The cat has been killing mice and dropping them on the deck recently.

I’m actually sort of impressed because the cat has been an indoor cat most of it’s eight years. I had come to think of him as pretty worthless but he’s having something of a renaissance right now, rediscovering his true purpose and calling - like a cat mid-life crisis. He’s become such an outdoor cat that he insisted on being outside today even though the weather is significantly below freezing. I tried to let him in when I saw him shivering, but he refused.

Anyway, back to the mice. While I’m impressed with the cat I’m feeling a little guilty about unleashing such a vicious predator on the fragile local ecosystem. There’s quite a bit of wooded area around where I live but the pressures on the rodent population are intense - there’s foxes and hawks and other cats roaming around all trying to get a share of what’s available.

Area around my house (We’re on the northeast side of the lake) Image Courtesy of Google Maps

So I’ve developed this idea - I’m going to replace the losses incurred by my cat by buying mice from the pet store to release into the wild. I’m going to place food out in several strategic locations in the forest so that the mice will be able to be fruitful and multiply.

But I’m not going to stop there. I’m thinking big - rabbits big. My plan has evolved and I’m planning on tossing some rabbits out into the woods as well. With a steady food supply and a little luck I’m expecting a rodent explosion.

My actions will have consequences, of course. The rodent explosion will lead to chewed up planters, raids on garbage cans and swollen predator populations. I’m willing to accept these consequences.