I let the bull mice have their little rodent wars, and Lilith got the losers. Big Al’s Pet Emporium got my excess males. Any mouse that bit me got time out with Lilith. This was almost harder on her than them. I wouldn’t dream of messing with the old mothers. They scare me.

The whole venture came to a close (to Lilith’s great relief), when we had a massive jailbreak. I discovered this when my husband, who was on the toilet, had a mouse run up his leg. I was in the kitchen when I heard the cream.

I packed up all I could catch, and traded them in for dog food. I was still catching occasional strays for over a year.

Lilith now only eats frozen gourmet mice.