Sometimes Cheese is not Enough: Adventures of the Rodent Slayer

 This is Debbie Rappuhn from Heart of Alabama Save Rescue Adopt (HASRA), again!  I just could not let this story pass without sharing.

We have had a mouse problem at the sanctuary, with all of the dog food around and also being in the woods like we are.  So after trying mouse traps and peanut butter and cheese and everything else we could think of....a man was taking a kitten to the animal shelter, it was poor looking and black. We knew that it would be put to sleep that day at the shelter if it was taken there.  Even though we have no place for kittens at this time (future plans will bea Cat house), we took it.  It was going to be our sanctuary kitten!  

We thought she would help with the mouse problem, as a bonus.  The little kitten, now known as Bellatrix from Harry Potter fame, fit in perfectly.  All the dogs ignored her and she walked around them as if she was one of them and even started laying down and sleeping with some.  All was good, except she didn't really seem to take to catching mice.  We have a bunch, so it wasn't as if, she would have a hard time seeing one. 

 Then one day someone asks us to take a precious, cutie-pie, 2 year old Buffy.  She was a joy and a love bug and we all adored her.  We started noticing that Buffy was standing sentry-like at different places. We noticed some other eye-catching behaviors, she  would crawl under any gaps around the building and become very still. That is when we realized what she was doing. She was catching mice, one after another!  It was as if she was a pro at this and had been doing it for a long time before she came to us.  She caught over 10, and is still catching.  We even did a piece on our FaceBook page about "Buffy, the Rodent Slayer!"

 She is a professional and we have to pay her now!  Buffy stays out in the sanctuary at night and catches mice and now, picture this.  Bellatrix is laying on the counter watching all of this and never picking up on it. She just watches and urges Buffy on!  "Great job, Buffy," she is heard to Meow.  And just to give you  a clear picture of how inept Bellatrix is at catching mice, Robin walked in the other morning and there was a mouse sitting on a shelf right above Bellatrix's head, only about 4 inches away.   If I had my camera, I could have proven this.  I have added a picture of Buffy, perfectly still waiting for her prey.  This was just too good not to share!  Bellatrix and Buffy get along and I guess both know their jobs. Buffy, the Rodent Slayer and Bellatrix, the Lazy One!