Little Miss Souris

Intelligence is my second name. The Chinese call me ‘the ancient one’. The Japanese consider me the messenger of God. The Greeks use me to predict the future. While my counterparts are making their presence felt in every nook and cranny of the world, I am doing what I am best at. Yes, I am a pet mouse. I love flaunting my sleek, shiny coat. Do not go by my three inch, one ounce frame. It is amazing how much attention I can grab in a human household. Travel with me into the mind of a beautiful, smart, curious and playful pocket pet.

It’s too filmy!!

Every mouse wants to be Jerry. But listen up people, life is not a cartoon network for us mice. We prefer not playing “Who will bell the cat?” It’s natural to be afraid of those hungry eyes, sharp claws and razor teeth. If you want to witness harmonic co-existence of opposing forces, then tame the cat and train the mouse. A cat and a mouse can live under the same roof, but give us time to bond. Most importantly, keep watch. You never know with these cats!

Contrary to what many may believe, thanks again to movies, there is more to my appetite than cheese stolen from refrigerators. I love salad greens with mouth watering dandelion leaves. I am not very fussy about stale bread, but vegetables, sunflower seeds and mouse foods are an awesome treat! I am a cleanliness freak when it comes to my dishes and drinking water. Like the rest of my kind, I love to chew. So get me those hard nuts!

Home sweet home…

Nothing like being set free! But please build a clean, comfortable home for me (I do not prefer the term ‘cage’) and I will have no complaints. A nest of my own in the soft bed you provide is paradise for my family. Mice are not veterans of direct sunlight. So that makes me choosy about the location of my little home. I clean up pretty well. You can give me a bath once in a while without spoiling my shiny fur. Violence is not my forte. If I do happen to bite anyone, it is either because they freaked me out or because their hands smell of food. I do not plead guilty. It is clearly not my fault! To lift me, hold me gently by the root of my tail. Do not swing me. I am no toy.

Page 3 pets

Yes, I love socializing. Make me your friend and I will be your friend for life. Take me out on those little parties and trips with your mates. The more the merrier. Other mice are excellent company for me. We, the females of our kind, are more playful and peace loving. But please, do not put me in a home with more than one male. It would spell disaster for all of us! I am not willing to take any responsibility for their brawls.

Laziness is not in my dictionary. With some training, I can carry off small tricks pretty well. Rolling over a mouse ball and having things to chew to cater to my ever growing teeth are so much fun. Skilled mice like me can even walk tight ropes!

For the greater good…

Mice, like all other creatures, are prone to diseases like pneumonia, diarrhoea, mites, parasites and cancer. When people come to a pet shop, they generally look for the healthy ones for obvious reasons. What about the ones that are unfortunate enough to have acquired a disease? Should they be left there to die? Healthy mice have no dearth of buyers. Wouldn’t it be a nobler deed to adopt one of the diseased, treat them, care for them and give them a new life?

Mice are very useful, for they are the test beds of numerous products being developed across the globe every single day. I hate it when I hear humans say this. Definitely no one asked our permission or bothered about our discomfort before conducting these tests on us.

We are more than just pets. We are a part of your family. It’s not only about caring for me. It’s about caring for a cause. So please take that one small step and do whatever is within your reach to make this planet a better place to live in, for all of us.

Deepashri Varadarajan

[ratings]

Image Source: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterkaminski/1604811/]