister pops a screen of sorts in front of hers.

What do you have that is heavy and fits flush against the wall?

Have you got a big plant pot/side table etc that you can stick in front of it? Something that he can’t squeeze behind?

I used to put a piece of cardboard up covering the catflap, with 2 dining chairs holding it up, foil on the seats so my naughty cats wouldn’t go near it. Cats hate foil!

There's a definite market for some kind of cat flap with either a camera that only lets the cat in if its mouth is empty; or has a thing to weigh the cat and again only lets the empty handed cat in.

Can you shut the door to the room that the cat flap leads to?

I agree @FannysSteadiedBuffs. Or some sort of mesh that drags the poor mouse / bird / frog out of their mouths as they come in.

Nope, we're all open plan.

DH has come up with an idea of "Mouse sanctuaries", somewhere tiny and cosy that the mouse can get into that will keep the horrible boy away from it until we can release the mouse. Like a humane trap, but nicer.

@TeddyIsaHe my boy loves tin foil - and water, and mud, and dogs, and everything cats aren't supposed to like.