Mouser-in-law

The in-laws arrive today so I was swiffing the wood floor in the living room, reaching far back under the sofa to sweep out the dust mice, when suddenly I swept out something even less welcome than dust mice. At first I thought it was a cat toy, but no, it was not a toy. I swept a dead mouse out from under my sofa.

It couldn't have been under there long because it wasn't gooey or swollen or smelly, but still--if there's one thing worse than dust mice under the sofa, it's dead mice. I wanted to use it as an object lesson for the cat: "See, Whiskers? This is the enemy. When you see one of these, kill!" But she just turned up her nose and waddled away.

The carcass was whisked away before the in-laws arrived, but it was a close call. If there's one thing worse than dead mice under a sofa, it's dead mice under a sofa on which a mother-in-law is sitting. Not even the cat could save such a situation.