Is it cruel to cage a wild mouse?

Question
I have just rescued another mouse from my cats and the one that got away hasn't turned up dead on the porch or in the yard so i guess that's a good thing.  My new mouse is in an old hamster cadge and i plan on keeping it.Is that cruel? to take a mouse from the wild that could have been killed by my cats and keep it in a cadge?  If you don't think it would be cruel to keep it should i catch it a friend?  How if there is any way to do so can i get it to be more friendly to humans? I would appreciate any advice and please tell me the truth, do you think it is cruel or not?
Thank you very much,
Daisy

Answer
Dear Daisy,

A wild mouse will not be happy in a cage in a household.  It is used to having miles of territory to roam in.  It doesn't have the sense to be grateful to you for saving it so it doesn't make a difference to its happiness.  I would only keep a wild mouse if raised tame from infancy.  Yes, I would say it is cruel.  I recommend letting the mouse go.

However, I also recommend getting some tame mice as pets.  If you want just one mouse, a male is fine, because they live alone, but they also require a lot of attention, about an hour of people-time a day.  You can get three females and they will have each other for company; when one dies, the other two still have each other and do not get as sick or depressed.  Then you can replace the third at your leisure.  Or you can have two girls.  If you have just one, the same goes for the single female as for the male:  Lots of attention.  

You can also get mice from a mouse rescue group, as I mentioned in the last letter:

justmare111@aol.com

Let me know if you have any more questions.

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha