Well, it seems I have a mouse. (Or maybe it's "had," I think I just heard a sharp snap under the sink...I set some traps last night). That's probably because it's really cold here, they're coming in. And because I forgot to correctly close a "sleeve" of saltine crackers I had left on the table before I left.

I hate killing things but I kind of draw the line at allowing mice to run freely in my house. Because mice are kind of...well, to put it politely, they're kind of incontinent. And I have mental images of some lone mouse starting to chew on a wire somewhere in the walls and starting a fire. (I don't know how possible that is, but it still worries me).

Another thing that worries me - can cats get IBS? The cat with thyroid issues seems to be having some digestive problems that seem similar. (I kind of live in fear of my parents calling me up and telling me the cat had to be "put down" because of some kind of problem that was causing her enough pain that she had no quality of life). This just started - well, actually, it started before she went on the new meds so it's probably not the meds. She seemed okay except for the two or three hours she was having problems, so it doesn't seem to compromise her overall quality of life too much so far. But my mom's called the vet to see if there's any other kind of tummy-calming medicine the cat can take.

(I have to admit it but the real reason I don't have a pet? They get old and die and sometimes get sick and die when they're young and it's just something I'd find really distressing and sad to deal with myself. It's bad enough thinking about it sort of "in absentia" with my parents' cats - to whom I became somewhat attached when I was in grad school and living up there - but I think it would be a lot worse living alone and having that constantly preying on my mind.)