I found this mouse...

Question
Me and my dad found my cat hunting this mouse so we took away from her and now we want to keep it BUT we arent sure how. We bought it this giant fish tank and aspen bedding. We bought it this organic drinking bowl and put a paper towl roll in. We were feeding it hamster food is that ok? We gave it apples and bread too. The thing is it stills seems kind of afraid and its already jumped out when we were feeding it! It took forever to get it in its cage again! We think its a deer mouse but we have no idea what gender! Can you actually tell if its a female or male? Also does it need a friend or will it be okay? Can you get it fixed just so that if we get it a friend it wont have babies? i look stuff up but then its the opposite on another website like i hear that they can eat cheese but then other things say its bad for them. we would have let the poor guy go but theres owls and cats and hawks! so for the time being i have this pet mouse that were not sure how to take care of. OH one last question if i make him toys out of popsicle sticks is it ok to use elmers glue (non toxic)????? Thank You! :P

Answer
Dear Rachel,

It is likely that the mouse will never be happy in captivity. Can you bring it to a wooded or grassy area away from your cat? Of course its life will be shorter in the wild than in captivity, but unless it becomes unusually tame, it will prefer that.

Now that you have a mouse cage, go buy yourself some pet mice! Get 2-3 females or one male. Males must live alone, so if you just want one, a male is the way to go. It is cruel to keep a female mouse alone. The reason I recommend three girls is that when one dies the others have each other. Otherwise the remaining mouse may get very depressed, sick, or even (occasionally) die from loneliness and loss.  If you do get just two, replace the one who dies, as fast as possible.

Elmer's glue is fine; I ate enough of it as a kid and it didn't hurt me : ))!

It's best to get actual rat and mouse mix to feed them, but if you can only get hamster food, that will do for now; you can order the real stuff online at Petco or Petsmart or this place, which has $5.00 shipping:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/small-pet-supplies/pr/c/6067

There are also many Internet sites full of info about pet and show mice. Here is just one example:

http://thefunmouse.com/info/index.cfm

Feel free to write back if you need to!

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha

<:3  )--~