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I know it's not nice, but like you say, it has to be done. Just think if your cat did go for them, he would kill them anyway, perhaps after playing with them. Not nice.
Think of it as saving them from the cat
Had a thought. As you are interested in Scottish dancing that would include dancing to bagpipes. Well how about having someone playing bagpipes in your house, bound to scare the mice away
I can't play the bagpipes, sadly.
On a serious matter, perhaps there are mouse 'deterrents'? Sounds, smells, I don't know.
I would prefer to frighten them away, but I have a feeling they'd come back.
Earlier this year JCC brought a tiny mouse in, very much alive.
It ended up in my bedroom ... SOMEWHERE ... so I shut the cats out of the bedroom and I slept downstairs
I made a humane trap with a bucket (there are lots of youtube videos) and peanut butter and chocolate.
I also bought a humane trap from the pet shop.
Never saw it again and there have been no smells and no droppings.
A mouse has entered the trap and eaten the peanut butter that I kindly provided.
The trapdoor on the right of the picture successfully closed and...
the mouse simply pushed the door on the left open and went on its way.
I should have realised, as the door is a pretty loose fit.
Anyway, now that the mouse is fully aware of the treats on offer, I have re-set it but, this time, taped the door shut.
I'll look again tomorrow morning.
I have the type Realspeed shows in his pic. The guy in the pet shop said to check it every couple of hours because mouses panic if they're shut in and can die of shock