(Originally posted September 14, 2013)

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Meet Sweet Man Chester (my soul cat, love of my life):

All of Chester’s dreams came true at the end of April when he finally got the cat door he’d been asking for. (I had to be creative with installation because I rent and probably shouldn’t cut through doors or walls.):

This is a super fancy cat door that reads Chester’s microchip and ONLY lets him in.

…Unless a mouse hitches a ride in his mouth, as happened today.

I’m sitting on the couch, minding my own business, when I see Chester walk proudly into the room with a mouse in his mouth (say that ten times fast!).

As his title implies, Sweet Man Chester is not a cold-blooded killer. He’s more interested in making friends with mice and playing with them than killing them.

But I have one other cat and two dogs (one of whom is a terrier mix and LOVES killing small creatures).

Luckily, Chester releases the mouse right next to the teddy bear lying on my living room floor (dog toy). Smart mouse hides underneath teddy bear. All four animals surround the bear in full crouch, whispering excitedly to each other, wondering what the mouse’s next move will be and anticipating an afternoon filled with mouse-chasing fun. Until Mom steps in to put the kibosh on all the merriment…

This is the mouse once I’ve trapped him (like I would a spider) inside a Whole Foods deli container. (Spoiler alert: no animals were harmed in the creation of this blog post.)

This is Princess’s reaction after I take the mouse outside:

“Where’s the mouse?”

Chester immediately goes back outside to search for more mice (or maybe that same one):

I express a deep, self-satisfied sigh, knowing that it’s much easier to release a living mouse back into the wild than to perform a burial ceremony for a dead mouse.

Live on, mouse, and please don’t hitch any more rides with Chester–no matter how he tries to lure you into his mouth.