How many cats does it take to chase one mouse?

How many cats does it take to chase one mouse?

So, last night, I called the two fat cats in from the deck. Homer, who is not let loose yet, was in my arms. Patty ambled in quietly. Spooky was taking his sweet time before finally strolling in. Then I turned to see why Patty was so quiet; there was a mouse in his mouth, and it was alive and kicking.

For whatever reason, Patty decided not to kill this mouse or even critically wound it because he let it go in the kitchen where it raced around. Seemingly unaware he had not killed the mouse, Patty just watched it for a second before chasing it between the refrigerator and the dishwasher.

At this point, I don't know what condition the mouse is in, so I let Patty try to paw it out lest it expire behind my major appliances. He scares it out, and it shoots past Spooky, who apparently is only interested in the commotion.

In the dining room, Patty picks up the mouse a few times, but is unwilling or unable to do it serious harm as it runs under the china cabinet. Now I'm convinced the mouse can survive if it can escape, so I push Patty aside and try to sweep it out using a cardboard tube from a used gift wrap roll. The mouse gets the hint and charges toward the sliding door to the deck, but then Patty lunges at it and sends it scurrying between a bunch of boxes and bags packed in a corner.

So now, even through Patty was caused and prolonged the problem, I need his help to find the mouse. I also need two hands free to move things and poke around with the tube, so I put down Homer. Between the three of us (I think Spooky was guarding the kitchen), we corralled the mouse behind a small book case. I pulled the case back and the mouse took off somewhere under the dining table.

I lost track of it, but I figured my bad-ass mouser would point me in the right direction, which appeared to be nowhere because that's where Patty went. Apparently catching the same mouse multiple times got terribly tedious, so he f---ing left.

An, but then Spooky stepped up and started sniffing behind an oriental screen we just bought through Craigslist. Corner of the room, adjacent to the door, perfect place to drive it out. Perfect... until Spooky walked away.

So now it's down to me and the rookie Homer to chase the mouse out. The screen was folded so I could hold it against the wall to drive the mouse to the door. It managed to squeeze by though and get back to the boxes and bags.

But this time I had the small and nimble cat hunting and was able to turn those boxes and bags into a dead end. Blocked on three sides, the mouse's only path to freedom was through Homer. So it took that road and darted straight at my little kitty, who leapt out of the way and got the f--- out of Dodge.

Oh but the mouse hadn't left the house yet. It ran back behind the screen, where I managed to trap it again, and this time push it in the right direction. So to answer my question, apparently it takes one cat to bring in the mouse (and then leave), two more cats to help track the mouse (and then leave), and one final cat - me, Sumocat - to chase it out by himself (and then feed the other three).
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